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More than £200 million in government support to help
companies in Britain adopt AI paving the way for the UK to
become fastest AI adopting country in the G7
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Businesses such as Cisco and IBM aim tofacilitate
AI training, support job creation and provide
resources to assist SMEs to explore the technology
as part of a nationwide push to boost uptake
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Nobel Prize-winning economist Simon Johnson to lead institute
tracking how AI is changing jobs and growth, with businesses
sharing data and insights to help shape future policy
Thousands of workers and businesses across the UK are set
to benefit from a major new push to put AI to work -
backing companies to adopt the technology while equipping people
with the skills to use it.
At the first-ever AI Adoption Summit (Monday 8 June), government
is bringing together major tech companies,
trade unions and industry leaders to drive the adoption
of AI in ways that boost growth while creating new opportunities
for workers and supporting them with new skills. Alongside this,
more than £200 million of government investment -
backed by partnerships with industry and trade unions - will help
turn that approach into action, supporting skills, opening
up routes into AI careers for young people, and helping
businesses put AI into practice.
Many businesses and individuals want to use AI
but don't yet have the tools, support or
confidence to do so holding back productivity and growth. Today
the government is unveiling a first-of-its-kind partnership on AI
adoption - working with businesses, trade unions and workers to
spread adoption across our economy, give workers they skills they
need to thrive in the AI-era, while ensuring workers can have a
say over how AI is implemented in their workforce.
To help turn that ambition into action, a new package of support
backed up £200 million will make it easier for businesses to
test, adopt and scale AI. Measures announced today
include:
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Expanding our Bridge AI' scheme with £100m to match British
companies with British AI, along with support on skills,
AI assurance and practical help so business know
how to use AI to secure the strongest growth potential,
boosting AI adoption in their businesses.
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A further £53 million will be ringfenced for new initiatives
to boost AI adoption and innovation, including the expansion
of our Tech Town programme, which Barnsley has
pioneered.
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This will also include a £4 million expansion to
the Spärck AI Scholarships programme, to double
down on our incredible talent pipeline. The expansion will
sponsor up to 50 industry placements for top university
scholars to get vital, hands-on experience in key UK
companies. Those already signed up to provide placements
include the likes of BT and Universal Music
Group.
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Investing £5m in each of our AI Growth Zones to support local
businesses to adopt AI and upskill the local
workforce
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Industry-led AI Adoption
Plans written by expert AI Champions to help sectors
like advanced manufacturing and financial services put AI
into practice - testing what works and sharing lessons so
others can follow.
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New AI Advisory Growth Labs will be set up for
businesses, regulators and experts to work together
to trial AI in working environments - starting with legal
services - and giving firms clear, practical information on
how to responsibly adopt AI while meeting
regulations.
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Nobel Prize-winning economist Simon Johnson will chair
the AI Economics
Institute, tracking how AI is changing jobs and
growth.
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The government has signed a joint statement with Google,
Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI committing to close
collaboration with the UK government and frontier AI labs in
support of evidence-based policymaking and responsible AI
development.
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More than 30 major companies, like BT, Rolls Royce, Accenture
and EDF, have signed up to share data and insights on
how they're using AI in the workplace such as how
they are supporting staff and adapting the way they work.
This will help shape future policy and
share expertise with small businesses looking to
adopt the technology.
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A new prize to
recognise and promote UK organisations that help workers
adapt to AI or create new job opportunities by responsibly
using AI which will also be led by Simon Johnson.
This comes as government and industry's AI Skills Boost programme
hits over 1.7 million AI skills courses completed and nine
companies including Cisco, IBM and Deloitte plan to
support the expansion of training to employers, contributing to
job creation and helping smaller businesses adopt
the technology. Trade organisations are also launching their own
efforts to share what works on AI adoption,
and highlight what needs fixing.
Together, these commitments form a coordinated national push to
accelerate uptake across the key sectors of the economy earmarked
for growth under the Industrial Strategy giving businesses the
tools and confidence to adopt AI, and ensuring people have the
skills to benefit.
Technology Secretary said:
AI is the defining technology of our lifetime, and it has the
power to transform lives for the better but only if everyone gets
a stake in it.
That is why we are bringing together businesses, trade unions and
workers in a shared mission to make sure no one is left
behind.
By giving workers the skills they need, opening up opportunities
for young people, and backing businesses of every size to adopt
this technology, we can ensure AI delivers for everyone in every
part of Britain.
Chancellor of the Exchequer said:
Britain's future will be shaped by the choices we make now. Our
economic plan is the right one, and AI and innovation is one of
my three big choices to grow our economy.
