SAS expands UK AI push with GBP £20 million Glasgow plan

SAS is expanding its artificial intelligence investment in the UK, including more than £20 million for its research and development centre in Glasgow.

It is also a founding partner in the UK government's AI skills programme, which aims to provide 10 million workers with free training in practical AI workplace skills by 2030.

The package combines spending on research, education and software access. Alongside the Glasgow investment, SAS is widening access to its AI tools through universities, apprenticeships and external organisations.

Under the government scheme, adults across the UK can take free courses listed on the AI Skills Hub. Some of those courses have been assessed against Skills England's benchmark for AI foundation skills at work, and learners who complete them receive a virtual badge.

SAS is one of the programme's founding partners, alongside Accenture, Amazon, Barclays, BT, Google, IBM, Intuit, Microsoft, Sage and Salesforce. Other participating organisations and public bodies include the British Chambers of Commerce, Cisco, Cognizant, the Confederation of British Industry, the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Glasgow expansion

SAS's Glasgow research and development centre is one of its three global R&D sites, alongside locations in the US and India. The Glasgow team has more than doubled in size since 2021, and is expected to reach 250 roles in 2026.

The site has worked on AI tools used in areas including fraud, risk, compliance, customer intelligence and data management. The latest spending commitment adds to earlier investment in the centre as the UK looks to strengthen domestic AI development and attract private sector funding.

SAS is also extending access to its academic software and learning resources to apprentices across the UK through its SAS Skill Builder for Students programme. Delivered with the UK government and industry partners, the initiative is designed to give apprentices experience with the data, analytics and AI tools used by employers.

University links

SAS software is taught at 120 universities across the UK. Of those, 65 institutions, including all Russell Group universities, have dedicated access for research and teaching.

Those links include projects in healthcare and public interest research. SAS is involved in the MONARCH study, a partnership between Northumbria University and service charity partners that brings together anonymised data to better understand the needs of military personnel, veterans and their families.

Its software is also being used in PITHIA.ai to help identify kidneys suitable for transplant. Other academic partnerships include work with the University of Cambridge's Maxwell Centre and the University of Edinburgh's Bayes Centre.

Beyond mainstream higher education, SAS has partnered with the Commonwealth AI Consortium through a donation of £8 million in training, software access and computing capacity. The support is intended to reach 10,000 higher education students and educators.

The company also highlighted its Future Analysts programme with The Talent Foundry, which focuses on young people in disadvantaged areas, and its SAS STEP reskilling initiative in the UK and Ireland.

Glyn Townsend, Senior Director of Education Services, SAS EMEA, said: "We are at a critical juncture in upskilling the current workforce in AI, with many more generations in work, due to extended life expectancy and working age increase, whilst the technological advancements we are seeing are happening at unprecedented speed. These skills should be treated like other vital infrastructure, such as roads, schools and hospitals. SAS is therefore fully committed to making foundational educational content in data and AI available for free - and not just to the existing workforce, but also university students and apprentices.

"We already partner with more than 60 academic institutions across the UK and will also be offering apprentices across the UK free access to our academic software and learning resources through SAS Skill Builder for Students - something I'm particularly excited about having joined the technology sector as a Modern Apprentice 30 years ago. SAS is already a critical partner for AI transformation across major government departments, as well as a number of the government's key growth areas, including health and life sciences, energy and financial services."

Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said: "We're on a mission to make sure British workers have the skills and confidence to thrive in the AI era.

"This announcement from SAS is welcome. It will help open up access to AI software and create new opportunities for communities across the country, especially in Glasgow - a city with a proud industrial heritage now at the forefront of the technological revolution.

"It's yet more evidence that our world-leading AI sector continues to attract investment - the kind that fuels growth and supports the UK's national renewal."