Sovereign AI and the British Business Bank have awarded financial support to Fractile, a startup based across London and Bristol developing advanced chips.
The investment is part of a round of funding worth over £500 million.
The funding is part of the government’s ambition to make Britain a world leader in the technologies that will shape the future of AI, ensuring that British scientific excellence translates into British companies, highly skilled jobs and industrial strength.
It will also help strengthen Britain’s sovereign capabilities in critical technologies.
Fractile is working to re-invent the hardware that AI runs on, so that it is faster, more energy efficient, and less costly. The company's approach looks at the full stack of technologies that AI rests upon, including chips, software and research into machine learning.
AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said: "For too long, Britain has produced some of the world’s best scientific ideas, only to see too much of the technology, industry and wealth they create built elsewhere.
"We are determined to change that. If AI is going to serve the British people, strengthen our public services and create good jobs across the country, Britain needs to build more of the technology that powers it.
"Fractile represents the very best of British ambition, bringing together world-class chip design, engineering and AI expertise to develop faster, cheaper and more energy-efficient hardware.
"By backing brilliant British companies like Fractile, we’re making sure Britain has the industrial strength and sovereign capability to shape the future of AI, with the jobs and economic rewards coming home to communities across our country."
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: "Fractile is a fantastic British success story. This fundraising news, backed by the British Business Bank and Sovereign AI, will boost our ability to make the chips and cutting-edge tech powering AI here at home.
"With plans to expand their presence in Bristol, Fractile are helping to put our plans for reindustrialisation into action – delivering the good jobs and growth that will benefit communities across the country and drive our economy forward."
