World’s first AI-powered lab aims to prevent future pandemics

The UK government is planning to launch a world’s first biosecurity lab with £100 million in state investment and up to £200 million pledged jointly by OpenAI and Anthropic.

The lab will use AI to develop medical countermeasures against emerging pathogens and protect against future pandemics.

The plan also includes AI Security Institute which will receive an additional £120 million to set safety standards and mitigate risks associated with advancing AI technology. In the budget, £10 million per year will be dedicated to analyze how AI will reshape industry and impact employment.

A new £70 million National Exposure and Real-Time Vulnerability centre will leverage AI to protect infrastructure and economy against growing cyber threats.

Chancellor John Healey and AI minister Kanishka Narayan framed the package as a distinctively British approach meant to balance innovation, security and public trust while keeping humans in charge of AI.

Business leaders also welcomed the focus on trust, chip design, and resilience, but urged the government to expand AI skills across the workforce and remove barriers to adoption across all sectors.

Jordan Cummins, a director at the CBI, said, “The Chancellor is right to put security, resilience and trust at the heart of the UK’s approach to AI. Firms will adopt AI faster and at a greater scale when they are confident that it is safe, secure and working in the interests of their workforce.”

Shadow AI Minister Ben Spencer slammed the announcement as a "shopping list of projects" lacking strategy, questioning whether EU regulatory alignment might hinder UK access to vital US technology.