Today we are going further and faster to drive AI adoption, give
workers and businesses the tools and skills they need, and
harness AI to deliver secure, resilient growth across the
country.
With the public and private sector working in lockstep it will
help ensure people and companies have what they need
to benefit from AI. By combining investment in skills
and practical support for AI adoption, the UK is creating the
conditions to drive growth, better jobs and opportunity
across the country.
Notes to editors
Pioneering firms and major organisations are already leading the
way on AI adoption here in the UK, including:
- Accenture has reached more than one million people across the
UK through its Regenerative AI initiative, helping individuals -
particularly those from historically underserved backgrounds -
access the tools they need to get online, and build their digital
and AI skills
- Multiverse opening a new tech hub in Edinburgh, and creating
200 new jobs across the UK, as they further step up their work
supporting employers to adopt AI by boosting their workers' AI
skills
- Reflection, the US-based open source AI lab founded
by former Google DeepMind researchers Misha Laskin and Ioannis
Antonogou, is expanding its UK footprint with plans to hire more
than 100 highly-skilled employees within the next 12
months, growing to over 1,000 roles within three years.
Reflection's decision to scale significantly in the UK reflects
the country's world-class AI research talent pool and position as
a leading global destination for frontier technology investment
and development.
- Perplexity is launching The Billion Pound Build, a
UK edition of its Computer-native startup competition.
Perplexity will award up to £1 million in Perplexity Computer
credits across up to three UK winning teams, competing to build a
company with a credible path to £1 billion valuation.
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Synthesia has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
DSIT, committing to support DSIT's ambitions
on upskilling the UK workforce across industry, the public
sector and education in the practical use of AI.
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ElevenLabs has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
DSIT, building on the existing research
partnership with AISI, and committing to
cooperate across public services, talent and
upskilling opportunities.
- SAS publishing its 2026 AI Cities index, showing how UK
cities are adopting AI and where more can still be done with
Manchester topping the tables, followed by Bristol and
Glasgow
- The CBI, together with Oliver Wyman, a Marsh Business, is
leading the Accelerating AI Adoption Taskforce. It brings
together senior business leaders, AI
experts, academics and government to develop practical
recommendations for accelerating AI adoption at scale.
- UK trade
associations convened by techUK including
ABPI, ADS, Creative UK, Energy UK, ICAEW, Make UK,
and TheCityUK are forming a new coalition to share best
practice, highlight barriers to uptake, and drive responsible AI
adoption across the economy.
- Boston Consulting Group publishing a new report showing that,
done right, AI adoption could add up to £1 trillion to the UK
economy over the next ten years.
- German AI unicorn n8n will expand its investment into
the UK by delivering up to
200 high-skilled jobs over the next three
years, a strong endorsement of the UK's AI talent
ecosystem.
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Cisco has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
DSIT, to explore ways to further support the
AI Skills Boost, Barnsley Tech Town,
and TechFirst programmes.
- IBM expanding its SkillsBuild programme with new,
free AI learning courses, supporting the government's mission
give 10 million UK workers key AI skills by 2030.
- eBay is putting AI adoption at the heart of local communities
this year, expanding its virtual and in-person training for
business sellers to help them start, grow and innovate
online. It will also pilot place-based AI training and peer-led
learning to support Barnsley Tech Town.
- Deloitte and Nvidia are launching Adopt 100', a new programme
designed to help businesses unlock the full potential of AI by
matching Deloitte's clients to curated AI
solutions.
The AI Champion's AI Adoption
Plans, and the government's
response to them, can be viewed on GOV.UK.
The Financial Services AI Adoption Plan will be published in
due course.
The businesses newly signed up to support
the the Spärck AI Scholarships programme
are BT, HSBC, LSEG, National Grid, Octopus Energy, WPP, and
Universal Music Group. They join
existing Anchor partners AISI, Beamery, CausaLens,
Darktrace, Faculty, Flok, i.AI, PolyAI,
and Quantexa
Together with BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, we are also
launching the AI
Assurance Stakeholder Consortium. AI assurance -
essentially, how we measure, evaluate and
communicate the trustworthiness of AI systems - is a strong and
growing market for the UK, with the potential to reach £18.8
billion Gross Value Added by 2035. The Consortium will develop
guidance and best practice to support the sector's development
and help deliver AI people can trust.
Organisations can apply to the Pro-Worker AI
Exposition Prize.
Here is a list of organisations that
signed the AI Adoption Insights
agreement:
