Expected to generate over 5,000 new jobs and attract up to £30 billion in private investment, the UK Government has announced the creation of an AI Growth Zone in North East England. This partnership with US and UK tech firms, including NVIDIA, OpenAI, and British company Nscale, aims to turn the region into a powerhouse for AI development spanning research, data engineering, and AI safety.
The Growth Zone, with sites in Blyth and Cobalt Park, is designed to grow the region to boost economic activity and create more jobs, as well as leverage the region’s abundant renewable energy resources and proximity to low‑carbon infrastructure. The sites will host major new computing infrastructure, including the rollout of up to 8,000 GPUs initially, scaling towards 31,000, giving researchers, start‑ups, universities, and public services access to the raw compute needed for advanced AI workloads.
The initiative is expected to span a wide range of sectors, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, finance, and will grow the local talent pipeline via collaborations with regional universities including Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland, and Northumbria.
This announcement supports the government’s Plan for Change, and marks a significant step towards rebalancing the UK’s innovation geography by creating world‑class AI capacity outside London and the Greater South East. With deliverables including new jobs, enhanced skills pathways, and cutting‑edge research and infrastructure, the North East is laying foundations to become one of Europe’s leading AI hubs.
Chris Davison, CEO of NavLive, said: “The UK’s growing investment in AI firms is fantastic news for startups, which are often the source of bold innovation and agile problem-solving. These funds not only validate the strength of the UK tech ecosystem but also create space for new solutions that can challenge established norms.
For this surge to lead to lasting impact, however, we need more than just capital. Startups need access to strong infrastructure, reliable data pipelines, and environments where they can experiment and iterate safely. When these building blocks are in place, startups can drive real breakthroughs, by bringing AI tools that are not just novel, but trustworthy, scalable, and genuinely useful to businesses and society.”