The Alan Turing Institute is the United Kingdom's national institute for data science and artificial intelligence, founded in 2015 and largely funded by the UK Government. It is named after Alan Turing, the British mathematician and computing pioneer. Since 2025, the institute focuses on defense and national security, following demands by the UK Government.
The institute was established following a letter from the Council for Science and Technology (CST) to the UK prime minister on 7 June 2013, describing the "Age of Algorithms". The letter argued that the government, working with universities and industry, should create a national centre to promote advanced research and translational work in algorithms and the application of data science. The Alan Turing Institute fits into a complex organisational landscape that includes the Open Data Institute, the Digital Catapult, and infrastructure investments. Its role is to provide expertise and fundamental research into data science and artificial intelligence needed to solve real-world problems.
History
In 2015, Lloyd's Register Foundation became the institute's first strategic partner, providing a grant of £10 million over five years to support research into engineering applications of big data. In March 2023, the institute announced a new strategy, dubbed "Turing 2.0", focusing on health, the environment, and national security. Following the release of the strategy, an all-male team of four senior academics was hired to deliver on the new strategy, leading to a letter signed by 180 staff members expressing serious concerns about the institute's approach to diversity and inclusion.
In October 2024, the institute started a redundancy consultation process, affecting around 140 of the 440 staff members. In December 2024, 93 employees sent a letter to the board expressing no confidence in the executive leadership, citing concerns about gender diversity, the redundancy round, and the institute's sense of direction. The letter outlined a lack of accountability and transparency, poor decision making, and a catastrophic decline in trust in leadership, leading to rising stress and burnout among employees. An internal review reportedly mirrored these conclusions.
On 4 July 2025, technology secretary Peter Kyle demanded a further overhaul, calling for a focus on defence and national security and a change of leadership. Around that time, the institute was undergoing restructuring with about 50 staff notified they were at risk of redundancy. A letter in August 2025 from Kyle repeated the call for leadership change and warned that long-term funding could be reviewed in 2026. Staff also raised concerns in a whistleblowing complaint to the Charity Commission, and the BBC reported on an internal response from Chair Doug Gurr and CEO Jean Innes that whistleblowers viewed as "performative". On 4 September 2025, the institute announced that Innes would step down as CEO. In an interview with the BBC on 28 October 2025, Gurr claimed the whistleblower complaints had been "independently investigated", but did not name the third party. In March 2026, the Charity Commission issued formal regulatory advice and guidance to the trustees and closed the case without a statutory inquiry.
In February 2026, it was announced that George Williamson, head of His Majesty's Government Communications Centre, would become the new chief executive from May 2026, deepening the shift towards defence and national security. On 1 April 2026, the institute announced that Doug Gurr had resigned to become chair of the Competition and Markets Authority, with former co-deputy chair Vanessa Lawrence filling the role in the interim. In April 2026, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) conducted a review finding that the institute was underperforming in strategy and value for money, with the reviewer stating it needed to be "focused, effective and aligned to national need".
Organisation
The Alan Turing Institute is an independent private-sector legal entity, operating not-for-profit and as a charity. It is a joint venture among the University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oxford, University College London (UCL), and the University of Warwick, selected on the basis of international peer review. In 2018, eight additional university partners joined: Queen Mary University of London, University of Leeds, University of Manchester, University of Newcastle, University of Southampton, University of Birmingham, University of Exeter, and University of Bristol.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the primary funder, is also a member of the joint venture. The primary responsibility for establishing the institute was assigned to the EPSRC, with continuing engagement from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Government Office for Science. In 2024 there were 440 staff members, and as of 2025, "over 400 researchers collaborate[d] at the Turing", without information on how many were actually employed.
Leadership
Howard Covington served as chair from 2015 to 2022. The inaugural Director from 2015 was Andrew Blake, a scientist. Alan Wilson became CEO and Andrew Blake was research director. Between 2018 and 2023, the Director and CEO was Sir Adrian Smith. Doug Gurr was appointed as chair in 2022 and stepped down in April 2026. Jean Innes was CEO between 2023 and 2025. Mark Girolami served as interim, and George Williamson was expected to start in May 2026.
Strategic Partners Board
As of 2025, Turing strategic partners included Accenture (since 2017), the DSO National Laboratories, and the Gates Foundation, with research on "Trustworthy Digital Infrastructure". These partnerships support the institute's mission to apply data science and AI to real-world challenges across sectors.
AI UK and Other Activities
The Alan Turing Institute has since 2021 run an annual event called AI UK, described as a national showcase of data science and artificial intelligence. The organisation's intranet is called Mathison, which was Alan Turing's middle name. The institute also engages in research across machine learning, deep learning, and other areas of generative AI, collaborating with academic and industry partners to advance the field.