Two of Glasgow's leading scientists will develop cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology thanks to a £20 million UK Government cash boost. The Scottish projects, at the University of Glasgow and University of Strathclyde, are among fifteen innovative projects receiving the new Turing AI fellowships as part of the UK government's ambition to establish the UK as a world leader in AI and support researchers to scale up their innovations. Dr Antonio Hurtado, University of Strathclyde, received £1.16 million. He aims to meet the growing demand across the UK economy to process large volumes of data fast and efficiently, while minimising the energy required to do so. His AI technology will use laser light, similar to those used in supermarket checkouts, to perform complex tasks at ultrafast speed – from weather forecasting to processing images for medical diagnostics.

The next generation of UK scientists have been backed by government today (Thursday 24 October) to develop the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that will transform how people live and work and help tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges. A combined government and industry investment of £370 million will deliver 2,700 new PhD places in biosciences and AI. Of this, £200 million will fund 1,000 new PhD places over the next 5 years to study AI which could help diagnose diseases like cancer earlier and make industries, including aviation and automotive, more sustainable. The first 200 students will be studying at 14 universities across the country, working closely with 300 leading businesses, including AstraZeneca, Google, Rolls-Royce and NHS Trusts. A further £170 million will fund 1,700 places to study PhDs in biosciences helping to tackle issues like feeding the world's growing population and helping people stay healthier for longer.

The European Investment Bank today (November 29th) agreed a EUR 30 million facility to support investment by Dublin based biotech company, Nuritas, to further increase and accelerate development of artificial intelligence and DNA analysis to improve global healthcare. Representing the first direct EIB financing for an Irish biotech company, the new support will allow the company to access tranched financing as required to scale up the development of the rapidly growing company. Future investment by the company backed by the EIB will scale up development of new therapeutics in areas of interest including anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and diabetes treatment. "Nuritas has already demonstrated through PeptAIde, their first product launch this year, how the discovery of healthcare products can be rapidly accelerated using artificial intelligence. During due diligence over recent months the EIB has been impressed by their innovative use of technology and the number of global deals already achieved and they now become the first Irish biotech firm to benefit from the EIB's dedicated European Growth Finance Facility. Our goal is to find innovative and fast-growing companies so that we ensure they can benefit from access to long-term financing under the new initiative and Nuritas fits this bill perfectly. We look forward to working with other innovative and fast growing companies to ensure they can benefit from access to long-term financing under the new initiative. This new EUR 30 million support from the European Investment Bank will enable Nuritas to expand and commercialise even faster." said Andrew McDowell, European Investment Bank Vice President.

Periscope Holdings, the leader in government procurement solutions, introduced an entirely new government bid experience for suppliers, powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Periscope Holdings is transforming public sector procurement with technology and solutions for both buyers and suppliers. Supplier solutions include BidSync government bid notification tools. The completely rebuilt BidSync supplier application leverages machine-learning technology to deliver the most relevant, winnable government opportunities for each user. Smart enough to automatically filter out bids that are irrelevant to each supplier's individual business, the new BidSync boasts a host of new features that save subscribers valuable time finding and evaluating bids, including: a savvy user interface, an AI-powered relevance engine, expanded bid details, powerful search capabilities and a visual relevance indicator.