AI startup boss warns UK cannot become ‘dependent’ on overseas tech
UK AI infrastructure company Valarian has raised $50m (£37m) in fresh funding as its boss said countries should focus on controlling AI infrastructure rather than competing to build their own frontier models.
The Series A round, led by Silicon Valley investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA), takes the London firm’s total funding to $70m and marks the US venture capital firm’s first defence and dual-use investment in Europe.
The investment comes just days after MPs warned that Britain risked falling behind in the race for sovereign AI capabilities without a clearer strategy to reduce reliance on overseas technology.
Valarian chief executive Max Buchan told City PM that governments needed to ensure they controlled the environments where AI operated, rather than becoming tied to individual models.
“The AI model is interchangeable,” Buchan said. “The sovereign operating environment remains constant.”
He argued that as AI models become increasingly commoditised, the UK’s long-term advantage would come from retaining control over its data and security.
“The lasting strategic advantage isn’t owning every model,” he said. “It’s controlling the environment intelligence operates inside.”
Valarian’s platform allows government departments and defence organisations to deploy multiple AI models while keeping sensitive data or identity controls inside their own infrastructure.
AI minister Kanishka Narayan welcomed the investment, saying Britain must continue building sovereign AI capabilities as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important to both economic growth and national security.
“Today, AI is the defining currency of both hard and soft power,” Narayan said. “Investments like these are helping to keep the UK at the frontier of AI development.”
Elsewhere, defence procurement minister Luke Pollard described the funding as “a strong vote of confidence” in Britain’s defence tech sector.
Government pushes for sovereign AI
The funding comes as Westminster places growing emphasis on sovereign AI, following warnings from MPs last week that Britain risks becoming overly reliant on overseas tech providers for critical AI infrastructure.
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee just last week urged ministers to set out a clearer strategy, warning access to key technologies could otherwise be restricted “at the whim” of foreign partners.
New Enterprise Associates partner Mustafa Neemuchwala said the investment reflected a broader shift in the AI market, arguing the key question was no longer which model would dominate, but “who controls the environment intelligence operates inside”.
Meanwhile, Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said geopolitical tensions and growing unease over the dominance of US technology giants had pushed sovereign AI higher up the government’s agenda.
“There are huge questions around the sensitive data associated with critical infrastructure and defence,” she told City PM. “If the UK is going to thrive in the AI era, it needs to stand on its own feet.”
However, Dario Maisto, principal analyst for digital sovereignty at Forrester, cautioned that software alone would not deliver true sovereignty. While Valarian’s platform strengthens governance and control over AI workloads, he said sovereignty ultimately depended “on the platform it sits on”.