UK unveils £600m AI security funding package anchored by £100m AI Biosecurity Lab
The UK government has announced around £600 million ($800 million) of AI security funding, anchored by a £100 million AI Biosecurity Lab backed by OpenAI and Anthropic, ahead of Wednesday's Budget.
Britain has set out around £600 million ($800 million) of funding to defend against health and security threats from artificial intelligence, in a package announced on Saturday ahead of Wednesday’s Budget (https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-government-sets-out-800-million-ai-security-funding-2026-10-23/).
The centrepiece is the AI Biosecurity Lab (AIBL), backed by £100 million and described by ministers as “the world’s first dedicated AI biosecurity organisation”. It will use frontier AI to detect biological threats earlier and accelerate work on vaccines, treatments and other medical countermeasures (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/introducing-the-ai-biosecurity-lab).
OpenAI and Anthropic will contribute up to £200 million in model credits — OpenAI £100 million in compute and model credits through its Rosalind Biodefense programme, and Anthropic up to £100 million — with Google DeepMind and Basecamp Research also partnering with the lab (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/introducing-the-ai-biosecurity-lab).
AI minister Kanishka Narayan said the aim was for the lab to become a major global institution “bringing together world-leading scientific expertise to protect people from emerging biological threats” (https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-government-sets-out-800-million-ai-security-funding-2026-10-23/). It will operate as an independent non-profit (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/introducing-the-ai-biosecurity-lab).
The wider package includes £65 million for pathogen countermeasures, an extra £120 million for the AI Security Institute and £130 million for cyber defences including the National Cyber Shield, plus £60 million each for AI robotics firms and AI research and procurement, £23 million for AI economic-impact research, an £18 million chip design academy, a £15 million AI-for-public-policy prize and £30 million for regional mayors (https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-government-sets-out-800-million-ai-security-funding-2026-10-23/). Chancellor John Healey will set out further details in next week’s Budget (https://www.classicfm.com/radio/news/uk-world/uk-pledges-to-spend-pound600m-to-defend-again/).
Sources: GOV.UK — https://www.gov.uk/government/news/introducing-the-ai-biosecurity-lab · Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-government-sets-out-800-million-ai-security-funding-2026-10-23/ · Sky News (via Classic FM) — https://www.classicfm.com/radio/news/uk-world/uk-pledges-to-spend-pound600m-to-defend-again/
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