Lanarkshire named latest AI Growth Zone and set to bring more than 3,400 jobs

The UK government has announced Lanarkshire as the latest AI Growth Zone, led by DataVita with support from CoreWeave, and the proposal is expected to create more than 3,400 jobs and a community fund of up to £543 million over 15 years.

The UK government has named Lanarkshire as the latest AI Growth Zone in an announcement dated 29 January. The project is led by Scottish data centre company DataVita in partnership with cloud firm CoreWeave and centres on a site near Airdrie. The proposal is described as bringing a mix of construction roles, operational technology jobs and apprenticeships while also supporting local community programmes. The announcement is presented as part of progress on the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan. Key facts: - The project is expected to deliver more than 3,400 jobs over the coming years, including 50 apprenticeships and around 800 roles described as higher-skilled positions such as researchers, coders and data centre staff. - The proposal is said to be backed by around £8.2 billion in private investment linked to the development of the site. - A community fund has been announced that is intended to provide up to £543 million for local programmes over 15 years, and DataVita’s parent company HFD Group has committed a further £1 million per year to local charities and groups. - DataVita plans to generate more than 500MW of on-site power within the next four years, with on-site renewables and plans to explore reuse of excess heat for nearby uses. - CoreWeave has described a £1.5 billion investment alongside DataVita and a wider UK project commitment of about £2.5 billion, including deployment of NVIDIA GPUs. - Growth Zone status is conditional on delivery against agreed milestones and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Summary: The designation is presented as bringing jobs, apprenticeships, private investment and a substantial community fund to North Lanarkshire while linking the site to broader plans on skills and public service applications of AI. Undetermined at this time.