The UK needs better coordination of its research capability and policy interventions to improve its AI sovereignty, according to a new report from ai@cam.
The report argues that the UK’s AI investments and world-class research base provide a strong foundation. The challenge is integrating different policy levers - from procurement to competition policy to international partnerships - around a shared vision of AI that delivers public value.
“The UK has world-class universities, trusted regulators, and major institutions like the NHS that could prove AI systems work in the real world,” said Professor Neil Lawrence, DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge. “The question is whether we’ll use these strengths strategically or squander them.”
Policy levers already exist in many relevant areas, but the gaps between them create vulnerabilities and dependencies. Innovation policy invests in compute and research capabilities without connecting them to institutional adoption commitments that would create scaling pathways for successful innovations. Industrial strategy identifies sector and technological strengths, but does not link those insights to procurement policies that could provide anchor customers for UK capabilities. Competition policy could prevent market concentration that locks in dependencies, but is separated from sovereignty considerations. Bringing these levers together can help the UK move toward a shared goal of building domestic AI capabilities that serve UK interests.
The report identifies practical ways to connect these levers. Government could use public services like the NHS as anchor customers for UK AI companies, helping successful innovations scale. Competition policy could keep markets open rather than locked into dominant suppliers. Partnerships with major tech companies could be structured to build UK capacity alongside providing access to frontier models.
These approaches would leverage the UK’s strengths: research excellence, regulatory credibility, major institutions that can test AI solutions, and strong international networks.
“A UK vision for AI grounded in these assets would ensure AI systems improve public services, create economic benefits, protect critical infrastructure, and remain subject to democratic accountability,” says Jessica Montgomery, Director of ai@cam.
The report draws on discussions with academics, civil society groups, industry representatives and policymakers convened by ai@cam in July 2025, developed in partnership with the Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy and the Bennett School of Public Policy.
Read the full report: Navigating AI Sovereignty: Strategic Choices for the UK
