The UK’s opportunity to be the foundation of the world’s semiconductor designs
Semiconductors power the billions of technology products we use every day. Significant developments in the past several years have seen policy makers and investors take notice of these fundamental technology building blocks, from the chip shortage of 2020 to the recent interest in advanced computing systems and artificial intelligence (AI). In my role on the UK Government’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel, I know first-hand the importance of growing the UK semiconductor industry, to ensure a steady supply of chips that unleashes technology innovation and grows the wider UK tech sector.
From being founded in Cambridge and building the very first cores for mobile devices, to today’s designs for ever-changing AI workloads, Arm has been at the forefront of the UK semiconductor industry’s evolution and is committed to supporting its growth.
More than half of Arm’s global workforce is spread across Arm’s UK offices in Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and our global headquarters in Cambridge. These teams are developing some of the most advanced semiconductor designs available, being produced for our partners in the world’s leading-edge semiconductor fabrication plants. Much of that starts here in the UK.
However, the costs associated with this industry are monumental. For example, the most advanced fabrication plants are estimated to cost $28 billion to build. At the same time, the supply chain is complex and globally interdependent. To be competitive and stimulate growth, the UK should play to its strengths in IP and design, right at the start of the supply chain. Below I will set out how the UK can push forward and become the global foundation for the semiconductor industry.
The architects of semiconductors
The UK has an incredible opportunity to build on its foundation as the IP catalyst that powers the semiconductor industry and, in so doing, attract inward investment and stimulate growth. Within two miles of the Arm headquarters in Cambridge are design sites from Microsoft, Samsung, Siemens and many others in the semiconductor supply chain who all benefit from our expertise and the collective talent pool.
The UK is in a strong position for yet more investment, with Arm’s technology ecosystem of over 1,000 partners covering all aspects of the semiconductor supply chain, from semiconductor vendors and foundries to device manufacurers and software vendors.
Building on this growth means the UK can put itself as the architect of the global semiconductor industry, with unprecedented access to major industry players and the tools to support the growth of the tech sector and startups looking to become the next big tech companies of the future.
Efficient AI computing
Looking ahead, AI workloads will only continue to grow and advance, both in terms of compute complexity and sheer numbers. However, this brings rising energy usage and costs that are not sustainable in the long-term, both for the planet and businesses.
Globally, the world’s data centers need 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, which is the equivalent to the entire country of Germany. Finding ways to reduce the power consumption for these large data centers is paramount, with this requiring significant investments into power efficient AI computing.
If the UK were to provide the investment needed to innovate and experiment with new power efficient chips, then this could build a semiconductor industry that is ready to meet the needs of the ongoing AI revolution. Helping businesses save significant costs through reduced energy usage, while creating a more sustainable future for the planet.
The demand for efficient AI is already there, with world leading technology companies, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle, turning to Arm to adopt our power efficient technology for their silicon designs for cloud data centers that do the vast majority of the world’s AI data processing. This demand for efficient AI silicon designs will not be going away anytime soon.
Building semiconductor skills and talent
We also need the UK semiconductor workforce to have the right skills and talent, with this remaining a significant barrier to progress globally. At Arm, we believe in stronger cross-industry and academic collaboration, which is why we announced the Semiconductor Education Alliance in July 2023.
In recognition of the extraordinarily globalized semiconductor industry, this initiative brings together key stakeholders across industry, academia and government from across the world. Leading UK institutions, including UK Electronics Skills Foundation, the University of Southampton, and Anglia Ruskin University are playing a significant role finding and developing a new generation of talent and upskilling the existing workforce.
Investing in initiatives, like the Semiconductor Education Alliance, to create the semiconductor workforce of the future will be vital for the UK to grasp the many opportunities from this growing industry. This will bring together partners from multiple sectors across many different backgrounds that can all offer unique perspectives to address the skills and talent challenge.
Unleashing UK-based semiconductor innovation
The UK has a thriving technology ecosystem. We must continue to champion the UK’s place in the extraordinarily globalized semiconductor industry and work with like-minded nations to ensure resilient supply chains and future innovation in the UK technology industry. Other countries are not sitting idly by, with semiconductor design incentives being implemented by governments worldwide. The UK has a fantastic opportunity to build on its strength as the foundation of the world’s semiconductor designs.
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techUK – Unleashing UK Tech and Innovation
The UK is home to emerging technologies that have the power to revolutionise entire industries. From quantum to semiconductors; from gaming to the New Space Economy, they all have the unique opportunity to help prepare for what comes next.
techUK members lead the development of these technologies. Together we are working with Government and other stakeholders to address tech innovation priorities and build an innovation ecosystem that will benefit people, society, economy and the planet - and unleash the UK as a global leader in tech and innovation.
For more information, or to get in touch, please visit our Innovation Hub and click ‘contact us’.
Tech and Innovation Summit, 6 Nov (rescheduled date)
Emerging technologies will be debated and explored at our annual Tech and Innovation Summit, taking place on 6 November. This campaign week will directly feed into the themes discussed at the Summit.
techUK’s flagship Tech and Innovation Summit returns to traverse the extraordinary and ground-breaking discoveries made possible by the application of emerging and transformative technologies.
