Manchester named biggest AI cluster outside London and the South East
Key Points
- Burnham says Greater Manchester is the UK’s biggest AI cluster outside London and the South East
- AI is one of five Greater Manchester clusters, alongside creative media, life sciences, materials and clean energy
- Manchester will host the G20 Leaders’ Summit next year with AI top of the agenda
- Government commits £1 billion over four years with UKRI to back leading UK clusters
- Mayors will control local innovation partnership funds from 2028
Greater Manchester is the UK’s biggest AI cluster by headcount outside London and the South East, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said.
Burnham made the claim during a speech at the Innovation Nation Summit in Manchester on 9 October, where he set a national goal for the UK to become the world’s leading innovation nation.
The Prime Minister, who served as Mayor of Greater Manchester before moving into Number 10, listed regional strengths across the UK before turning to his home city region.
He named fintech in Edinburgh, gaming in Dundee, photonics in Glasgow, quantum research in Oxford and cyber security in Belfast among the UK’s other leading clusters.
Burnham said Greater Manchester built its AI strength as one of five clusters that came out of the local industrial strategy process, which started under Theresa May’s government.
The five clusters are:
- Creative media at MediaCity
- Life sciences on Oxford Road
- Digital, cyber and AI across the city centre
- Advanced materials and manufacturing at Atom Valley in north-east Greater Manchester
- Clean energy at Carrington
UK Biobank will soon complete its move to Manchester Science Park, bringing robotics and research into cancer, dementia and heart disease to the city.
Burnham described AI as the technology that underpins the UK’s other sector strengths.
“Of course, it is a foundational technology that would underpin all of the sectoral strengths of the United Kingdom, and we need to have a mentality of building out the AI sector everywhere to support a research driven innovation led economy everywhere,” said Burnham.
The UK takes over the G20 presidency next year, and Burnham has promised to put AI at the top of the agenda when Manchester hosts the Leaders’ Summit.
“This could be a major moment as the G20 comes to Manchester for the Leaders’ Summit next year, a huge opportunity for investment and I hope you will work with me to unlock it right around the country,” said Burnham.
He also wants the UK to lead the development of a global code of standards and principles for AI, following the approach Gordon Brown took after the 2008 financial crisis.
The government will commit £1 billion over the next four years with UK Research and Innovation to back clusters that have the potential to become world leading.
Established mayors will take control of local innovation partnership funds from 2028, which Burnham described as the first step towards devolving dedicated innovation funding to local leaders.
Burnham pointed to Greater Manchester’s partnership with Cambridge as a model for linking clusters across the UK.
He said the city region’s population of nearly 3 million people and its digital care record could transform the potential for clinical trials when combined with Cambridge’s health research.
