The UK and Canada have signed a landmark agreement to collaborate on the computing power needed to advance AI research and development. 

The new Memorandum of Understanding on compute was signed in Ottawa by UK Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan and Canadian Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry François-Phillippe Champagne. It cements the two countries’ partnership on AI by committing them to explore ways to give researchers and companies affordable access to the high-powered computing capacity required for cutting-edge AI systems.

Compute power and data are essential ingredients for developing modern AI models and applications. As AI rapidly advances, access to state-of-the-art computing infrastructure is increasingly vital for conducting groundbreaking research and staying globally competitive. The UK-Canada agreement recognises this and aims to foster joint innovation by improving compute access.

Specifically, under the new agreement, the UK and Canada will look at opportunities for collaborating on providing compute power for shared research priorities like biomedicine. They also intend to work together – and with like-minded countries – on sustainable models for sharing compute capabilities. 

The compute agreement builds on a wider UK-Canada science and technology partnership also renewed during Secretary Donelan’s visit. This partnersh