It’s boom time for AI companies, with UK startups specialising in artificial intelligence raising $4.5bn in equity funding in 2023, according to Dealroom data. The number of newly incorporated UK companies with “AI” in their name tells a similar story of businesses looking to ride the wave.
In the first 86 days of the year, more companies whose name includes “AI” have been incorporated with Companies House than in the entirety of 2021, according to an exclusive UKTN analysis of data. In all, 457 companies have been registered with the UK’s database of trading companies so far in 2024 – more than the 441 throughout 2021.
With 5.3 AI companies being registered on average each day, this year looks likely to outstrip the pace of new registrations in 2023, where 1,470 were incorporated over 365 days – a little over four each day.
That number is greater than the 1,350 companies with “AI” in their name founded prior to 2020 – the oldest company still trading is AI Properties Limited, a Leicestershire-based letting company first founded in August 1970. However, an older company, AI (Bullers) Ltd, which is active but not trading, was incorporated in December 1902.
The companies established so far in 2024 include Conduct AI Ltd, which was incorporated in early January and appears to be a project by former Palantir employee Jan Philipp Haas, whose LinkedIn profile says he’s “building something”. Haas did not respond to an interview request for this story. Others set up so far this year include Smart Pets AI Company Ltd, Super Hot AI Ltd, Generative Counsel AI Ltd, and AI Furniture Assembly Ltd.
At this point, it’s important to note that it’s difficult to discern the number of companies with AI in their name that are actually operating in the artificial intelligence space, versus those simply seeking to capitalise on a trendy technology development. And questions have been raised about the validity of Companies House registration data amid concerns individuals register companies fraudulently in the UK.
‘Technology has turned a corner’
However, the list of companies includes many legitimate firms, and also highlights a broader shift in the UK AI industry. Jack McInnes, a spokesperson for Corti, a Danish AI company founded in 2016 that supports virtual healthcare appointments, confirmed the company is opening a UK office following its incorporation as Corti AI UK Limited on 14 March.
McInnes is not surprised that so many firms with seeming ties to AI have been established in the UK in the last year and a half. “Technology turned a corner,” he says. “The biggest change is that it went from being an abstract thing that nerdy types talked about, and turned into something that anyone and their brother has had an actual experience interacting with.”
McInnes says he has seen “demand for everything AI-related shoot through the roof”. He adds: “People now see that it’s cool, and they want to be able to use it. They want use cases and applications to their job and their life.”
For Amelia Armour, partner in the early-stage fund at Amadeus Capital Partners, a venture capital firm, the numbers are an indication of the interest with which the world is treating AI.
“The explosive rise of AI companies compared to even a few years ago is astounding. It is such an exciting area which is drawing a lot of attention across society which is naturally attracting entrepreneurs and data scientists to set up new companies,” she says.
The growth of companies focused on AI is happening in a number of spaces, from university spinouts to startups and scaleups, Armour adds. “We are seeing this happen both within academia, where researchers are feeling more inclined to commercialise AI models, and within the existing tech ecosystem where more people are leaving their previous companies to set up new ones.”
However, incorporating a company whose name includes the letters “AI” in their name isn’t a surefire path to success. Out of the 1,470 firms registered in 2023, 20 have already been dissolved – including the promisingly-named AI 9000 Ltd.
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