The latest research comes just months after the Government launched its £1bn sector deal for AI, in which it pledged, among other things, to invest £17m to fund artificial intelligence development in British universities, in a bid to “seize the £232bn opportunity AI offers the UK economy by 2030”. Sam Gyimah, the Science Minister said: “The UK is one of the world’s leading technology nations and is recognised as a place where ingenuity and entrepreneurship can flourish. “We are a beacon for global talent, and as part of our modern industrial strategy – through our £1bn AI sector deal – we are capitalising on the UK’s global advantage in artificial intelligence.” Silicon Valley behemoths, including Facebook, Google and Apple, have all been investing heavily in artificial intelligence, with McKinsey estimating that globally tech giants spent between $20bn (£15bn) and $30bn on artificial intelligence in 2016 alone.
One-third of AI and machine learning specialists who left the UK's top universities are working at Silicon Valley, according to research by the Telegraph. More than 10% have moved to North American universities, nearly 10% are working for smaller US companies, while only one in seven have joined UK start-ups. The figures came after the UK government launched a £1bn ($1.3bn) initiative for AI including £17m for AI development in universities. However, US technology giants such as Facebook, Google and Apple invested between $20bn and $30bn in AI in 2016.