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Fri 18 Jul 2025
Britain’s most powerful supercomputer, the £225m Isambard-AI, has been officially launched in Bristol with promises that it could enable breakthroughs in areas such as medicine, robotics and climate change.
The supercomputer went from conception to deployment in just under two years and houses a colossal 21 exaflops of AI performance, powered by 5,448 NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips.
Isambard-AI is more than 10 times faster than the UK’s next fastest supercomputer and has more computing power than all other UK supercomputers combined. Scientists at Bristol University believe it could open the door to a range of applications, such as faster, more accurate cancer diagnoses and new clean energy innovations. It is already being used to analyse recordings from wearable cameras and other smart devices to help people perform tasks better at home – something that could assist dementia patients in the future.
Other examples include: using AI to analyse MRI scans, meaning cases of cancer can be identified sooner and patients can be given personalised treatment plans; improving our understanding of more than 30 key proteins involved in a number of diseases, to help develop future treatments; and monitoring and analysing dairy cattle herds to detect changes in social behaviour, which can serve as early indicators of subclinical diseases.
The supercomputer, built and run by the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, was officially launched by science and technology minister Peter Kyle.
“Today we put the most powerful computer system in the country into the hands of British researchers and entrepreneurs,” he said. “Isambard-AI doesn’t just close the gap with our international competitors – it propels the UK to the forefront of AI discovery.
“With our AI Research Resource now fully up and running, the UK is home to the raw computational horsepower that will save lives, create jobs, and help us reach net zero ambitions faster.”
The government said that Isambard-AI will form a major part of its AI Research Resource, which is intended to boost the UK’s capability in cutting-edge AI development. The launch of the AI Opportunities Action Plan in January saw a watering down of the Sunak government’s focus on AI safety in favour of economic and adoption priorities, and the promise of light-touch regulation. Its launch came days before Trump cancelled a Biden executive order that also leaned more towards regulation and safety.
Most global AI rankings put the UK market third behind the US and China, albeit distantly.
Professor Evelyn Welch, president of Bristol University, said: “Together with HPE and NVIDIA, we have delivered this remarkable national facility at pace, in just under 24 months. Due to its impressive power, working at speeds 100,000 times faster than an average laptop, we will soon see Isambard AI deliver transformational research and breakthroughs that will ultimately improve people’s lives.”
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