Over the past decade, the UK has experienced a tremendous rise in the number of companies working on Artificial Intelligence (AI), a new report from growth platform Tech Nation suggests.
According to the paper, the number of AI companies has surged 600 percent in the last decade, from 180 in 2011 to more than 1,300 today.
Of the ten largest UK AI firms, the capital is home to roughly half, with the remainder being scattered across the country. Cambridge and Edinburgh are perceived as additional “AI hubs”.
Tech Nation described AI as “an important engine of growth”, with the collective value sitting at roughly $46.3 billion, up from just $1.6 billion a decade ago. The AI industry has a turnover of almost $2 billion and employs some 30,000 people.
Finally, venture capital investment into these companies spiked from $120 million in 2010, to $3.4 billion in 2020.
Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden did not hide his satisfaction with the results and announced further help from the government.
“These fantastic figures show the UK is rapidly becoming an AI superpower, with government support playing a critical role,” he said.
“We have committed £1 billion through our AI Sector Deal to drive even more growth, create new jobs and use the power of tech to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.”
