AI Advisory Growth Labs

AI Advisory Growth Labs is sponsored by Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). These labs bring together businesses, regulators, and experts to trial AI in working environments. This could be relevant for trialling AI receptionist solutions in specific sectors and developing best practices.

AI Growth Labs could accelerate AI innovation and deployment. To make the most of your techUK website experience, please login or register for your free account here . The UK's technology trade association AI Growth Labs could accelerate AI innovation and deployment.

by Samiah Anderson, Kir Nuthi AI Growth Labs could accelerate AI innovation and deployment. Today, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced the launch of the AI Growth Lab , a new proposed framework for a cross-economy sandbox initiative designed to “accelerate innovation and cut bureaucracy in a safe environment.

” DSIT has now launched a call for evidence , which will be open until 2 January 2026 , on how the Lab should operate — including which sectors to prioritise, what regulatory changes could unlock innovation, and what safeguards are needed. The AI Growth Lab aims to: Grant time-limited exemptions to allow responsible experimentation. Operate issue- or sector-specific sandboxes where regulatory modification may be needed.

Maintain strict oversight and safeguards for the regulatory modifications the Lab has enabled. Recommend that successful pilots inform future regulatory reforms, through guidance updates, codes of practice, or statutory changes. In its call for evidence, government acknowledges that much of the UK’s regulation was written before AI existed.

While most rules remain technology-neutral, many are not designed for systems that learn, adapt, and make autonomous decisions. Flexible and adaptive oversight can therefore be an essential way to maintain public trust, enable AI adoption, and attract investment. The AI Growth Lab offers a potential solution — a way to pilot novel approaches to regulation before reforms are made permanent.

It aims to build on lessons from the FCA’s Innovate Sandbox, MHRA’s AI Airlock, and similar initiatives across the UK and abroad.

What is the proposed model Two proposed styles of AI Growth Lab are being explored A centrally operated lab: a single, government-led entry point that will establish and supervise pilots across sectors, working with sectoral regulators as part of its Oversight Committee Regulator-operated labs: multiple labs led by sectoral regulators - one lead regulator per sandbox - for focused, domain-specific applications such as healthcare or transport.

Initial pilots are expected to target sectors that align with the Sovereign AI’s strategic priorities and Industrial Strategy, where innovation potential is high but regulation is slowing adoption. In their call for evidence, DSIT highlighted three main examples: planning reform, clinical care, and robotics. The call for views also mentions the potential for place-based regulatory sandboxes that will complement AI Growth Zones.

As part of the call for evidence, DSIT is also asking for what kind of mechanism could make successful regulatory modifications permanent through secondary legislation, ensuring pilots can translate into long-term change with appropriate parliamentary scrutiny.

techUK welcomes the launch of the AI Growth Lab as a positive step toward a pro-growth regulatory approach that helps companies safely develop, scale, and deploy AI in key sectors of the UK economy.

In response to the announcement techUK’s deputy CEO Antony Walker welcomed this as a strong step: If we get this right, the AI Growth Lab can add real value by drawing on learnings from existing sandboxes and working closely with AI businesses to deliver tangible results and real-world impact. This is about accelerating innovation and the pace at which AI can be deployed into sectors of the economy where complex regulations apply.

To do innovation at pace, we need to trial and test technologies in the real world – and the AI Growth Lab will provide a managed environment to do that safely.

The government is seeking views on the full proposal they have set out through a call for evidence, that focuses on: whether an AI growth lab will make it easier to develop or adopt AI; the advantages and disadvantages of cross-economy or single regulator labs lessons learnt from past sandboxes; regulatory provisions needed to modify regulation for the lab; which types of regulation should be off-limits; how to design effective oversight, supervision, monitoring, and controls for the AI Growth Lab initiative; how to enable an AI Growth Lab to make permanent legislative changes if a pilot is successful; and whether this initiative could or should apply to other high-potential technologies.

Responses are due 2 January 2026. techUK plans to respond to the call for evidence by the end of this calendar year.

Any members interested in contributing to techUK’s responses are invited to share any of their feedback, including their views on: regulatory barriers your AI products/services face today; the sandbox design and safeguards that would enable safe, faster deployment; which sectors/applications should be prioritised first; and how the route from sandbox to scaling onwards should work.

Please email Kir Nuthi, Head of AI and Data at [email protected] with short written input or to register interest in a potential member roundtable, which we will confirm based on interest. Further information will be shared with members in due course.

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Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS, shares insight on the fundamental challenge of achieving trust while scaling agentic AI across British businesses. AI and Data Analytics updates Sign-up to our monthly newsletter to get the latest updates and opportunities from our AI and Data Analytics Programme straight to your inbox. Head of AI and Data, techUK Head of AI and Data, techUK Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.

She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.

Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego. Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.

Programme Manager - Artificial Intelligence, techUK Programme Manager - Artificial Intelligence, techUK Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence. He leads techUK’s AI Adoption programme, supporting members of all sizes and sectors in adopting AI at scale.

His work involves identifying barriers to adoption, exploring solutions, and helping to unlock AI’s transformative potential, particularly its benefits for people, the economy, society, and the planet. He is also committed to advancing the UK’s AI sector and ensuring the UK remains a global leader in AI by working closely with techUK members, the UK Government, regulators, and devolved and local authorities.

Since joining techUK, Usman has delivered a regular drumbeat of activity to engage members and advance techUK's AI programme. This has included two campaign weeks, the creation of the AI Adoption Hub (now the AI Hub), the AI Leader's Event Series, the Putting AI into Action webinar series and the Industrial AI sprint campaign.

Before joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, regulatory and government/public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales, marketing, and FinTech. Usman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a GDL and LLB from BPP Law School, and a BA from Queen Mary University of London.

When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling. https://uk.

linkedin. com/in/usman-ikhlaq,https://uk. linkedin.

com/in/usman-ikhlaq Director, Technology and Innovation Director, Technology and Innovation Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work. This includes work programmes on AI, Cloud, Data, Quantum, Semiconductors, Digital ID and Digital ethics as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy.

In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List. She has also been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.

A key influencer in driving forward the tech agenda in the UK, in December 2025 Sue was appointed to the UK Government’s Women in Tech Taskforce by the Technology Secretary of State. She also sits on the UK Government’s Smart Data Council, Satellite Applications Catapult Advisory Group, Bank of England’s AI Consortium and BSI’s Digital Strategic Advisory Group.

Previously, Sue was a member of the Independent Future of Compute Review and co-chaired the National Data Strategy Forum. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries in 2020, Sue has been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and has been a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI, the UK Tech 50 and annual UK Cloud Awards.

She is a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security. Prior to joining techUK in January 2015, Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. Before that, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.

Visit our AI Hub - the home of all our AI content: Enquire about membership: Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver. Head of Digital Regulation, techUK Samiah Anderson is the Head of Digital Regulation at techUK.

With over seven years of Government Affairs expertise, Samiah has built a solid reputation as a tech policy specialist, engaging regularly with UK Government Ministers, senior civil servants and UK Parliamentarians.

Before joining techUK, Samiah led several public affairs functions for international tech firms and coalitions at Burson Global (formerly Hill & Knowlton), delivering CEO-level strategic counsel on political, legislative, and regulatory issues in the UK, EU, US, China, India, and Japan.

She is adept at mobilising multinational companies and industry associations, focusing on cross-cutting digital regulatory issues such as competition, artificial intelligence, and more. She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of London, where she founded the New School Economics Society, the Goldsmiths University chapter of Rethinking Economics. https://www.

linkedin. com/in/samiahnanderson/ Head of AI and Data, techUK Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK. She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK.

Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.

Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego. Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.