The UK government is investing £36 million (US$ 49 million) to increase the power of Cambridge University’s DAWN supercomputer sixfold, aiming to give researchers and tech start-ups access to some of the world’s most advanced AI computing. The upgrade is part of the AI Research Resource (AIRR), a national programme offering free supercomputing normally reserved for large tech companies.
According to a UK government press release, the additional capacity is expected by Spring 2026, will support projects ranging from personalised cancer vaccines to climate modelling and public service improvements. Researchers will also gain access to AMD Instinct MI355X GPUs, integrated by Dell Technologies, alongside UK software from SME StackHPC, enabling larger datasets and more ambitious AI projects.
Minister for AI, Kanishka Narayan said, “This investment is giving British innovators the tools to compete with the biggest players and develop AI that improves lives, from spotting diseases earlier to helping communities prepare for extreme weather, right across the country.”
Professor Sir John Aston, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Cambridge University, said, “This investment marks an important milestone for the UK’s AI Research Resource, expanding the power of Cambridge’s DAWN supercomputer and strengthening our national computing ecosystem.”
Tariq Hussain, UK Head of Public Sector, Dell Technologies, said, “By integrating Dell PowerEdge servers with AMD’s latest MI355X accelerators into the DAWN supercomputer as part of the AI Research Resource, we’re helping British start-ups and scientists run bigger models on larger datasets.”
Stephanie Dismore, Senior Vice President, EMEA, AMD, said, “This collaboration reflects our commitment to delivering advanced technologies that empower innovation, drive progress, and help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges through responsible, high-performance computing.”
Dr John Taylor, StackHPC, CEO, said, “These new systems, coupling simulation with AI methods, provide significant opportunities to address challenges in energy, medicine, weather forecasting and climate change in a more efficient manner. We are extremely excited to continue this work and ensure that the positive impacts of AI are met.”
The expansion is part of the government’s British AI backing with over £2 billion in public compute infrastructure and the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, which aims to scale AIRR twentyfold by 2030 and includes a new national supercomputer in Edinburgh. AIRR currently links DAWN in Cambridge with Isambard-AI in Bristol.