The rise of artificial intelligence is often met with mixed emotions. While many fear that this powerful technology will replace their jobs, some see it as an opportunity to reskill and embark on an exciting new career path.
It seems that the people of Wales are in the latter camp. New research from the Robert Half Jobs Confidence Index has found that 62% of the Welsh workforce plans to pay for AI training in the next few years — much higher than the rest of the UK. Meanwhile, 59% plan to reskill to find an AI-related role or specialism within five years, compared to 40% for the UK as a whole.
Wales’ optimism toward AI is also reflected in the fact that only 30% of Welsh employees fear the technology will affect their jobs in the next 12 months and 40% in three to five years. On the other hand, 49% of Londoners are worried about how AI will impact their jobs in the next year and 61% for the next three to five years.
James Fortnam, market director for Wales, Ireland and Scotland at Robert Half, said this research suggests Welsh people have a “natural desire” to “improve their AI knowledge”. This could help the country “become a prime location for AI skills”, he added.
When it comes to unlocking Wales’ potential as a leading AI hub, fast-growing tech startups like PeppercornAI have a huge role to play. The Cardiff-based company has developed an AI-powered software platform that helps insurers cut their overheads, reduce loss ratios and improve their customer experience through digitisation.
In April, the company announced it had closed a £3.25m funding round led by Wealth Club. The company said it will use these funds to continue developing its conversational AI platform and cater to growing demand from customers in the UK and abroad.
Reflecting on the funding round, Nigel Lombard – CEO and founder of PeppercornAI – said that his company’s AI technology would enable insurers to “unlock the benefits of the technology now” and prevent them from being “left behind”.
In another exciting development for Cardiff’s tech sector, digital wealth manager Prosper has opened an office at Capital Quarter after securing £520,000, in a deal led by the Development Bank of Wales and 11 business angels. The company is the brainchild of Nick Perrett and Ricky Knox, who have previously employed over 250 Welsh employees at Tandem Bank.
Ricky Knox, chairman of Prosper, said in a statement: “We’re excited to grow our base in Wales over time, building on the success we had in the region with our previous business Tandem with the creation of up to 100 jobs.”
April also saw the Development Bank of Wales provide smart home startup Securaki with a £50,000 microloan to bring its smart locking system to market. Compatible with 90% of UK doors, this system is designed to turn standard home locks into keyless entry systems that are remotely controlled by a smartphone app, fob or digital keypad. Users can also use the mobile app to check if they forgot to lock their doors, temporarily unlock them and track user activity.
The Cardiff-based company will launch its product in both domestic and commercial markets through a distribution deal with technology distributor Nimans. Gavin Jones, CEO and founder of SecuraCo, said: “We are excited to get them out to market this spring thanks to the support of the Development Bank and our distributors. And this is just our first product – we also have plans to add more products to the SecuraCo product family, including smart cameras, alarms and doorbells.”
There were also some notable enhancements to Welsh technology infrastructure in the past month, with EE strengthening 4G connectivity in rural Ceredigion, NHS Wales implementing a new hosted lab solution to improve the efficiencies of Wales-wide pathology services and Swansea-based housing association Caredig announcing a digital transformation drive.
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