The UK Advanced Chip Design Academy, announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey MP, will be hosted in Edinburgh as part of a UK Government investment package included in the Autumn Budget, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said.
The Academy is intended to strengthen the UK’s ability to design the chips that underpin next-generation technologies such as AI, and to help deliver advanced chip-design skills while connecting British research more directly with semiconductor manufacturing and the production of AI hardware, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said.
The wider UK-wide investment package aims to unlock the opportunities of AI, scale up homegrown firms and strengthen national security, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said, adding that other initiatives include efforts to manage AI security risks and programmes to help communities use AI to boost local economies.
The Academy will be led by Professor Themis Prodromakis, Regius Chair of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, and hosted within the University’s Centre for Electronics Frontiers and Scottish Microelectronics Centre. It will give UK-based researchers access to the latest commercial chip-design tools and opportunities to prototype, fabricate and test their designs, as well as providing a lasting domestic training capability, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said.
By connecting UK research more directly with advanced semiconductor manufacturing, the Academy is expected to accelerate the translation of research into commercially relevant products and support the development of UK semiconductor and AI hardware companies, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said.
Professor Themis Prodromakis said the Academy represented “a transformative investment in our national technology capabilities,” adding that advanced semiconductors underpin the future of AI, quantum computing and next-generation communications.
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said the university was “delighted to be hosting the UK Advanced Chip Design Academy” within its Centre for Electronics Frontiers and the Scottish Microelectronics Centre, adding that the £18m programme highlights Edinburgh’s role as a UK hub for innovation, translating cutting-edge academic research into real-world technological capabilities.