The United Kingdom and Canada have struck new agreements to jointly conduct research and development on artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Michelle Donelan, U.K. technology secretary, and Francois-Phillippe Champagne, Canada’s minister for innovation, science and industry, signed a dual set of agreements in Ottawa on Wednesday.
The agreement follows a larger partnership on science and innovation the two nations first signed in 2017. Over the years, researchers from both sides have been sharing data and collaborating on R&D programs. Between 2020 and 2023, the U.K. Research and Innovation awarded about $442 million to support collaborative programs with Canada.
The new agreement will explore areas of shared strategic importance such as biomedicine and compute, a vital component of AI. Compute refers to the computing power needed for machines to learn from data and perform human-like tasks.
“Today’s memorandums of understanding on scientific research, innovation and AI compute will drive positive impacts across all fields of research and innovation, help businesses accelerate commercialization, and link our leading researchers together,” Champagne said.
U.K. and Canada are also exploring other emerging and critical technologies such as quantum computing, engineering biology, semiconductors and clean energy.
