More than 3,400 jobs and billions of pounds of private investment are set to flow into Lanarkshire after the UK government named the region as Scotland’s first AI Growth Zone, a flagship initiative under its Modern Industrial Strategy.
The Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone, announced on 29 January, will be delivered by Scottish data centre operator DataVita at its Airdrie site, in partnership with AI cloud specialist CoreWeave. The project is expected to generate more than 3,400 jobs over the coming years, including around 800 high-value roles focused on artificial intelligence, data and digital infrastructure.
These roles will range from AI researchers and software engineers to permanent operational staff running and maintaining advanced data centres. The remaining jobs will be created during the construction phase, as work begins on new data centres, supporting infrastructure, a renewables park and associated facilities.
Alongside job creation, the project has secured £8.2 billion in private investment, making it one of the largest AI-linked infrastructure commitments announced in the UK to date. A further £540 million community fund will be generated over the next 15 years as data centre capacity comes online, providing targeted support to help tackle cost-of-living pressures in the local area.
The fund will back a wide range of initiatives, including skills and training programmes, apprenticeships, after-school coding clubs, and support for local charities and foodbanks. DataVita’s parent company, HFD Group, will also contribute an additional £1 million per year to local community organisations.
The Growth Zone will deliver at least 50 apprenticeships, helping to build a pipeline of Scottish AI talent, while strengthening collaboration between industry, universities and training providers. Ministers said the scheme will ensure local people have access to the skills needed for emerging AI-driven careers.
The announcement marks further progress on the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, with ministers saying more than 75 per cent of its commitments have already been delivered. In total, 38 of the plan’s 50 actions have been met within a year, supported by a new public dashboard tracking progress.
Over the past 12 months, the government has increased national AI computing capacity tenfold and launched a major skills drive, delivering more than one million free AI training courses. AI is already being deployed across public services, with around a third of NHS chest X-rays now AI-enabled, fraud detection times cut by 80 per cent, and new AI planning tools set to be rolled out to all councils by spring 2026.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said the Lanarkshire project showed how AI investment could directly benefit working people.
“Getting on in life should not mean travelling miles from your community for work while struggling to pay the bills at home,” he said. “By bringing billions of pounds of investment into Lanarkshire, we are creating good, well-paid jobs and funding support that directly helps families with the cost of living.”
Technology secretary Liz Kendall said the Growth Zone would ensure the benefits of AI are felt locally. “From thousands of new jobs and billions in investment to direct community support, this is how AI can deliver real change for people across Scotland,” she said.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves added that AI Growth Zones were central to driving regional growth and unlocking private investment, while Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill said the project would write “the next chapter” in North Lanarkshire’s industrial history.
DataVita managing director Danny Quinn said Scotland now had “everything AI needs; talent, green energy and infrastructure”, while CoreWeave’s international managing director Ben Richardson described the site as a shift from “AI ambition into AI in production”.
When complete, the Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone will be among the most advanced AI sites globally, with plans for more than 500MW of on-site power generation over the next four years. Energy will be drawn from on-site renewables, and excess heat from cooling systems is expected to be reused, with proposals to supply nearby University Hospital Monklands, Scotland’s first fully digital, net zero hospital.
Lanarkshire joins four other AI Growth Zones announced over the past year – in Oxfordshire, North Wales, South Wales and the North East of England. Together, these zones are expected to create up to 15,000 jobs and attract at least £28.2 billion in private investment, cementing the UK’s position as Europe’s leading AI economy.
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Lanarkshire named latest AI Growth Zone with 3,400 jobs and £8.2bn investment boost
