UNIVERSITIES

 Live view of the UK Universities AI Universe home page below its header, captured 2026-10-31 15:07:45 UTC

BUSINESS

 Live view of the UK Business AI Universe home page below its header, captured 2026-10-31 15:07:45 UTC

GOVERNMENT

 Live view of the UK Government AI Universe home page below its header, captured 2026-10-31 15:07:45 UTC

UK AI ANALYTICS

What the universities, business and government data show when you join them up.

First-cut data · being verified

From lab to leak

Where UK AI companies were sold

Of 81 UK AI companies on this site that have been sold, 49 were bought from abroad, 32 of them by US buyers. Of 88 university spin-outs, 7 have been sold abroad and 2 have closed.

United States: 32 — AI Music, Aiden.ai, Alphawave Semi, Audio Analytic, Babylon Health, Bloomsbury AI, Blue Prism, Codeplay Software, Convergence, Cytora, Darktrace, Deep Render, Disperse, Eigen Technologies, Exscientia, Fabula AI, Factmata, Featurespace, Google DeepMind, Human Native, Kavida.ai, Kheiron Medical Technologies, Magic Pony Technology, Monolith AI, Peak, Privitar, Ravelin, Recycleye, Rossum, Scape Technologies, Tessian, VersoriUnited States32United Kingdom: 10 — BioBeats, Black Swan Data, Fluidly, InfoSum, Ogma, Plus Group, Satalia, Sharktower, StreetDrone, StudyStashUnited Kingdom10Ireland: 7 — Decho, Edenhouse, Faculty, Infinity Works, Mudano, Redkite, Sagacity SolutionsIreland7Japan: 3 — Graphcore, Io-Tahoe, iSIZEJapan3Germany: 3 — Blackford Analysis, Five AI, InstaDeepGermany3Other: China, Canada, South Korea: 4 — Imagination Technologies, Oxford Semantic Technologies, Safe Sign Technologies, TwizooOther (3 countries)4Country to check: 22 — BenevolentAI, CreateFuture, Deeptide, Fern Labs, Jukedeck, Kin + Carta, Learning Pool, Mesh-AI, Metaphysic, Onfido, Ori, PEAK:AIO, Pri0r1ty Intelligence Group, ProQuo AI, Proximity Data Centres, Seldon, Sonantic, Thoughtonomy, Thread, Tomoro AI, UKCloud, iTero GamingCountry to check22Team or assets only (not counted as a sale): 4 — Hazy, Humanloop, Papercup, Robin AITeam or assets only4

bought from abroadUK buyercountry to checkteam or assets only, not a sale

Where UK AI companies were sold
Buyer countryCompanies
United States32
United Kingdom10
Ireland7
Japan3
Germany3
Other (3 countries)4
Country to check22
Team or assets only4

Buyer's country known for 59 of 81 sales. 81, not the first cut's 85: Faculty, Human Native and Monolith AI were each listed twice, and 4 team or asset deals (e.g. Humanloop) are shown apart. Companies on this site, not every UK spin-out; spin-outs and buyers are a first cut, still to check. Benchmark: of 327 investment-backed AI firms in DSIT's 2022 dataset, 7 (2%) had exited by 2024 (sector study 2024).

As of 31 Oct 2026

Who owns UK AI?

Companies and money raised, by who controls the company today

6% of the £26.9bn raised by companies on this site went to companies now owned abroad; 82% of the 1,155 companies are UK-owned and independent.

Companies1,155UK independent: 950 (82%)82%UK-founded, UK-owned group: 10 (1%)UK-founded, foreign-owned: 49 (4%)Sold, buyer's country to check: 22 (2%)UK-registered, run from abroad: 5 (0%)Foreign, with a UK base: 89 (8%)Closed: 30 (3%)Money raised£26.9bnUK independent: £23.2bn (87%)87%UK-founded, UK-owned group: £83m (0%)UK-founded, foreign-owned: £1.6bn (6%)Sold, buyer's country to check: £257m (1%)UK-registered, run from abroad: £801m (3%)Foreign, with a UK base: £550m (2%)Closed: £290m (1%)

UK independentUK-founded, UK-owned groupUK-founded, foreign-ownedSold, buyer's country to checkUK-registered, run from abroadForeign, with a UK baseClosed

Companies and money raised, by who controls the company today
Control todayCompaniesMoney raised
UK independent950£23.2bn
UK-founded, UK-owned group10£83m
UK-founded, foreign-owned49£1.6bn
Sold, buyer's country to check22£257m
UK-registered, run from abroad5£801m
Foreign, with a UK base89£550m
Closed30£290m

Money raised known for 524 of 1,155 companies (deduplicated funding events, all years; 'control today' view). Control is a first cut, still to check. Benchmark: 13% of AI firms in the UK were internationally headquartered in 2025 (DSIT sector study 2025). Models, compute and labs views to follow.

