UK funds £100m AI biosecurity lab with OpenAI and Anthropic - The Next Web

The UK government will put £100m into a new AI Biosecurity Lab, with OpenAI and Anthropic adding up to £200m between them, according to a report by The Next Web. The Cabinet Office announced the funding on Saturday, the report says. The article's headline reads: "UK funds £100m AI biosecurity lab with OpenAI and Anthropic." The excerpt describes the lab as intended to use advanced AI to spot and respond to biological threats.

According to the excerpt, the lab will begin with two tasks: finding new biological threats early, and speeding up work on vaccines and treatments. The report gives a government contribution of £100m and a combined contribution of up to £200m from OpenAI and Anthropic, without breaking the latter figure down between the two companies. It does not state when the lab will begin operating, how it will be staffed, or where it will be based. The excerpt contains no quoted comment from OpenAI, Anthropic, or any government minister.

The report places the announcement within a package of more than £600m for AI security, which it says was set out before the Budget. It describes the lab's initial focus as the early identification of biological threats and the acceleration of work on vaccines and treatments. The excerpt does not detail the other components of the £600m package, nor the timing of the Budget relative to the announcement beyond stating that the package preceded it.