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 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.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by David Holmes)
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