The UK government has unveiled the Lanarkshire AI growth zone, which promises to deliver more than 3,400 jobs in the coming years.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said that 800 of these will be high-paying artificial intelligence (AI) roles covering researchers, programmers, and the permanent staff required to run and maintain datacentre facilities.
CoreWeave and DataVita have said they will be investing £1.5bn into delivering a production-grade AI cloud. Danny Quinn, managing director of DataVita, said: “Scotland has everything AI needs: the talent, the green energy, and now the infrastructure. But this goes beyond the physical buildings.
“We’re creating innovation parks, new energy infrastructure, and attracting inward investment from some of the world’s leading technology companies,” he said. “This is a massive opportunity for North Lanarkshire and Scotland, and we want to make sure local people share in it.”
When completed, Lanarkshire will be one of the most advanced AI sites anywhere in the world, with DataVita planning to include the generation of more than 500MW of on-site power to drive AI breakthroughs in the next four years.
Scotland office minister Kirsty McNeill said: “The UK government’s AI growth zone will bring new industries, good jobs and fresh opportunities to North Lanarkshire, but also boost the economy of the whole of central Scotland.”
The region is receiving over £8bn in private investment to drive economic renewal. It is also receiving a new community fund, which aims to inject £543m into support for a range of local programmes over the next 15 years.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer said: “By bringing billions of pounds of investment into Lanarkshire, we are creating good, well-paid jobs and funding support that directly helps families with the cost of living.
“With strong progress made on our AI opportunities action plan over the past year, now is the time to put our foot on the accelerator and ensure working people feel the benefits in every corner of the UK.”
This comes a year after the government unveiled its 50-point plan of action for AI. In a paper looking at its progress so far, the government said it has been positioning AI growth zones near renewable power, such as the Small Modular Reactors in North Wales, and a micro-grid in Lanarkshire.
The government’s action plan to drive public sector efficiency and economic growth by using the power of AI includes a commitment to unlock data assets in the public and private sector. As such, data is seen as a strategic national asset – which the government said will be curated, made more widely accessible and combined with compute resources.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Seizing the opportunities of AI is vital for getting jobs and growth in every part of the country.
“Our AI growth zones are doing just that – creating new opportunities for local communities and unlocking investment so businesses can grow and scale up, building an economy that works for working people.”
As part of its commitment to build out the UK’s AI capabilities, the government is expected to launch the next phase of the Sovereign AI Unit in April 2026. Backed by up to £500m, the unit aims to support UK artificial intelligence companies in becoming world-leading in critical parts of the AI value chain.