As of 31 Oct 2026

The UK AI survival curve

Outcome today, by year of incorporation

77% of the AI companies this site tracks that were founded in 2015–2020 are still trading; 11% were sold and 11% have closed without a sale. Across all UK businesses, about 38% survive five years (ONS).

2015: Trading 21 of 292015: Sold, still registered 3 of 292015: Closed after a sale 1 of 292015: In administration or liquidation 3 of 292015: Dissolved 1 of 29n=2920152016: Trading 26 of 352016: Sold, still registered 5 of 352016: Closed after a sale 3 of 352016: Dissolved 1 of 35n=35162017: Trading 30 of 442017: Sold, still registered 3 of 442017: Closed after a sale 4 of 442017: In administration or liquidation 5 of 442017: Dissolved 2 of 44n=44172018: Trading 38 of 492018: Closed after a sale 4 of 492018: In administration or liquidation 2 of 492018: Dissolved 5 of 49n=49182019: Trading 36 of 412019: Sold, still registered 1 of 412019: Closed after a sale 1 of 412019: In administration or liquidation 1 of 412019: Dissolved 2 of 41n=41192020: Trading 33 of 402020: Sold, still registered 2 of 402020: In administration or liquidation 2 of 402020: Dissolved 3 of 40n=40202021: Trading 39 of 422021: Sold, still registered 2 of 422021: In administration or liquidation 1 of 42n=42212022: Trading 39 of 422022: Sold, still registered 1 of 422022: Closed after a sale 1 of 422022: In administration or liquidation 1 of 42n=42222023: Trading 50 of 512023: Sold, still registered 1 of 51n=51232024: Trading 36 of 372024: Sold, still registered 1 of 37n=37242025: Trading 34 of 34n=3425

TradingSold, still registeredClosed after a saleIn administration or liquidationDissolved

These are the companies this site tracks, not every UK AI company. The site mostly records companies that raised money or made news, so it misses many that closed quietly.

Outcome today, by year of incorporation
IncorporatednTradingSold, still registeredClosed after a saleIn administration or liquidationDissolved
201529213131
201635265301
201744303452
201849380425
201941361112
202040332023
202142392010
202242391110
202351501000
202437361000
202534340000

444 companies with a register entry and incorporation date; years shown only where n ≥ 20. Register read 31 Oct 2026: 33 with an overdue filing, 5 with a proposal to strike off. ONS: 38.4% of UK businesses born in 2019 survived five years (Business demography 2024).

As of 31 Oct 2026

The opportunity gap

Share of UK university AI papers (2026) against share of money raised by UK AI companies (2024 on), by field

Healthcare and medical imaging makes up 20% of UK university AI papers this year but 1% of the money raised by UK AI companies since 2024. Chips and compute is the reverse: 4% of papers, 34% of the money.

