Rolls-Royce at forefront of new £1bn government AI deal TheBusinessDesk.com

More than 50 leading businesses and organisations have contributed to the development of a £1bn deal that the government says will put the nation at the forefront of the artificial intelligence industry. The deal, which features almost £300m of new private sector investment, includes the Alan Turing Institute and Rolls-Royce jointly-running research projects exploring: how data science can be applied at scale, the application of AI across supply chains, data-centric engineering and predictive maintenance, and the role of data analytics and AI in science. The deal between government and industry, announced by Business Secretary Greg Clark and Digital Secretary Matt Hancock today (Thursday 26 April 2018), also includes more than £300m of newly allocated government funding for AI research to make the UK a global leader in this technology. The deal marks the first phase of a major innovation-focused investment drive in AI which aims to help the UK seize the £232bn opportunity AI offers the UK economy by 2030 (10 per cent of GDP). Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Matt Hancock said: "The UK must be at the forefront of emerging technologies, pushing boundaries and harnessing innovation to change people's lives for the better. "Artificial Intelligence is at the centre of our plans to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business.