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Sprint Campaigns
techUK's sprint campaigns explore how emerging and transformative technologies are developed, applied and commercialised across the UK's innovation ecosystem.
Activity includes workshops, roundtables, panel discussions, networking sessions, Summits, and flagship reports (setting out recommendations for Government and industry).
Each campaign runs for 4-6 months and features regular collaborations with programmes across techUK.
This campaign explored how the UK can lead on the development, application and commercialisation of space technologies and ultimately realise the benefits of the New Space Economy.
These technologies include AI, quantum, lasers, robotics & automation, advanced propulsion and materials, and semiconductors.
Activity has taken the form of roundtables, panel discussions, networking sessions, Summits, thought leadership pieces, policy recommendations, and a report.
Get in touch below to find out more about techUK's ongoing work in this area.
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Rory Daniels
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.
Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.
Today, he is techUK's Programme Manager for Emerging Technologies, covering dozens of technologies including metaverse, drones, future materials, robotics, blockchain, space technologies, nanotechnology, gaming tech and Web3.0.
- Email:
- [email protected]
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- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/
This campaign has explored how the UK can lead on the development, application and commercialisation of the technologies set to underpin the Gaming & Esports sector of the future.
These include AI, augmented / virtual / mixed / extended reality, haptics, cloud & edge computing, semiconductors, and advanced connectivity (5/6G).
Activity has taken the form of roundtables, panel discussions, networking sessions, Summits, and thought leadership pieces. A report featuring member case studies and policy recommendations is currently being produced (to be launched in September 2024).
Get in touch below to find out more about contributing to or collaborating on this campaign.
Event round-ups
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Rory Daniels
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.
Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.
Today, he is techUK's Programme Manager for Emerging Technologies, covering dozens of technologies including metaverse, drones, future materials, robotics, blockchain, space technologies, nanotechnology, gaming tech and Web3.0.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/
Running from July to December 2024, this campaign will explore how the UK can lead on the development, application and commercialisation of web3 and immersive technologies.
These include blockchain, smart contracts, digital assets, augmented / virtual / mixed / extended reality, spatial computing, haptics and holograms.
Activity will take the form of roundtables, workshops, panel discussions, networking sessions, tech demos, Summits, thought leadership pieces, policy recommendations, and reports.
Get in touch below to find out more about contributing to or collaborating on this campaign.
Launch insight
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Get in touch
Rory Daniels
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.
Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.
Today, he is techUK's Programme Manager for Emerging Technologies, covering dozens of technologies including metaverse, drones, future materials, robotics, blockchain, space technologies, nanotechnology, gaming tech and Web3.0.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/
Campaign Weeks
Our annual Campaign Weeks enable techUK members to explore how the UK can lead on the development and application of emerging and transformative technologies.
Members do this by contributing blogs or vlogs, speaking at events, and highlighting examples of best practice within the UK's tech sector.
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Tech and Innovation Summit 2023
Tech and Innovation Summit 2024
Laura Foster
Laura Foster
Laura is techUK’s Head of Programme for Technology and Innovation.
She supports the application and expansion of emerging technologies, including Quantum Computing, High-Performance Computing, AR/VR/XR and Edge technologies, across the UK. As part of this, she works alongside techUK members and UK Government to champion long-term and sustainable innovation policy that will ensure the UK is a pioneer in science and technology
Before joining techUK, Laura worked internationally as a conference researcher and producer covering enterprise adoption of emerging technologies. This included being part of the strategic team at London Tech Week.
Laura has a degree in History (BA Hons) from Durham University, focussing on regional social history. Outside of work she loves reading, travelling and supporting rugby team St. Helens, where she is from.
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- [email protected]
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- www.linkedin.com/in/lauraalicefoster
Elis Thomas
Elis Thomas
Elis joined techUK in December 2023 as a Programme Manager for Tech and Innovation, focusing on AI, Semiconductors and Digital ID.
He previously worked at an advocacy group for tech startups, with a regional focus on Wales. This involved policy research on innovation, skills and access to finance.
Elis has a Degree in History, and a Masters in Politics and International Relations from the University of Winchester, with a focus on the digitalisation and gamification of armed conflicts.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Website:
- www.techuk.org/
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/elis-thomas-49a1aa1a1/
Rory Daniels
Rory Daniels
Rory joined techUK in June 2023 after three years in the Civil Service on its Fast Stream leadership development programme.
During this time, Rory worked on the Government's response to Covid-19 (NHS Test & Trace), school funding strategy (Department for Education) and international climate and nature policy (Cabinet Office). He also tackled the social care crisis whilst on secondment to techUK's Health and Social Care programme in 2022.
Before this, Rory worked in the House of Commons and House of Lords alongside completing degrees in Political Economy and Global Politics.
Today, he is techUK's Programme Manager for Emerging Technologies, covering dozens of technologies including metaverse, drones, future materials, robotics, blockchain, space technologies, nanotechnology, gaming tech and Web3.0.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorydaniels28/
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