Greater Manchester set to lead in AI innovation

Greater Manchester is emerging as one of Europe’s leading hubs for AI innovation, according to a new report by the Turing Innovation Catalyst.

The organisation’s 2025 Greater Manchester AI Catalyst Report outlines the region’s achievements, challenges and future vision for its AI sector, and highlights how the city-region has developed for a regional tech centre to one that competes with major AI hubs around the world.

Executive Director of the Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester, Liz Scott MBE, who previously discussed Stockport’s role in the city-region’s tech revolution at a event hosted by Marketing Stockport, Kao Data and CDL last year, explained:

“We’re at a critical juncture in our journey to become a powerhouse of AI innovation, planting our flag firmly in the ground as a city region leading the charge, enabling groundbreaking technological advancements and creating the right conditions for businesses, researchers, and the current and future workforce to thrive.“

The Turing Innovation Catalyst’s report set out the picture of Greater Manchester AI ecosystem, which is valued at $4.2 billion, and includes a mix of early, mid, and late-stage AI companies capable of delivering a ‘flyweheel effect’ in supporting the necessary talent, capital and scaling knowledge for future success. Estimates for the sector’s future growth indicate there is potential for the sector to reach $15 billion by 2035.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, commented:

“Greater Manchester is ready to lead the way on AI innovation, leveraging our strengths in research and development and industry, as well as the strong partnerships between our public and private sectors. Our ambition is to be the UK’s AI demonstrator city-region, pioneering innovative AI use-cases that have the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, putting Greater Manchester at the forefront of AI-driven transformation and stimulating the market to drive wider innovation and growth. Greater Manchester is home to a strong and growing AI ecosystem, but we’re also determined to see the sector grown in a safe and sustainable way.”

Doug Loewe, CEO of Kao Data, the developer bringing a £350 million data centre to Stockport to deliver the computing power for the city-region’s AI ecosystem, said:

“When we started to look at an alternative location to London for our next large-scale data centre, all roads led to Greater Manchester. The city region’s abundant power, connectivity, land and tech ecosystem profile, as well as the welcoming local government, were all reasons behind us committing £350m into developing what will become the North of England’s largest data centre in Stockport. Two years on and the case for Greater Manchester has only grown stronger – fuelled by an AI and high-tech talent pool like no other.”

Liz Scott MBE, Executive Director, Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester, concluded:

“We’re on a clear path of growth and our ambition is for the city region to be a leading destination for AI innovation globally, but collaboration will be critical to unlocking that opportunity. The work we’re doing at the Turing Innovation Catalyst, in partnership with organisations across the public and private sectors, is about making purposeful investments that create the right conditions for innovation to thrive in all corners of society.”

The Turing Innovation Catalyst’s full 2025 Greater Manchester AI Catalyst Report is available to download and read in full here.