The UK government is allocating £36 million to upgrade Cambridge’s DAWN supercomputer, delivering a sixfold increase in processing power. The investment adds AMD’s latest MI355X AI chips and a Dell‑supplied hardware platform, providing free, on‑demand access for researchers and start‑ups across the nation and strengthening the country’s AI ecosystem.
Funding Overview and Strategic Goals
The £36 million package is split between £16 million from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and £20 million from UK Research and Innovation. The funding supports the installation of cutting‑edge AI processors and expands the AI Research Resource (AIRR) to accelerate high‑performance computing for academic and commercial innovators.
Allocation of the Investment
£16 million will cover the procurement of AMD MI355X chips, while £20 million funds Dell’s server infrastructure, integration services, and the operational rollout of the upgraded system.
Technical Upgrade Details
The upgrade replaces part of DAWN’s existing GPU fleet with AMD’s MI355X chips, built on the CDNA 3 architecture and optimized for large‑scale transformer models and deep‑learning workloads. Dell will supply the supporting hardware platform, ensuring seamless deployment without interrupting ongoing research projects.
New AMD MI355X AI Chips
These chips deliver significantly higher throughput for AI training, enabling researchers to work with larger datasets and more complex models that were previously infeasible on the older hardware.
Dell Hardware Platform
Dell’s server infrastructure provides the necessary scalability and reliability, allowing the upgraded DAWN system to operate continuously and support a growing number of users.
Impact on Research and Industry
The sixfold boost in compute capacity is expected to accelerate breakthroughs across several high‑impact domains, offering free access to powerful AI resources for both academia and start‑ups.
- Healthcare: Faster training of models for early disease detection, drug discovery, and personalized treatment plans.
- Climate and environment: More detailed climate simulations that improve forecasting of extreme weather events and support local adaptation strategies.
- Public services: AI tools that streamline administrative processes, reduce waiting times, and enhance citizen‑facing digital platforms.
Future Outlook
The upgraded DAWN system will be operational by spring 2026, providing a benchmark for future investments, including the planned construction of a new national supercomputer. Ongoing monitoring of usage metrics and scientific output will guide subsequent funding decisions and help the UK maintain a competitive edge in the global AI landscape.
