The UK’s Labour government will strengthen efforts to drive institutional funds into British tech companies, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said, as she pledged more backing for the country’s artificial intelligence sector.
The government wants to unlock investment into UK firms with legal reforms to how pension funds are run, Kendall told Bloomberg TV during London Tech Week.
“I’m sure you’ll see more movement on that very soon,” she said in an interview recorded before Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government was rocked by the resignation of another senior cabinet member.
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The government has been trying to boost economic growth by encouraging investment into startups and infrastructure projects. Last year, UK pension fund managers agreed to invest at least 5% of their assets domestically, just before Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said she didn’t rule out mandating funds to allocate money in British assets.
Britain has to become an “indispensable partner” in the global tech architecture to gain greater control over AI, according to Kendall. A “decisive shift” to backing more British AI firms is needed, she said, adding the government itself should also make riskier investments in tech startups.
“It’s a more active government, a more muscular government that takes bets on where we think Britain is great,” she said.
So far, American companies have been the biggest beneficiaries of the UK’s embrace of AI, snapping up procurement contracts from government website chatbot to military analysis .
The reliance on foreign firms has triggered rising concerns in the country. British lawmakers this month called for breaking a major healthcare contract with US tech company Palantir Technologies Inc. Earlier this week, the government announced an offer to buy AI chips from local tech firms in an effort to keep them in Britain.