Scotland has been selected as the latest UK AI Growth Zone, a key part of the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, bringing more than 3,400 high-value jobs and significant investment to Lanarkshire over the coming years. Delivered by home-grown data centre company DataVita, in partnership with AI cloud firm CoreWeave, the initiative will focus on building advanced AI infrastructure around their Airdrie data centre site. Of the total jobs, around 800 are expected to be high-paying roles in AI research, coding, and data centre operations, while the remainder will include construction and supportive infrastructure development, including a renewables park.
The project is backed by £8.2 billion in private investment and a £543 million community fund to support local programmes over the next 15 years. This fund will provide skills and training packages, after-school coding clubs, and support for local charities and foodbanks, ensuring that the benefits of the AI Growth Zone reach local residents and help address cost-of-living pressures. The initiative will also deliver 50 apprenticeships aimed at developing the next generation of Scottish AI talent.
The Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone forms part of the UK government’s broader AI strategy, with over 75% of the AI Opportunities Action Plan already delivered. The UK has increased its AI computing power tenfold in the past year and launched a major skills drive, providing over one million free AI courses. AI is already producing practical benefits, such as enabling a third of NHS chest x-rays and reducing the time to detect fraud by 80%. Other planned innovations include AI tutoring tools to narrow educational attainment gaps and a fully digitised planning system across councils.
The development will include more than 500MW of on-site power generated from renewables, with excess heat from cooling systems explored for use in local infrastructure such as University Hospital Monklands. CoreWeave will supply cutting-edge NVIDIA GPU chips, supporting AI research and innovation. The combination of AI infrastructure, green energy, and community support demonstrates a pioneering approach to sustainable technological growth while ensuring local communities directly benefit.
The Lanarkshire site joins four existing AI Growth Zones in the UK – Oxfordshire, North and South Wales, and the North East of England – which collectively have committed to creating up to 15,000 jobs and attracting at least £28.2 billion in private investment. Government officials, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, highlighted the project’s role in delivering good jobs, backing innovation, and ensuring AI benefits are felt across local communities and the wider UK economy.
The UK AI Growth Zones are designed to meet strict technical and delivery criteria, with progress tracked publicly via the AI Opportunities Action Plan dashboard. The initiative reinforces the UK’s position as Europe’s leading AI sector and underscores a commitment to combining technological advancement with economic renewal, high-skilled job creation, and sustainable community development.
