Conscium co-founder Calum Chace described the need to reduce the UK’s reliance on the US.
By Oscar Hornstein
Senior Reporter
The UK’s launch of a £500m Sovereign AI fund is a necessary move to avoid reliance on US capital amid the volatile Trump administration, according to British AI founder.
The government this week unveiled the fund, which will be state-operated but act as a kind of venture capital vehicle that will directly back UK-based AI innovators.
It has already made an equity investment in the AI infrastructure startup Callosum and is set to provide both funding and compute capacity to many promising companies in the coming years.
Responding to the fund’s launch, Calum Chace, co-founder of the AI startup Conscium, told UKTN it was a much-needed move considering the state of global affairs.
“The perpetual state of uncertainty caused by the Trump administration is making it more attractive for entrepreneurs to stay in the UK and Europe for longer,” Chace said.
“The government is wise to offer state-backed investment vehicles like the Sovereign AI fund as another incentive for founders to scale here in their home market.”
He noted that as the industry moves into a phase dominated by AI agents rather than standalone model, the location in which these are built and governed will be particularly important.
Despite his appreciation at reducing the UK’s reliance on US tech, it should not mean a complete move away from international collaboration.
“It would make much more sense if these policies were designed within the context of a coordinated European approach to AI sovereignty,” Chace said.
“The UK cannot hope to compete with the US and China alone and so we must work closely with our European allies to ensure we are a competitive player in the next wave of AI development.”
The government’s announcement in general has been well received across the industry, though questions remain about the long-term impact.
Gregory Mostyn, co-founder and cheif executive of Wexler, noted that there exists plenty of early-stage capital already.
“We can’t keep up with these $500m+ rounds you’re seeing in the US, and the reality is companies need to seek out US funding to do that. For UK startups, it’s a never-ending sticking point,” he said.
“AI as an investment opportunity is moving faster than almost any sector before it, and whilst the sovereign AI fund will support it, we need to see faster adoption and implementation from the policies that could support it, to truly drive more innovation in the UK.”
