The Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan must prove it can deliver its goals
Businesses need the government to prove their AI Opportunities Action Plan can deliver on its goals of improved economic growth, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Nick Winters, partner and head of technology at the firm, said: “The government recently launched its AI Opportunities Action Plan, suggesting that they believe ramping up AI adoption across the UK will boost economic growth. The plan includes support for businesses wishing to adopt AI.”
He added: “However there is little detail in the Action Plan on how this will be achieved. Considering the significant investment needed in AI infrastructure at a time the UK’s economy is struggling, businesses will need reassurance that taking the plunge into the world of AI will pay off for them and the economy.”
Nick said: “There are ambitious recommendations in the Action Plan for the public sector to partner with the private sector to implement AI adoption. The newly created UK Sovereign AI research unit will have a mandate to:
- Support entrepreneurs to create new companies, back start-ups to scale, and partner with existing leading AI companies to maximise the benefits to businesses.
- ‘Remove barriers’ and ‘make deals’ to facilitate growth of the next big globally competitive AI champions from within the UK.
- Embrace early tolerance for scientific and technical risk by joining funding rounds or providing advanced market commitments to credible and ambitious start-ups.
- Provide direct investment into promising start-ups and joint ventures with commercial partners.”
Nick said: “Currently, Britain is the third largest AI market in the world and London’s AI start-ups raised a record breaking £3.5bn in venture capital funding in 2024, a 50% increase from 2023, leaving London as the leading European city for AI fund raising, behind only New York and Silicon Valley in the rest of the world.”
He added: “However, the UK’s AI investment is currently dwarfed almost 20 times by the level of investment in the US, where large AI providers are spending billions. The US tech giants will always be able to outspend the UK, so the government will need to focus their efforts to places where they can make the most impact.”