During London Tech Week, our CEO, Mike Capone, joined CNBC to talk about the UK’s position in the global AI landscape, and why this is a moment the country should not waste.
His message was simple. The UK already has many of the ingredients for leadership in AI. The question now is how fast it can move from innovation to scale.
The UK is already a major AI hub
There is a lot to be positive about. The UK is one of the largest centres for AI investment in the world – recent data puts British AI companies second only to the US for total AI investment, with London leading in Europe and among the top three AI hubs globally.
In short, the capability is here. The opportunity now is for the UK not only to invent breakthroughs, but to capture more of the value by scaling them at home.
The real gap is scaling at home
If the UK wants to keep more of the value created by its own innovation, two areas matter most.
1. Talent, at every stage
The UK needs a deliberate AI talent pipeline, from universities and research labs, into startups, scale ups, and large enterprises. That means attracting world class researchers and practitioners, and just as importantly, giving them compelling reasons to stay and build here.
Right now, there is a window of opportunity. If the UK shows up as a long-term, vibrant ecosystem for AI, more of that talent will choose to build and stay here.
2. An environment that supports scaling, not just invention
Companies will only invest, hire, and take calculated risks if they have confidence in the environment around them. That comes from regulation that is clear and innovation friendly, and from predictable, multi year support that says AI is a long term national priority, not a short term headline.
R&D and pilots are important. They are not enough on their own. The real test is whether AI moves into production, at scale, in real organisations.
Public and private partnership needs a next phase
The early signs are encouraging. There have been meaningful investments in infrastructure and R&D, and public private partnerships with major technology companies are starting to take shape.
The next phase should focus more on:
Talent initiatives that connect universities, startups, and enterprises
Skills programmes that support both specialists and generalists
Government acting as an early adopter through procurement of AI and data solutions
Incentives that reward adoption and scaling, not only experimentation
Public money that flows into real deployments can help emerging AI companies reach scale, prove impact, and build sustainable businesses in the UK.
Learning from Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is not successful by chance. It evolved over decades, through a combination of universities, capital, a culture of risk taking, and a strong mentoring and reinvestment loop. Founders stay in the ecosystem, back the next generation, and build again.
The UK does not need to copy this model in full to succeed. It can:
Emulate the best parts, close ties between universities and industry, a healthy venture and growth environment, and structured mentoring for founders
Build on its own strengths, a deep financial sector, strong research base, and a truly international outlook
There is room for more than one AI centre of gravity in the world.
Where Qlik fits in
At Qlik, we see every day that AI only works when it is grounded in trusted data.
Our customers in the UK and globally are using Qlik to:
Bring together fragmented data into governed, analytics ready foundations
Apply AI that is explainable and connected to real operational context
Move from experimental use cases to operational and productivity gains
As we invest in capabilities like agentic AI, open data architectures, and real time analytics, we are doing so with customers who want to apply these technologies in production, not just in proof of concept.
A moment to seize
Mike’s CNBC conversation highlighted the UK has capital, innovation, and momentum. With a sharper focus on talent, scaling, and adoption, it can turn those strengths into durable AI industries that create value at home.
From a strategy perspective, I am optimistic. The ingredients are here, and the decisions made now will shape how far, and how fast, the UK can go.
If you are a UK organisation looking at how to turn AI and data into real outcomes, we would be happy to continue the conversation.