One of Europe’s most powerful supercomputers is set to be built in Bristol to drive pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) research and innovation in the UK.

The UK government said the University of Bristol will host the new AI Research Resource (AIRR), which will serve as a national facility to help researchers maximise the potential of AI and support work into the safe use of the technology.

Plans for the supercomputer were announced by the government in March, backed by a £900 million investment to transform the UK’s computing capacity and establish a dedicated AI Research Resource.

The AIRR will open at the National Composites Centre (NCC) next year. The system will be dubbed Isambard-AI after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer whose creations, including Bristol’s famous Suspension Bridge, innovated transport and construction in the UK.

“AI is expected to be as important as the steam age, with ramifications across almost every area of academia and industry. Bristol’s proud to be at the forefront of this revolution, said professor Phil Taylor, pro-vice chancellor for research and enterprise at the University of Bristol.

“We have unique expertise in rapidly building and deploying large-scale research computing infrastructure and we’re excited to play an integral part in establishing the UK as an international hub for AI.”

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