More than 3,400 jobs and targeted support for local communities to help tackle the cost of living as Lanarkshire named latest AI Growth Zone

Hardworking people in Lanarkshire will have access to the skills and opportunities they need to chase the jobs of the future, as AI is put to work to transform communities and livelihoods.  

Delivered by home-grown data centre company DataVita around their data centre site in Airdrie – and in partnership with AI cloud firm CoreWeave – the Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone announced by the Technology Secretary today (29 January) will bring more than 3,400 jobs over the course of the coming years (note), including delivering 50 apprenticeships to nurture the next generation of Scottish AI expertise.  

Of these jobs, around 800 are expected to focus on the high-paying AI jobs of the future, including everything from AI researchers and coders through to permanent staff who will run and maintain data centres. The rest will be made up of immediate construction jobs, as attention turns to building out the entire site, including data centres, supportive infrastructure, and a renewables park. 

Alongside £8.2 billion in private investment that will drive economic renewal in the local area, a new community fund will inject up to £543 million into support for a range of local programmes over the next 15 years (note). The money will come as a direct result of the work carried out at the site, being raised as data centre capacity comes online.  

From skills and training packages which will give people the tools they need for jobs in and working with AI, through to after-school coding clubs, and support for local charities and foodbanks – this is how the government is ensuring AI is delivering frontline support and opportunity for communities and playing an active role to bring down the cost of living. 

AI Growth Zones are just one of the many commitments the government has delivered one year on from the publication of the AI Opportunities Action Plan. In total the government has met 38 of its 50 commitments (note) with the public able to track progress in detail at a newly published interactive dashboard. 

In the past 12 months, the government has laid the foundations for long-term success, increased its AI computing power tenfold and launched a major skills drive which has already seen over one million free AI courses delivered.   

It is already delivering practical benefits – a third of chest x-rays in the NHS are AI-enabled, while AI is also helping the government function more efficiently by reducing the time taken to identify fraud by 80%. Meanwhile, Extract, the government-backed tool to digitise planning, is expected to be made available to all councils by Spring 2026, with a target to digitise all planning documents by the end of 2026. AI tutoring tools to narrow the attainment gap will also be co-developed this Summer and begin trials at the start of the next academic year. 

The UK AI sector is already the largest in Europe, raising £6 billion in 2025, which is an 80% increase from 2024. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said  

Getting on in life should not mean travelling miles from your community for work while struggling to pay the bills at home. 

By bringing billions of pounds of investment into Lanarkshire, we are creating good, wellpaid jobs and funding support that directly helps families with the cost of living.

With strong progress made on our AI Opportunities Action Plan over the past year, now is the time to put our foot on the accelerator and ensure working people feel the benefits in every corner of the UK.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said   

Today’s announcement is about creating good jobs, backing innovation and making sure the benefits AI will bring can be felt across the community – that’s how the UK government is delivering real change for the people of Scotland. 

From thousands of new jobs and billions in investment through to support for local people and their families, AI Growth Zones are bringing generation-defining opportunity to all corners of the country.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said 

Seizing the opportunities of AI is vital for getting jobs and growth in every part of the country. 

Our AI growth zones are doing just that – creating new opportunities for local communities and unlocking investment so businesses can grow and scale up, building an economy that works for working people.

Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill said 

North Lanarkshire’s proud industrial heritage helped power Britain through the last century – from coal and steel to manufacturing. Today, we’re writing the next chapter, as this community becomes home to an advanced AI site. The area will once again be at the very heart of Scotland’s and Britain’s industrial story. 

This is the UK government’s economic growth in action. Scotland’s AI Growth Zone, backed by £5 million of UK government investment will create more than 3,400 jobs and attract billions in investment. With 5 AI Growth Zones now across the UK, we are cementing our position as Europe’s leading tech sector. 

The UK government’s AI Growth Zone will bring new industries, good jobs and fresh opportunities to North Lanarkshire, but also boost the economy of the whole of central Scotland.

Danny Quinn, Managing Director of DataVita, said 

Scotland has everything AI needs, the talent, the green energy, and now the infrastructure. But this goes beyond the physical buildings

We’re creating innovation parks, new energy infrastructure, and attracting inward investment from some of the world’s leading technology companies. This is a massive opportunity for North Lanarkshire & Scotland, and we want to make sure local people share in it.

The £543 million community fund means the benefits stay here, good jobs, new skills, and investment that actually reaches the people who live and work in this area.

Ben Richardson, Managing Director of CoreWeave International, said 

The Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone marks a meaningful step in moving the UK from AI ambition into AI in production.

We’re proud to make this £1.5 billion investment with DataVita, delivering a production-grade AI cloud designed to run, scale, and evolve as AI becomes embedded across the economy.

That long-term approach is what supports economic growth and strengthens the UK’s position in AI.

Bolstering the benefits for local communities even further, DataVita’s parent company HFD Group will also contribute a separate £1 million per year towards local charities and community groups.  

When completed, Lanarkshire will be one of the most advanced AI sites anywhere in the world, with DataVita planning to include the generation of more than 500MW of on-site power to drive AI breakthroughs in the next 4 years.  

It will also explore cutting-edge solutions to one of the most pressing challenges facing AI – energy consumption. The energy powering this new Growth Zone will be drawn from on-site renewables, while excess heat – produced by cooling systems as they keep cutting-edge computers and tech in top working order – will also be put to good use. Once the site is fully up and running, plans will be explored to see this excess heat re-directed to power the nearby University Hospital Monklands – Scotland’s first fully digital and Net Zero hospital.   

Being in striking distance of land ripe for development for solar and wind power source will help to ensure the UK can realise its AI ambitions without compromising on its clean energy superpower mission. This is a pioneering new approach to AI development – harnessing renewable energy to power advances in the technology while ensuring those benefits always filter down to benefit local communities.  

CoreWeave will be one of the key backers of the site, rolling out cutting edge NVIDIA GPU chips so researchers and innovators can power their work. This deployment will be part of the £2.5 billion investment the company has made to AI projects in the UK.   

It joins a stable of 5 AI Growth Zones announced in the 12 months since the launch of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, joining Oxfordshire, North and South Wales, and the North East of England as jewels in the UK’s AI Crown. All told, AI Growth Zone announcements over the last 12 months have been bolstered by commitments to add up to 15,000 jobs for local communities, and at least £28.2 billion in private investment (note).     

Notes to editors

AI Growth Zones are a government initiative intended to support sites that meet defined technical and delivery criteria. AI Growth Zone status is conditional on delivery against agreed milestones and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Today’s announcement is subject to the site continuing to meet agreed criteria. 

Update on delivery of the AI Opportunities Action Plan One Year On.

References and sources for statistics

1.  Jobs and investment figures have been supplied by DataVita as part of their proposals to develop the site.

2. The public are able to track progress in detail on the delivery of the AI Opportunities Action Plan at a newly published interactive dashboard.

3. Figures on latest AI research adoption, as well as via data from the Office for National Statistics – business insights and impact on the UK economy – Office for National Statistics.

4. DSIT has also conducted analysis of OECD modelling figures to provide further context.