0%10%20%30%40%Healthcare and medical imaging: 20.4% of 2026 university AI papers (4,049); 1.4% of money raised since 2024 (£258m; money known for 27 of 27 companies); biggest: Ultromics, Scarlet, Simple LifeHealth and imagingSecurity, safety and trust: 7.1% of 2026 university AI papers (1,404); 2.9% of money raised since 2024 (£543m; money known for 27 of 30 companies); biggest: Signal AI, Elliptic, inforcerSecurity and safetyNeuroscience: 3.9% of 2026 university AI papers (771); 0.1% of money raised since 2024 (£19m; money known for 2 of 2 companies); biggest: HIVE, Stanhope AINeuroscienceBiology and genomics: 5.4% of 2026 university AI papers (1,072); 1.7% of money raised since 2024 (£323m; money known for 14 of 16 companies); biggest: Basecamp Research, Wild Bioscience, Latent LabsBiology and genomicsPhysics, engineering and fluid dynamics: 5.8% of 2026 university AI papers (1,152); 2.5% of money raised since 2024 (£454m; money known for 11 of 12 companies); biggest: PhysicsX, Isembard, ArrakisPhysics and engineeringLanguage and speech: 8.1% of 2026 university AI papers (1,602); 5.4% of money raised since 2024 (£991m; money known for 32 of 32 companies); biggest: ElevenLabs, Granola, PolyAILanguage and speechMaterials and chemistry: 3.9% of 2026 university AI papers (766); 2.7% of money raised since 2024 (£505m; money known for 6 of 6 companies); biggest: CuspAI, Orbital Industries (Orbital Materials Ltd), Applied ComputingMaterials, chemistryFinance, law and business: 6.7% of 2026 university AI papers (1,323); 5.6% of money raised since 2024 (£1.0bn; money known for 48 of 50 companies); biggest: 9fin, Dwelly, LuminanceFinance, law, businessEducation and skills: 1.5% of 2026 university AI papers (305); 0.4% of money raised since 2024 (£70m; money known for 8 of 8 companies); biggest: Multiverse, Medly AI, Third Space LearningEducationVision and generative media: 3.7% of 2026 university AI papers (731); 2.7% of money raised since 2024 (£505m; money known for 28 of 31 companies); biggest: Synthesia, Stability AI, RecraftVision and mediaClimate, weather and energy: 5.3% of 2026 university AI papers (1,044); 5.6% of money raised since 2024 (£1.0bn; money known for 13 of 13 companies); biggest: Kraken, tem, Modo EnergyClimate and energyRobotics and autonomy: 3.7% of 2026 university AI papers (739); 12.7% of money raised since 2024 (£2.3bn; money known for 33 of 34 companies); biggest: Wayve, Dexory, HumanoidRobotics and autonomyDrug discovery: 0.5% of 2026 university AI papers (97); 12.4% of money raised since 2024 (£2.3bn; money known for 23 of 25 companies); biggest: Isomorphic Labs, CHARM Therapeutics, HealxDrug discoveryChips and compute: 4.3% of 2026 university AI papers (856); 34.2% of money raised since 2024 (£6.3bn; money known for 30 of 32 companies); biggest: Nscale, Fractile, FluidstackChips and compute

share of university AI papers, 2026share of money raised, 2024 on

Share of UK university AI papers (2026) against share of money raised by UK AI companies (2024 on), by field
FieldPapersShareMoneyShareMoney known for
Healthcare and medical imaging404920.4%£258m1.4%27 of 27
Security, safety and trust14047.1%£543m2.9%27 of 30
Neuroscience7713.9%£19m0.1%2 of 2
Biology and genomics10725.4%£323m1.7%14 of 16
Physics, engineering and fluid dynamics11525.8%£454m2.5%11 of 12
Language and speech16028.1%£991m5.4%32 of 32
Materials and chemistry7663.9%£505m2.7%6 of 6
Finance, law and business13236.7%£1.0bn5.6%48 of 50
Education and skills3051.5%£70m0.4%8 of 8
Vision and generative media7313.7%£505m2.7%28 of 31
Climate, weather and energy10445.3%£1.0bn5.6%13 of 13
Robotics and autonomy7393.7%£2.3bn12.7%33 of 34
Drug discovery970.5%£2.3bn12.4%23 of 25
Chips and compute8564.3%£6.3bn34.2%30 of 32

19,872 unique 2026 papers from 75 universities, one field each by keyword rules on title and venue (not yet hand-checked; 20% general AI methods, not shown). Money: £18.5bn in 380 equity rounds with amounts (of 425) since Jan 2024, each counted once; fields of the 68 biggest raisers (90% of the money) checked by hand. Chips and compute money is mostly infrastructure. Benchmark: DSIT counts £6.3bn raised by dedicated UK AI firms in 2025.

As of 31 Oct 2026

Signals

Organisations named in more than one part of the UK AI Universe in the last 30 days

Microsoft and Imperial were named in all three parts of the UK AI Universe in the last 30 days; 7 organisations turned up in two or more.

  • UBGMicrosoft big techThousands of NHS Wales staff building AI skills through national Microsoft Copilot campaign
  • UBGImperialImperial team secures Horizon Pathfinder funding for next-generation AI
  • UBGNVIDIA big techSWI Compute · Gpu purchase · NVIDIA
  • UBGAnthropic big techNew Anthropic partnership explores how AI could advance biological discoveries
  • UBGSalience LabsSalience Labs secures $125M to scale photonic chips for AI data centres
  • UBGMachentaImperial AI spinout Machenta raises $40 million to make robots instant learners
  • UBGOxfordResearch project to inform policy on the responsible use of children’s data in AI

named in that partU Universities · B Business · G Government

Organisations named in more than one part of the UK AI Universe in the same week. Being listed means only that.

