The event was organised to strengthen collaboration between the UK and French AI ecosystems, bringing together key stakeholders from industry, academia, and government.
The reception included a session focused on AI and sustainability alongside the UK Minister for AI, Feryal Clark, and further senior officials from the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology were also in attendance. These representations underscore the UK's commitment to positioning itself as a global leader in responsible AI innovation.
Isambard-AI is one of the world's most advanced AI supercomputers and will be the UK’s fastest when it launches later this year. The rapid build has taken an innovative approach to sustainability, which was of key interest to the session, including how waste hot water from the facility can be repurposed to heat local homes and businesses.
Built in a climate-controlled modular data centre being fully installed over the winter of 2024, phase one of Isambard-AI is already up and running. Current AI projects include understanding what role the inflammation of blood vessels plays in heart disease, using camera tracking to determine the health of livestock on farms and producing groundbreaking new vaccines.
Isambard-AI is officially the most sustainable supercomputer in the UK and one of the greenest in the world, last ranking in the top two in the Green500 list. It has been built in a low-carbon, modular data centre, and there is significant potential to recycle the waste heat output for nearby infrastructure.
Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith said: "The University of Bristol is proud to support the UK Government at key events such as this. We have an ambitious AI vision with Isambard-AI.
It's exciting to innovate the next generation of supercomputers which are being built using both quicker and greener methods. We've consciously made choices that are sympathetic to sustainability, given the environmental impact supercomputers can have."
In addition to attending the reception, Prof. McIntosh-Smith attended the AI, Science, and Society Conference, a key event ahead of the AI Summit in Paris. The conference explored the broader societal impacts of AI, providing further opportunities to engage with thought leaders shaping the future of AI-driven research and policy.
The University’s participation in these events highlights the UK's collaborative approach to AI development and the critical role that energy-efficient supercomputing plays in ensuring a sustainable digital future.
From summer 2025, users will also be able to access Isambard-AI phase 2 while the system is being tested, which has an additional 5,280 Nvidia Grace Hopper (GH200) superchips.
Researchers and startups are now invited to express interest in accessing Isambard-AI to run large-scale projects. Read more about expressing interest in Isambard-AI.