UK financial regulator partners with Nvidia in AI 'sandbox'
LONDON, June 9 - Financial firms in Britain will be able to test artificial intelligence tools later this year in a regulatory "sandbox" launched on Monday by the country's financial watchdog, part of a broader government strategy to support innovation and economic growth.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has partnered with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab to provide access to advanced computing power and bespoke AI software through what it calls a "Supercharged Sandbox."
A sandbox refers to a controlled environment where companies can test new ideas such as products, services or technologies.
The programme is intended to help firms in the early stages of exploring AI, offering access to technical expertise, better datasets and regulatory support, the FCA said. It is open to all financial services companies experimenting with AI.
"This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so," Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, information and intelligence officer, said. "We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth."
Finance minister Rachel Reeves has urged Britain's regulators to remove barriers to economic growth, describing it as an "absolute top priority" for the government.
In April, she said she was pleased with how the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, part of the Bank of England, were responding to her call to cut red tape.
Nvidia said the initiative would allow firms to explore AI-powered innovations in a secure environment, using its accelerated computing platform.
"AI is fundamentally reshaping the financial sector," said Jochen Papenbrock, EMEA head of financial technology at Nvidia, citing improvements in data analysis, automation and risk management.
He added that the sandbox will provide firms with a "secure environment to explore AI innovations using Nvidia's full-stack accelerated computing platform, supporting industry-wide growth and efficiency."
The testing is set to begin in October.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
14 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Alphawave agrees £1.8bn takeover by America's Qualcomm
Qualcomm is offering to pay 183p per share in cash for London-listed Alphawave, which is a near-96% premium to its closing price before the takeover interest was revealed. But Qualcomm has also put forward an alternative share offer to Alphawave investors, which would see them receive Qualcomm stock instead of cash. The £1.8 billion price is less than half the £3.1 billion value at which Toronto-headquartered Alphawave floated when it listed just over four years ago. It also sees the London market lose yet another listing after a recent flurry of firms defecting from the City for rival exchanges overseas and a number of firms being bought out. Tony Pialis, president and chief executive of Alphawave, said: 'Qualcomm's acquisition of Alphawave represents a significant milestone for us and an opportunity for our business to join forces with a respected industry leader and drive value to our customers. 'Together, we will unlock new opportunities for growth, drive innovation, and create a leading player in artificial intelligence (AI) compute and connectivity solutions.' For Qualcomm, the acquisition is seen boosting its capabilities in AI infrastructure by expanding its intellectual property portfolio in data centre and 5G networking. As well as data centres, Alphawave technology is used in 5G infrastructure and autonomous vehicles. Cristiano Amon, president and chief executive of Qualcomm, said: 'The combined teams share the goal of building advanced technology solutions and enabling next-level connected computing performance across a wide array of high-growth areas, including data centre infrastructure.' The deal is expected to complete in the first three months of 2026. Alphawave, which listed in London in May 2021, has around 830 employees across operations in Canada, the UK, Europe and Korea.
Leader Live
16 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Cooper still in last-minute talks with Treasury over spending review
Rachel Reeves is expected to announce above-inflation increases in the policing budget when she sets out her spending plans for the next three years on Wednesday. But Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is yet to agree a final settlement with the Chancellor, with reports suggesting greater police spending will mean a squeeze on other areas of her department's budget. Downing Street is now understood to be involved in the talks, with Ms Cooper the last minister still to reach a deal with the Treasury. The spending review is expected to see funding increases for the NHS, schools and defence along with a number of infrastructure projects as the Chancellor shares out some £113 billion freed up by looser borrowing rules. But other areas could face cuts as she seeks to balance manifesto commitments with more recent pledges, such as a hike in defence spending, while meeting her fiscal rules that promise to match day-to-day spending with revenues. On Monday morning, technology minister Sir Chris Bryant insisted that the spending review would not see a return to austerity, telling Times Radio that period was 'over'. But he acknowledged that some parts of the budget would be 'much more stretched' and 'difficult'. One of those areas could be London, where Sir Sadiq Khan's office is concerned the spending review will include no new projects or funding for the capital. The mayor had been seeking extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and Bakerloo Underground line, along with powers to introduce a tourist levy and a substantial increase in funding for the Metropolitan Police, but his office now expects none of these will be approved. A source close to the Mayor said ministers 'must not return to the damaging, anti-London approach of the last government', adding this would harm both London's public services and 'jobs and growth across the country'. They said: 'Sadiq will always stand up for London and has been clear it would be unacceptable if there are no major infrastructure projects for London announced in the spending review and the Met doesn't get the funding it needs. 'We need backing for London as a global city that's pro-business, safe and well-connected.' For too long, communities across the country have been locked out of the investment they deserve. That's why on Wednesday, we announced funding worth £15.6bn, helping to drive cities, towns, and communities forward. — HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) June 6, 2025 Last week, Ms Reeves acknowledged she had been forced to turn down requests for funding for projects she would have wanted to back, in a sign of the behind-the-scenes wrangling over her spending review. The Department of Health is set to be the biggest winner, with the NHS expected to receive a boost of up to £30 billion at the expense of other public services. Meanwhile, day-to-day funding for schools is expected to increase by £4.5 billion by 2028-9 compared with the 2025-6 core budget, which was published in the spring statement. Elsewhere, the Government has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3% over the next parliament – a timetable which could stretch to 2034. Ms Reeves' plans will also include an £86 billion package for science and technology research and development.
