![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SEI_289822380-db4c.jpg\")
\n\t\tChancellor Rachel Reeves set out her \u2018three biggest opportunities for growth\u2019 (Picture: Wiktor Szymanowicz\/Future Publishing via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tChancellor Rachel Reeves set out her \u2018three biggest opportunities for growth\u2019 (Picture: Wiktor Szymanowicz\/Future Publishing via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Rachel Reeves<\/a> will put billions of pounds in funding towards AI and quantum computing as she tries to pump some energy into the British economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a major speech today, the Chancellor has set out why she considers AI to be one of three key areas where the UK might be able to secure much-needed growth.<\/p>\n Investing heavily in the \u2018defining technology of our era\u2019 would not just lead to economic renewal, she said \u2013 it\u2019ll transform sectors like health<\/a>, energy and transport.<\/p>\n That is the logic behind \u00a32.5 billion in funding Reeves is putting towards AI and quantum technologies.<\/p>\n Speaking to bank bosses and fellow politicians at the annual Mais Lecture, she committed the UK to adopting AI faster than any other country in the G7 \u2013 and becoming the first country in the world to roll out quantum computing at scale.<\/p>\n The Chancellor said: \u2018We can bury our heads in the sand and leave it to other countries \u2013 whose values may differ from ours \u2013 to shape and own this technology. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\tWant to understand more about how politics affects your life?\t\t\t<\/p>\n Metro’s senior politics reporter Craig Munro breaks down all the chaos into easy to follow insight, in Metro’s politics newsletter Alright, Gov? Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018We can leave it to the market alone, and let the balance of risk and reward be determined by a super-wealthy few. Or we can chart our own course.\u2019<\/p>\n Quantum computing is expected to be the next big technological leap after the boom in artificial intelligence \u2013 even if it\u2019s still just emerging.<\/p>\n \t\t It is notoriously difficult to explain how it works without diving into the complex world of quantum mechanics, but experts suggest these machines could take seconds to complete a task that would take a regular computer hundreds of millions of years.<\/p>\n This is the tech that will receive the lion\u2019s share of the new government<\/a> funding, with \u00a32 billion going towards upgrading the UK\u2019s quantum capabilities.<\/p>\n An additional \u00a313.8 million is being injected into the five \u2018National Quantum Research Hubs\u2019 at universities across the UK which use the machines to tackle problems in healthcare and national security.<\/p>\n According to Reeves, AI is one of the three best chances at achieving the economic growth she craves.<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s GDP has not hit 1% growth in any quarter since the last general election, and in the last two quarters of 2025 it achieved a mere 0.1%.<\/p>\n Alongside AI, the Chancellor is also putting her fiscal faith in a closer relationship with the European Union<\/a> and growth in regions across the country.<\/p>\n Her speech today comes a day after it was announced the UK would put \u00a345 million of funding towards an AI supercomputer called Sunrise.<\/p>\n Based in Oxfordshire<\/a>, this machine will be used exclusively to tackle the challenges involved in making fusion energy \u2013 a \u2018virtually limitless\u2019 source of clean energy \u2013 viable.<\/p>\n It\u2019s expected the supercomputer will be up and running by June.<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"DARESBURY,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SEI_289825846-83c3.jpg\")
\n\t\tRachel Reeves and Keir Starmer visited a quantum site in Liverpool in September 2022 (Picture: Christopher Furlong\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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