London Tech Week 2025: UK Signals Its AI Intent

London Tech Week 2025 returned with a sense of renewed momentum, offering a powerful platform for political and industry leaders to signal their ambitions for the UK’s future as a global tech powerhouse — particularly in artificial intelligence (AI).

The headline moment came as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer took to the stage to unveil more than £1 billion in new public investment aimed at scaling the UK’s AI capabilities and digital infrastructure. His appearance was largely interpreted as a statement of intent: the UK is serious about leading in AI.

Starmer was joined by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who described the UK as “the world’s largest AI ecosystem without its own infrastructure”. Huang’s presence, alongside news of a strengthened partnership with the UK’s research sector, added weight to the government’s pledges.

Among the key announcements were a 20-fold increase in national compute capacity, £187 million earmarked for AI-related education and skills development, and the creation of the UK Sovereign AI Industry Forum — a new public-private collaboration chaired by NVIDIA. Together, these initiatives aim to attract greater private investment, drive innovation, and support skills, jobs and national security.

The scale of the event itself reflected growing global interest in UK tech, with more than 30,000 attendees from 125 countries. Executives from Microsoft, Google DeepMind, Atomico and others lent further credibility to the week’s central message: the UK wants to shape the future of AI, not simply keep pace with it.

However, while the tone was optimistic, some noted the investment still lags behind global competitors. In the US, annualised spending on new data centres has reached $31.5 billion — far exceeding the UK’s current commitments. Meanwhile, the £187 million allocated to education, when spread across secondary school students, amounts to less than £50 per pupil — a figure critics say risks falling short of what’s needed to meaningfully equip the next generation with AI-related skills.

Still, London Tech Week made one thing clear: with the right mix of funding, infrastructure, skills development and regulatory clarity, the UK is positioning itself as a serious contender in the global AI race. Whether this early ambition translates into long-term leadership remains to be seen — but the direction of travel is set.