The UK-U.S. state visit that took place this week marks a defining moment for transatlantic collaboration in AI. As AI infrastructure becomes more strategic, more complex, and globally distributed, it requires trusted partnerships and foundational platforms to drive innovation at scale. Arm is proud to be at the foundation of this shared ambition through two new pioneering initiatives – Stargate UK and the UK-U.S. AI Partnership.
Underpinning Stargate UK
The announcement of Stargate UK represents a critical step in expanding the UK’s AI computing power, digital infrastructure and the AI Research Resource, as announced within the UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.
As a technology partner for Stargate UK, we are delivering the compute platform and software ecosystem that makes scalable, power-efficient AI available, anywhere. Founded and headquartered in the UK, Arm has been central to the nation’s sovereignty in semiconductor design and supports the UK’s AI agenda as part of the Semiconductor Advisory Panel and UK AI Energy Council.
Expanding Arm’s UK Footprint
The UK is a leader in advanced semiconductor design, playing a critical role in the global supply chain of chips that are essential for national sovereignty in AI. Arm is key to this ambition, supporting innovation ecosystems around our UK hubs in Cambridge, Manchester, Sheffield and Bristol.
Since 2015, our UK footprint has grown significantly and we continue to invest in and expand UK operations, employing over 3,500 across the country. Here are a few recent highlights:
- Over the last two years, our UK headcount has grown by nearly 25 percent across Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester and Sheffield sites.
- Arm opened a new 70,000 square foot office in Manchester earlier this month, with capacity for over 500 staff, as well as a new Bristol design center last year.
- Arm is expanding our Cambridge headquarters by over 90,000 sq ft, raising our capacity and driving growth in 2026.
Arm and the UK-U.S. AI Partnership
Alongside Stargate UK, Arm and other UK-based design and hardware companies are being recognized within the UK-U.S. AI Partnership, a new cross-country initiative that intends to enable deeper AI collaboration.
As a strategic leader in trusted AI development, we are committed to long-term innovation opportunities. Arm technology underpins the compute stack of many U.S. hyperscalers for the cloud and datacenter, enabling power-efficient, scalable AI platforms, like NVIDIA Grace Blackwell, that are already in use across sovereign AI initiatives, such as Project Stargate.
Investing in Workforce Development
The chip design ecosystems in both the UK and U.S. play an essential role in the global supply of AI hardware, with Arm and our partners coming to design hubs in Cambridge, Austin, Manchester and San Jose to work with talented communities of engineers. The ongoing strength of these ecosystems depends on them having access to sufficiently skilled and dynamic talent. To deliver, governments, industry and academia must partner to prepare the future workforce for growing sectors.
As founders of the Semiconductor Education Alliance, we are committed to growing the pipeline of STEM talent in advanced design, which is critical to both sovereign compute and long-term economic growth. Together, Arm has:
- Built and developed online courses that are now used by over 100,000 learners, as well as distributing education kits across schools.
- Identified the knowledge, skills and attributes that new entrants to the semiconductor sector need, helping to inform curriculum development at schools and universities.
- Supported deeper research through initiatives like Arm Academic Access, while also offering further support to universities through more complete packages to accelerate prototyping research, such as the SoC Labs at the University of Southampton.
These programs help students develop hands-on, industry experience in AI, compute, and systems design.
Leading Innovation at Scale
As the U.S. and UK look to lead in AI innovation at scale, it will take trusted partnerships, established foundational technologies, and open platforms to succeed. From powering hyperscale AI infrastructure to investing in the next generation of AI innovation and talent, Arm is at the center of this next chapter.
