Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Wales: An Overview of the Tech Landscape

The industry in Wales and the UK: A snapshot 

The UK boasts one of the world's largest AI sectors, valued at over $21 billion in 2023.  

As it stands, Wales’ share of this burgeoning industry is relatively small. Around 1% of the UK’s AI activity is in Wales, while 76% of AI companies are concentrated within the ‘Golden Triangle’ area of London and the South East of England.  

Many of us have marvelled at the speed of growth in AI over the last few years and there are estimates the industry in the UK will grow to over $1tn by 2035. 

Wales is already home to around 3,600 tech companies (not necessarily AI-focused), employing more than 45,000 people and responsible for turnover of more than £1bn. With the speed we've seen AI being integrated into existing technologies, we could reasonably expect this established tech industry to quickly become much more active in AI. In fact, Wales Data Nation Accelerator (WDNA) anticipates the potential economic impact of AI for Wales could reach 9.8% of GDP by 2030. 

This is a significant opportunity for Wales, so what are some of the strengths and weaknesses that will impact our ability to achieve that growth (or more)? 

Key strengths for Wales 

The already established tech industry is one of the key strengths. In particular, Wales is a long-established leader in cyber security, due, in part, to the British military sites in the Severn Valley. As a nation, we also boast a thriving fintech sector, with several major fintech companies and start-ups. These existing tech strengths offer the opportunity to expand into the AI realm.  

And the will is there to support growth. Welsh Government is increasingly doing more to encourage AI businesses to locate themselves in Wales and there is a raft of support organisations focused on facilitating the adoption of AI and digital technologies more broadly. 

Just a few examples include:  

• The AI Commission for Health and Social Care – a collaborative executive oversight and advisory group, focused on the ethical regulation and adoption of AI within Wales' health and social care sectors.
• Health Technology Wales (HTW) – funded by Welsh Government and hosted within the NHS Wales structure, HTW plays an important role in evaluating and providing guidance on the use of non-medicine technologies and models of care (including AI solutions) in health and social care. 

In addition to this wide-ranging support, Wales has academic strengths in AI that prime us to flourish. Cardiff University has a variety of research activity in AI, including through the interdisciplinary Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Human-Machine Systems (IROHMS).  

Swansea University also has research strengths - particularly in population data science, as the home of the SAIL Databank. Swansea also played host to the inaugural International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare in September 2024, with delegates from 20 countries visiting to share research findings.  

University of Wales Trinity St David, meanwhile, have partnered with Digital Health and Care Wales to create Wales Institute of Digital Information, to inform the design and delivery of academic programmes, provide part-time employment opportunities to students and graduates, and offer continuing professional development opportunities to informatics staff. 

Key challenges for Wales 

One of the primary challenges for Wales is one that affects the whole of the UK. Multiple research reports have highlighted the digital skills gap in the UK. In 2020, a UK Government research paper – on understanding the UK AI labour market – found shortages of people with AI and data science skills.  

Microsoft research also showed only 17% of UK employees are being re-skilled for AI, compared to 38% globally. This is despite the UK appearing to be in a strong position in other ways, with McKinsey research showing it’s in the top quartile of countries on AI readiness – with strong policy and academic foundations.  

So, it would seem that businesses in the UK have their eye on the potential of AI, and are focused on the plans and policies to take advantage of it. But, UK-wide, there is a lack of skills to implement these plans and not enough focus on developing that capacity.  

Echoing this point, it’s worth noting that, despite research strengths, Swansea University has only recently launched an AI-focused undergraduate course, beginning in 2025, and Cardiff University is yet to offer one. This indicates a gap in the pipeline of skills-development in Wales. In addition, a particular issue for Wales is talent retention, with many highly skilled graduates opting to leave Wales to enter the labour market elsewhere. 

Finally, the aforementioned dominance of the ‘Golden Triangle’ is a challenge for Wales to overcome. With such a concentrated cluster of academic and industry activity already established, it will be a challenge for Wales to assert itself as a key player.  

Why AI in Wales is ‘one to watch’  

Despite these challenges, AI in Wales is proving to be ‘one to watch’. The enthusiasm is certainly there to increase AI adoption, in particular to help solve some of the challenges faced by a health system under pressure. 

Recent investments, such as the decision by Delineate – an AI-powered marketing insights company – to establish its headquarters in Ceredigion, underscore Wales’s growing tech sector. In health and social care, there are numerous examples of exciting AI-driven solutions based in Wales, including: 

• Gogglemind’s VR training for healthcare professionals
• Cansense’s AI-driven bowel cancer screening
• JIVA.ai’s solution for developing AI applications, which is being used in multiple industries, including healthcare
• Agile Kinetic’s AI-powered movement assessment tools 

These are just a few examples of innovative Wales-based companies, highlighting the possibility for Wales – if we can overcome some of the challenges – to realise the potential benefits of AI and take a bigger share of a likely huge industry.  

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