Still, while DSIT was hoping to unveil the supercomputer plans soon, the treasury – which is set to unveil its spring budget next week – has reportedly not yet given the thumbs-up to the project, with the treasury looking for DSIT to carry more of the funding burden with its own budget. Those initial projects constitute some £370 million (~$440 million USD) in funding toward items like PhD funding in AI research and the establishment of a new quantum computing research center – but toward the end of the list is one major item with no named budget: “Plans to set up an exascale supercomputer facility – the most powerful compute capability which could solve problems as complex as nuclear fusion – as well as a program to provide dedicated compute capacity for important AI research” This, presumably, is the supercomputer in question (the exascale Frontier system cost around $600 million USD).īloomberg reported that the massive £800 million investment is being pitched as a boost to the domestic economy, with plans involving components and systems provided by UK tech firms. Just two days ago, DSIT unveiled its sweeping Science and Technology Framework and an initial package of projects in service of that framework. The last month has seen a tremendous emphasis on science and technology by UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, who has framed his push as a move to “cement place as a global science and technology superpower by 2030 pursuing transformational technologies like AI and supercomputing attracting top talent” To that end, he established DSIT in February, consolidating the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the digital components of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Those plans, however, have not yet been approved by the UK Treasury, and officials who spoke to Bloomberg are skeptical that they will be approved in time for the unveiling of the budget next week. Hot on the heels of the UK government’s announcement of its ambitious new Science and Technology Framework, reports are buzzing that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has submitted for approval plans for an £800 million (~$950 million USD) supercomputer. Since 1987 - Covering the Fastest Computers in the World and the People Who Run Them

Tuxera 2020