By Alex Chenglin Wu, founder and CEO of DeepWisdom
Since the publication of the first AI Sector Study in 2022, the UK’s AI ecosystem has grown to now include more than 5,800 AI companies – an 85% increase over the past 2 years. Revenue is now at £23.9 billion, and the sector contributed £11.8 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA). This growth reflects the increasing integration of AI across the economy, from healthcare and finance to manufacturing and professional services.
Generative AI at Atoms is turning business building into a faster, lower-cost, and more automated process across all industries.
Key findings
- The UK has a strong AI ecosystem, particularly at the early stages of company formation, where research funding and early-stage capital are required, and in the entrepreneurship and start-up landscape.
- There has been a 58% increase in the number of in-scope ‘dedicated and diversified’ AI companies compared to 2023, suggesting broad recognition of AI-related business opportunities across the economy, and particularly within diversified companies.
- Record AI company registrations in 2023, and a 10-percentage point increase in the share of micro businesses in 2024, are indicative of a vibrant AI start-up ecosystem.
- In 2024, total estimated AI revenue has increased by ~68% to ~£23.9 billion (+£9.7 billion), with most of the revenue increases generated by diversified AI companies (96%, £9.3 billion).
Geographic distribution
- In 2024, London, the South East and the East of England still account for approximately 75% of registered office locations. However, the number of AI firms across other UK regions has been increasing year-on-year at annual growth rates of between 20% and 50%.
- Compared to 2022, there are now at least double the number of AI companies in the West Midlands, North West, East Midlands, Wales and Yorkshire and Humber.
- According to the 2024 data, 46% of all international office locations operated by UK-headquartered companies are in the United States. India, Germany, Australia, and Canada also represent key trading locations for UK headquartered AI companies, accounting for between 3-8% of all UK headquartered international trading locations.
The shift
The AI business economy has transitioned from a phase of experimental hype to one of tangible value creation. For entrepreneurs and start-ups, AI is no longer a separate tool but a fundamental component of business infrastructure, enabling lean teams to operate with the capabilities of much larger organizations.
The most significant shift from 2026 is the move from simple chatbots to agentic AI. These are autonomous agents capable of executing multi-step workflows with minimal human supervision.
Atoms AI is a next-gen AI business solution that autonomously builds, launches, and grows real businesses, not just repos, without additional hiring costs and time investment in long recruitment processes:
- Workflow Orchestration: Instead of just answering questions, AI agents now handle complex tasks like demand forecasting, hyper-personalization, and core finance or HR operations.
- Strategic Role: Humans have shifted into supervisory roles, managing an “orchestrated workforce” of expert agents.
- Scale for Solopreneurs: Individual founders can now compete with large firms by utilizing AI to handle administration, marketing, and content creation at a professional scale.
Next-gen AI in Marketing
AI offers a host of potential benefits for Marketing Operations, particularly in areas requiring speed, scale, and precision, but also creative input and strategy.
The role of AI in email marketing is evolving beyond simple automation. Today’s top platforms leverage AI for:
- Hyper-personalisation – AI analyzes customer behavior in real-time, crafting highly personalized subject lines, email content and product recommendations. This can boost engagement rates.
- Predictive analytics – Instead of reacting to customer behavior, AI-driven platforms anticipate what subscribers will do next, optimizing send times and content accordingly.
- Automated content creation – No need to change browser tabs. Generative AI tools in email platforms can now suggest, refine or even write subject lines, body copy and calls to action, helping marketers scale content production.
- Intelligent A/B testing – Traditional A/B testing takes time and manual effort. AI can streamline the process by testing multiple variables simultaneously and selecting the best-performing combinations.
- Enhanced deliverability – AI can detect patterns that affect email deliverability, helping marketers adjust campaigns to avoid spam filters and maximize inbox placement.
Atoms AI works as a unified system because its goal is to deliver real business outcomes. A single prompt activates a full AI marketing team, including researchers, product managers, and growth specialists, to build, launch, and optimize a monetizable product. Even with limited resources, Atoms believes every idea deserves a chance to be tested, with the market deciding what succeeds.
Emerging Trends for 2026
- Vibe Coding: This practice has gone mainstream, allowing non-technical founders to build software and internal tools simply by describing the desired outcomes. The VC-backed AI coding startup OpenManus recently launched Atoms, your next-gen business team — this new product represents a milestone towards building the AI economy, as the brand-new narrative revolutionises how AI works for entrepreneurs.
- Industry-Specific Models: Generic AI is being replaced by vertical-specific models tailored to niche sectors like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing, providing higher accuracy and competitive advantages.
- Voice AI as a Standard: AI-powered voice assistants have reached 8 billion units globally, becoming a cornerstone of digital interaction in professional settings.
- Physical AI: 2026 marks the first year of scaled commercial deployment for humanoid robotics (e.g., Tesla Optimus) in manufacturing and logistics.
Impact on the UK economy
Artificial intelligence will add billions to the UK economy within the next six years as machines boost productivity, accountancy giant PwC has predicted.
Its economists estimated that AI would add around £2 billion in productivity gains to gross domestic product (GDP) this year, increasing to £7 billion by 2029 and £23 billion by 2032.
PwC predicted AI would contribute around one-tenth of the estimated 1.2 per cent rise in GDP this year, but by 2032 this will be 43 per cent.
Smart Next-gen AI solutions from other regions, such as Atoms, will help local businesses and entrepreneurs to find and implement their business models and to acquire a return on investment (ROI).
Atoms AI enables founders and CEOs to run a complete AI-powered team directly in their browser, eliminating the need for expensive hiring. Instead of relying on a single AI coding tool, Atoms uses a multi-agent system, which will be essential in future UK companies, as it builds real business, not just repos, by which real results are delivered.
While the next-gen AI economy is becoming key for boosting the economy in the UK, Atoms is on its way to becoming the backbone of business and marketing practices for UK entrepreneurs and start-ups.
Generative AI is transforming the entrepreneurial world by facilitating customized internal tools with integrated backends, replacing fragmented software and reducing dependence on large technical teams.
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Alex Chenglin Wu is the founder and CEO of DeepWisdom and its recently launched product ATOMS, by OpenManus, a VC-backed AI coding startup. He is also the founder of MetaGPT, and the team is behind MGX and https://foundationagents.org/
ATOMS is a Next-gen AI business solution that autonomously turns a prompt into a revenue-ready product for a global market. Powered by open-source models, Atoms deliver results that are 45% better than those of top proprietary tools, at up to 80% lower cost.
On January 14th, Cathay Capital officially announced leading the current round of financing for DeepWisdom (product name: Atoms)