Manchester named UK's most 'AI-ready' city

Manchester – not Oxford or Cambridge – is the most AI-ready UK city outside of London, according to a report from AI software and analytics firm SAS.

The researchers looked at the number of AI-related companies in each city, the number of college courses in each city that had an AI component, and the number of jobs within a five-mile radius.

They also considered the number of AI-related events and hackathons, as well as the increase in Google searches for relevant AI solutions over the past year and the average Innovate UK grant, by company and location.

“AI-ready cities will lead the way in resilience, while meeting new standards of urban living, such as achieving sustainability goals, and even making services more accessible to people with disabilities,” said Glyn Townsend, Senior Director of Education Services at SAS for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Aces AI Cities Index 2024 Manchester was found to have the most AI-related companies, as well as the most hackathons and the most AI-related jobs within a five-mile radius.

Meanwhile, Cambridge and Oxford fell to ninth and sixteenth place respectively.

Salford in Greater Manchester saw the biggest improvement in AI readiness, rising 68 places to third. In total, more than £100 million has been awarded to Salford businesses by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.

Truro comes bottom of the list of AI-ready cities, followed by Newry and Peterborough, despite its proximity to Cambridge.

SAS also looked at the AI readiness of all London boroughs, and found that Camden, home to University College London (UCL) and the University of London, topped the list, beating out boroughs like Westminster, Southwark and Hackney. Kensington and Chelsea, which came in last in 2023, moved up to 18th, while Bexley came in last.

The report highlights the importance of looking outside the obvious places to maximise the chances of recruiting qualified staff.

“With 80% of UK businesses struggling to recruit candidates with the right skills, without the right tech talent, businesses face the challenge of remaining competitive in an increasingly tech-driven world,” Townsend warned.

“And if they then cluster in regions and cities with talent, it risks deepening regional inequalities. All cities must be ready to play their part: filling the gaps in digital and data literacy, getting support to demand investment and, ultimately, helping to drive the economy of tomorrow.”

Manchester has seen a number of AI innovations and initiatives over the past year, including a partnership between Manchester United and Manchester Metropolitan University aimed at improving the performance of their teams by analysing what improvements can be made to assist the team’s coaches.

It was recently named the fastest growing tech hub in the north of England, after companies in the region raised more than half a billion pounds in funding in 2022.

According to government figures, the city is home to more than 60,000 tech workers in over 1,600 startups and scaleups.