The UK government has committed more than £200 million to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence by British businesses and workers, in a package announced at the country's first AI Adoption Summit during London Tech Week on 8 June.
The measures were set out by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, who said the aim was to make the UK the fastest adopter of AI in the G7. The summit put the emphasis on adoption over invention, with the government arguing that the largest economic gains come from businesses using existing AI rather than building new models. It described the package as its largest coordinated effort on AI adoption so far.
What was announced
The support included:
- £100m to expand the Bridge AI scheme, which matches British firms with British AI developers and assurance support.
- £53m for AI adoption and innovation initiatives, including expanding the "Tech Towns" model beyond London.
- £4m to expand the Spärck AI Scholarships, funding up to 50 industry placements for university students.
- £5m per AI Growth Zone for local business adoption and upskilling.
- A new AI Economics Institute, chaired by the Nobel laureate economist Simon Johnson, to track AI's effect on jobs and growth.
The government said its AI Skills Boost programme had recorded more than 1.7 million completed AI skills courses, and set a target of giving 10 million UK workers core AI skills by 2030. More than 40 organisations, including BT, Rolls-Royce, Accenture, Microsoft and HSBC, signed agreements to support the effort, some sharing workforce data to help shape policy.
The economic case
The government cited a Boston Consulting Group estimate that AI adoption could add up to £1 trillion to the UK economy over the next decade. It has also pointed to OECD projections that AI could add up to £140 billion to annual UK output by 2035.
Separately, and announced alongside the adoption package at London Tech Week, the government set out a £1.1bn AI Hardware Plan covering compute and semiconductors, including £750m towards a national AI supercomputer due to be deployed by 2030.
What ministers said
Reeves said: "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."
Kendall 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."
Sources
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology / HM Treasury, Government to partner with tech companies, trade unions and industry leaders to boost AI adoption and equip workers with AI skills, GOV.UK, 8 June 2026
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves speech at the AI Adoption Summit, GOV.UK
- UK government pumps £200m into AI skills and adoption, Computer Weekly
- UK unveils £1.1 billion AI hardware investment, ITBrief