Research from SAS finds that the cultural hub has the highest number of AI companies and the largest number of AI-related jobs in the region.
By Maggie Mancini
Manchester has been crowned the U.K.’s most AI-ready city for the first time, new research from SAS has found. 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 several criteria, including AI-related jobs being advertised, the number of AI companies in each city, search demand for generative AI (GenAI), educational opportunity, and the value of InnovateUK funding granted in each area.
Manchester, which is also the birthplace of the U.K.’s industrial revolution, came first due to having the highest number 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.
The city has had several AI innovations and initiatives in the last year, including Manchester United investing in AI earlier this year. The football club is working with Manchester Metropolitan University to help improve performance and 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.
“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,” says Glyn Townsend, senior director of education services as SAS for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
