Rene Haas, chief executive of the Cambridge-based chip designer Arm Holdings, has claimed that artificial intelligence will help find a cure for cancer "within our lifetimes", arguing that modelling how DNA markers are affected by cancer is currently too complex for both humans and existing AI systems, but that increasingly sophisticated computers will eventually solve it. The claim matters because Arm is a hugely influential force in the global chip industry, and Haas's remarks reflect growing confidence among tech executives that AI-driven modelling could accelerate breakthroughs in medicine, building on existing uses such as AI-powered tools already speeding up NHS lung cancer diagnoses.

Haas, who left the board of AstraZeneca in April, made the comments to the BBC and also predicted that AI would enable widespread use of humanoid robots capable of learning and adapting to new tasks within five years, though he said chip shortages were currently holding back progress. Arm, listed in New York but headquartered in Cambridge, supplies chip designs to roughly 500 customers worldwide including Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm and Nvidia, employs more than 7,000 people, and is valued at $269bn (£199bn), making it Britain's biggest technology company. Haas, who became Arm's chief executive in 2022, has also recently been named head of SoftBank's international business and stands to become a billionaire under a pay scheme tied to turning Arm into a trillion-dollar company.