Manchester named UK’s most AI-ready city in new study

Manchester has pipped the likes of Cambridge and Oxford to be crowned the UK’s most AI-ready city for the first time, new research has revealed. 

The cultural hub came first in the SAS AI Cities Index 2024, which annually reveals the cities outside of London that are most likely to benefit from the growing appetite for artificial intelligence (AI). 

The research is compiled from seven criteria, including AI-related jobs being advertised, the number of AI companies in the city, search demand for generative AI, education opportunities and the value of InnovateUK funding granted in each area. 

Manchester, which is also the birthplace of the industrial revolution, came first due to having the highest amount of AI-related companies in the city, along with the most hackathons, and a large volume of AI-related jobs within a five-mile radius. 

Manchester has had a number of AI innovations and initiatives in the last year, including the Red Devils themselves, Manchester United, turning to artificial intelligence in April 2024. The football club is working in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, to help improve the performance of their men’s, women’s and academy teams, to analyse where improvements can be made to help the team’s coaches.

Cambridge and Oxford, often known as part of the golden triangle due to being home to world-leading life science clusters, fell to positions nine and 16 respectively. 

For the first time, the study also took into account the rising demand for tools like ChatGPT, using insights to reveal the cities which have had the biggest growth in searches for generative AI.

The analysis also revealed which parts of the UK have seen the biggest growth in AI-readiness since last year. Salford, in Greater Manchester, continued the northern dominance of the table, leaping a huge 68 places to take third spot. In total, over £100 million has been awarded to businesses in Salford from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. 

SAS revealed which parts of the UK seem least prepared to utilise AI to its full potential, and bottom of the list was Truro, followed by Newry and Peterborough, despite its proximity to Cambridge. 

SAS also compared the AI-readiness of all London boroughs, revealing that Camden, home to University College London (UCL) and University of London, topped the list beating the likes of Westminster, Southwark and Hackney. Kensington and Chelsea, which came last in 2023, rose to position 18, while Bexley came last. 

Glyn Townsend, Senior Director of Education Services at SAS for Europe, the Middle East and Africa said: 

“AI-ready cities will lead the way in being more resilient, while also meeting new urban living standards, such as meeting sustainability targets, and even making services more accessible to people living with disabilities. 

“With 80% of UK organisations struggling to recruit applicants with suitable skills, if they do not have adequate tech talent, businesses face the challenge of how to remain competitive in an increasingly tech-driven world. And if they then cluster in regions and cities with talent, it could risk deeper regional inequalities. All cities need to be prepared to play their part - addressing digital and data literacy gaps, securing support to apply for investment, and ultimately, helping drive the future economy.

“With the announcement from the new Prime Minister that Metro Mayors and devolved government will be tasked with creating 10-year growth plans, with an emphasis on economic growth including localised actions for skills creation, it is critical that consideration is given to what skills should be prioritised to ensure maximum return on investment and alignment to rapid anticipated future economic growth, current talent needs and future innovation.”

The full report can be found here.

ENDS

Methodology 

SAS looked at seven key indicators, including: 

• The number of AI-related companies in each city, according to LinkedIn.
• The number of courses featuring an element of artificial intelligence at each university in the UK.
• The number of jobs within a 5-mile radius.
• The number of AI events, according to meetup.co.uk.
• The number of hackathons, according to hackathon.com.
• The increase in Google searches for relevant AI solutions in the last year, according to Google Keyword Planner.
• The average Innovate UK grant, per business, by location.

Data correct as of June 2024.