Government funds self-learning AI company

A British frontier artificial intelligence (AI) company is receiving backing from the government’s £500m Sovereign AI Fund, aiming to help UK startups grow.

The company, called Ineffable Intelligence, is the latest to receive funding and support by the Sovereign AI Unit, which was officially launched on 16 April 2026. So far, eight companies have been backed by the unit.

Ineffable Intelligence is working to develop a new generation of algorithms that learn through experience, interacting and testing ideas, allowing them to improve over time and create insights and systems on their own.

The British Business Bank is co-investing with Sovereign AI in the firm, which is led by David Silver, a professor at University College London and former head of reinforcement learning at Google Deepmind.

AI minister Kanishka Narayan said Silver is “one of the world’s foremost AI leaders, now taking on one of the world’s most innovative approaches to frontier AI. I am delighted that he is doing so right here in the UK, backed by the full support of the British state.

“With support from Sovereign AI and the British Business Bank, we are together showing what British AI can be: the best talent, backed by exceptional state capacity, building AI in Britain, changing the world with it.”

Sovereign AI has also invested in AI infrastructure startup Callosum, while six other companies are receiving access to the AI Research Resource (AIRR) supercomputer network. The AI Unit has agreed Right of First Refusal (ROFR) investment options with some of the recipients.

Science and technology secretary Liz Kendall said the Sovereign AI Unit is the government’s “bet on Britain”, adding that the UK believes in its entrepreneurs and innovators and “are backing them to seize the benefits of AI for the UK”.

“This investment in Ineffable will support a company at the very frontier of AI, with the potential to transform entire sectors, underlining our determination to ensure that the UK isn’t just an AI taker but an AI maker,” Kendall said.

“It also demonstrates Sovereign AI moving at real speed – locking down its second direct investment in just a couple of months, while also securing a really effective partnership with the British Business Bank.”

The Sovereign AI Fund aims to invest directly in early and growth stage AI companies with a typical equity investment between £1m and £10m. The specific amount being invested in Ineffable Intelligence is undisclosed and the government will not comment on specific investment figures.

The fund was trailed in November 2025 in a raft of government AI investment plans aimed at positioning the UK as an “AI superpower”. Those included the creation of the Sovereign AI Unit, chaired by venture capitalist James Wise.

Josephine Kant, head of ventures at the Sovereign AI Unit, said that the unit’s job is to “make sure founders with this level of ambition never have to choose between it and their home – backing them with the speed of venture and the strength of a nation, and standing behind them for the long term as they build category-defining companies”.

According to the government, the science and technology secretary will set out plans later this week to boost the country’s sovereign AI.