Organisations named in more than one part of the UK AI Universe in the last 30 days
OrganisationNamed inMentionsLatest
MicrosoftUniversities, Business, Government62026-10-21
ImperialUniversities, Business, Government102026-10-30
NVIDIAUniversities, Business182026-10-26
AnthropicUniversities, Business42026-10-29
Salience LabsUniversities, Business42026-10-14
MachentaUniversities, Business32026-10-27
OxfordUniversities, Business202026-10-26

Window 2–31 Oct 2026: 232 news items on this page (each counted in the pillar where it was found) and the Business deals ledger. Names matched in headlines; common-word names (Build, Signal, Kraken, Wise and others) skipped. Government programme records and papers not yet included.

As of 31 Oct 2026

The promise tracker

Dated UK government AI pledges, graded against public evidence on 31 Oct 2026

8 of 21 dated government AI pledges have dated evidence of delivery; 4 have moved date and 1 is overdue.

Delivered: Publish a long-term compute strategy (made 13 Jan 2025; due spring 2025) — UK Compute Roadmap published 17 Jul 2025 (after the date)Delivered: Isambard-AI supercomputer running (made 1 Nov 2023 (previous government); due summer 2024) — Formal launch 17 Jul 2025 (after the date)Delivered: Start the AI Growth Zone selection process (made 13 Jan 2025; due spring 2025) — Formal application process opened 30 Apr 2025Delivered: Publish an AI for Science Strategy (made 17 Jul 2025; due autumn 2025) — Published 20 Nov 2025Delivered: Open AIRR compute calls for AI for science (made 20 Nov 2025; due autumn 2025) — AI-for-science compute call published 21 Nov 2025Delivered: Publish the Digital and AI Roadmap for government (made 11 Jun 2025; due autumn 2025, then Dec 2025, then Mar 2026) — Reported complete, May 2026 (after two date moves)Delivered: Launch the next phase of the Sovereign AI Unit (made 29 Jan 2026; due April 2026) — Launched 16 Apr 2026; first equity investment, CallosumDelivered: Make the Dawn supercomputer six times more powerful (Zenith) (made 26 Jan 2026; due spring 2026) — Zenith launched 10 Jun 2026 and listed on GOV.UK's AIRR page (updated 28 Sep 2026); early access only, sixfold not separately confirmedOn track: Expand the AI Research Resource 20 times (made 17 Jul 2025; due 2030) — Plan and money set out (Compute Roadmap; AI Hardware Plan, 8 Jun 2026)On track: Give 10 million workers AI skills (made Jun 2026 sector plan; due 2030) — 1.7m+ courses taken by Jun 2026 (courses, not workers)Date moved: Measure the cost of legacy IT (PAC rec 1b) (made DSIT to PAC; due Jan 2026) — Moved to Jun 2026, then autumn 2026Date moved: Track legacy IT remediation funding (PAC rec 1c) (made DSIT to PAC; due Jan 2026) — Moved to May 2026, then autumn 2026Date moved: PAC recommendation 6b (made DSIT to PAC; due Jun 2026) — Moved to Dec 2026Date moved: PAC recommendation 6c (made DSIT to PAC; due Jun 2026) — Moved to Dec 2026Overdue: AI sourcing and procurement framework (PAC rec 5) (made DSIT to PAC; due Jan 2026, moved to Sep 2026) — No later evidence found by 31 Oct 2026Not yet due: New national supercomputer at Edinburgh online (made 17 Jul 2025; due 2027) — Find a Tender notice of 30 Jul 2026: procurement withdrawn as exemptNot yet due: A further £750m AIRR supercomputer (made 8 Jun 2026; due 2030)Not yet due: Trial-ready drug candidates in 100 days (made 20 Nov 2025; due 2030)Not yet due: Train 1,000 AI-for-science researchers (made 20 Nov 2025; due within 5 years)Not yet due: Further AI for Science missions (made 20 Nov 2025; due 2026) — None found by 31 Oct 2026Not yet due: PlanAssist offered to every English council (made 28 Oct 2026; due end of 2027)No measurable date: AI Biosecurity Lab (£100m) (made 24 Oct 2026)No measurable date: A further £120m for the AI Security Institute (made 24 Oct 2026)No measurable date: First AI Growth Zone at Culham (made 13 Jan 2025) — Oxfordshire zone announced 30 Apr 2025