The Sun
18 minutes ago
- The Sun
Amazon Prime members can claim 28 freebies and gifts worth more than £100
ANYONE with an Amazon Prime membership is eligible to claim nearly 30 freebies worth more than £100 this month. If you're already forking out the monthly fee for your Prime, then it makes sense to get your money's worth. 2 Some Amazon customers may be unaware that their membership also includes access to Prime Gaming. And that isn't the only perk Amazon offers with Prime membership. Free takeaway deliverers Users often forget that they can get free takeaway deliveries too. Your subscription entitles you to a year's worth of Deliveroo Plus Silver, which usually costs £3.49 per month - that works out at £41.88 for an entire year. At no additional cost, you can unlock free delivery on eligible orders over £15 from a range of great restaurants. UK-only, and long-distance orders not eligible. Service fees and terms apply. Grocery delivery From vegetables to loo roll and other cupboard essentials, your whole supermarket shop can be delivered to your door in two-hour slots. Customers can choose from Amazon Fresh, local Morrisons, Co-op or Iceland supermarkets. Note, this is only available in select UK postcodes and minimum spending applies. Cheaper music Users also save £1 a month on the full price of Amazon Music Unlimited with their Prime membership when you join via a desktop or mobile web browser. You can enjoy unlimited ad-free access to 100 million songs with unlimited skips, and download for offline listening. This service is only available in the UK. Read more Members can read as much as they want from more than a thousands books and magazines, comics and graphic novels, Kindle singles and more. With fiction, non-fiction, children's books and short works, you'll always find something to read - saving you pounds every time! This service is available in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Families can share benefits You can also share select Prime benefits and digital content such as Kindle books and Prime Video purchases with family members, at no additional cost. Prime benefits that can be shared include Prime Delivery & Shopping benefits, Prime Video (UK members only), Prime Reading and Amazon First Reads, Prime Gaming, and Amazon Photos. There is also a Prime member special offer on Amazon Kids+. Designed for kids ages 3-12 to safely learn, grow and explore, children enjoy access to kid-friendly ad-free books, videos, educational apps, and more. Parents control the experience through an easy-to-use parent dashboard. 2 Find out some more top perks here. With Prime Gaming, you can enjoy a lengthy list of free downloadable video games each month to keep forever. You'll want to snap up this month's selection though as titles are swapped out for new ones each month. New games This June, Prime members can claim a fresh lineup of games with new entries released every Thursday. Amazon's Chris Leggett told The Sun that Prime Gaming is offering several free titles throughout June. He added that the free titles will allow gamers to "control a party of relic hunters in a tale of destiny set in a conflict-torn world in Dark Envoy". The latter game – which normally retails at £24.99 – will be available from June 19. Other free games include Thief: Deadly Shadows (£7.49), Death Squared (£12.79) and Jupiter Hell (£19.49). Game on – from Death Squared to Jupiter Hell Here is the full list of games you can get for free this month June 12: Station to Station - £14.99 Death Squared - £12.79 June 19: Dark Envoy - £24.99 Fate: Undiscovered Realms - £5.79 June 26: Thief: Deadly Shadows - £7.49 Jupiter Hell - £19.49 Gallery of Things: Reveries - £9.99 To bag them, all you need to do is head over to the Amazon Prime Gaming website. At a collective value of more than £100, it's a deal you can't ignore. Cloud gaming service Prime subscribers can also play the below games via the Prime Gaming Luna channel this month. Luna is Amazon's cloud gaming service that works on the devices you already own, including Fire TV. You can play your favourite games instantly with no PC or gaming console required.