Delivered 8On track 2Date moved 4Overdue 1Not yet due 6No measurable date 3

  • Overdue AI sourcing and procurement framework (PAC rec 5): No later evidence found by 31 Oct 2026
  • Date moved Measure the cost of legacy IT (PAC rec 1b): Moved to Jun 2026, then autumn 2026
  • Delivered Publish a long-term compute strategy: UK Compute Roadmap published 17 Jul 2025 (after the date)

Government says: 38 of 50 AI Action Plan actions “Commitment met”, 11 “In progress” (Jan 2026)

Dated UK government AI pledges, graded against public evidence on 31 Oct 2026
PledgeMadeDueOur gradeEvidence
Publish a long-term compute strategy13 Jan 2025spring 2025DeliveredUK Compute Roadmap published 17 Jul 2025 (after the date)
Isambard-AI supercomputer running1 Nov 2023 (previous government)summer 2024DeliveredFormal launch 17 Jul 2025 (after the date)
Start the AI Growth Zone selection process13 Jan 2025spring 2025DeliveredFormal application process opened 30 Apr 2025
Publish an AI for Science Strategy17 Jul 2025autumn 2025DeliveredPublished 20 Nov 2025
Open AIRR compute calls for AI for science20 Nov 2025autumn 2025DeliveredAI-for-science compute call published 21 Nov 2025
Publish the Digital and AI Roadmap for government11 Jun 2025autumn 2025, then Dec 2025, then Mar 2026DeliveredReported complete, May 2026 (after two date moves)
Launch the next phase of the Sovereign AI Unit29 Jan 2026April 2026DeliveredLaunched 16 Apr 2026; first equity investment, Callosum
Make the Dawn supercomputer six times more powerful (Zenith)26 Jan 2026spring 2026DeliveredZenith launched 10 Jun 2026 and listed on GOV.UK's AIRR page (updated 28 Sep 2026); early access only, sixfold not separately confirmed
Expand the AI Research Resource 20 times17 Jul 20252030On trackPlan and money set out (Compute Roadmap; AI Hardware Plan, 8 Jun 2026)
Give 10 million workers AI skillsJun 2026 sector plan2030On track1.7m+ courses taken by Jun 2026 (courses, not workers)
New national supercomputer at Edinburgh online17 Jul 20252027Not yet dueFind a Tender notice of 30 Jul 2026: procurement withdrawn as exempt
A further £750m AIRR supercomputer8 Jun 20262030Not yet due
Trial-ready drug candidates in 100 days20 Nov 20252030Not yet due
Train 1,000 AI-for-science researchers20 Nov 2025within 5 yearsNot yet due
Further AI for Science missions20 Nov 20252026Not yet dueNone found by 31 Oct 2026
PlanAssist offered to every English council28 Oct 2026end of 2027Not yet due
Measure the cost of legacy IT (PAC rec 1b)DSIT to PACJan 2026Date movedMoved to Jun 2026, then autumn 2026
Track legacy IT remediation funding (PAC rec 1c)DSIT to PACJan 2026Date movedMoved to May 2026, then autumn 2026
PAC recommendation 6bDSIT to PACJun 2026Date movedMoved to Dec 2026
PAC recommendation 6cDSIT to PACJun 2026Date movedMoved to Dec 2026
AI sourcing and procurement framework (PAC rec 5)DSIT to PACJan 2026, moved to Sep 2026OverdueNo later evidence found by 31 Oct 2026
AI Biosecurity Lab (£100m)24 Oct 2026No measurable date
A further £120m for the AI Security Institute24 Oct 2026No measurable date
First AI Growth Zone at Culham13 Jan 2025No measurable dateOxfordshire zone announced 30 Apr 2025

24 pledges from the AI Opportunities Action Plan, Compute Roadmap, AI for Science Strategy, Budget 2026 and DSIT’s letters to the Public Accounts Committee, not every pledge. ‘Delivered’ needs a dated official statement. Pledges are never added up. Private pledges, not graded: Microsoft £2.5bn (2023), AWS £8bn (2024), Google US$1bn (2024).

As of 31 Oct 2026

UK AI NEWS

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