Your London Tech Week 2025 debrief

As London Tech Week 2025 closes, one thing has become clear: UK businesses aren’t just following AI trends, they’re setting them.

From AI policy to practical innovation, the week showcased where real progress is being made, and how the UK can continue to lead on the global stage. For OneAdvanced, it was a front-row seat to deeper insight into the needs of our customers, equipping us to meet them better today, and unlocking new opportunities for tomorrow.

Read on to find out about the key announcements and actionable strategies we uncovered at London Tech Week 2025.

Why London Tech Week 2025 matters

London Tech Week serves as a platform for tech leaders, policymakers, and innovators to define the UK’s digital path forward, and what it will take to stay competitive. This year’s event, held from 9th to 13th June, received over 30,000 attendees and 500 speakers, and discussed themes like AI, automation, cybersecurity, and workforce inclusion. The spotlight was on the UK’s latest, and most forward-thinking moves in AI, regulation, and innovation.

Keynotes from leading figures like the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, outlined a national push for AI adoption and digital upskilling. Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, endorsed these, speaking about the UK’s potential as a global AI powerhouse. What stood out most wasn’t the vision; it was the urgency. Conversations focused on the policy, platforms, and partnerships needed to re-envision how UK businesses operate, grow, and serve their customers.

Notable highlights included:

• A £1 billion investment in AI compute infrastructure

• UK demand for secure, sovereign cloud and AI hosting environments

• The UK Government’s pledge to train 7.5 million workers in AI by 2030

Top 3 trends from London Tech Week

Below are three critical areas that emerged as discussion topics that every UK business leader should consider for their tech strategy in the years ahead.

1. AI & automation in public services

The integration of AI and automation in public services was a central theme, reflecting the UK’s commitment to enhancing digital transformation.

Kier Starmer made headlines with his speech declaring AI an essential part of the UK’s infrastructure. The government is set to modernise public services with AI tools that streamline services and boost operational efficiency, backed by a £1 billion investment. Demonstrations at the event showcased this in action, like the Job Centre Work AI Coaches for job seekers.

Nvidia’s CEO praised the UK as one of the richest AI communities globally thanks to research institutions, its startup ecosystem, and academia. “It’s missing just one thing – and that is infrastructure”, he said. In response, his UK sovereign AI industry forum was announced, in collaboration with leading British companies like BAE systems, BT, Babcock, National Grid, and Standard Chartered. The goal is to scale the UK’s domestic computing capabilities by 20 times.

The mandate for the public sector is clear: embrace AI-powered automation to meet rising demands for speed, transparency, and compliance, optimising limited resources. In doing so, position the UK at the forefront of a new era in public sector innovation.

Leading OneAdvanced clients such as West Mercia Police, the fourth largest police force in the UK, have already proved this possible. Thanks to the OneAdvanced Financials software, now available with a private sovereign AI service, they’ve saved up to £470,000 on annual budget while driving their service efficiency up to 91% by taking their uniform procurement supply inhouse. Jon Strelitz, Head of Contracts and Procurement, West Mercia Police:

“We have saved money – almost half a million pounds – reduced the wait times for new items of uniform and improved the experience we deliver to our employees. OneAdvanced has been instrumental to this success”

Want to see automation in action? Check out our latest case studies here.

2. Cybersecurity for a digital-first UK

While no new cyber strategy was formally announced at London Tech Week 2025, cybersecurity was an undeniably central theme at this year’s event too. It was no longer treated as a siloed IT concern, the focus shifted towards AI-enhanced threat detection, zero-trust architecture, and the need for shared threat intelligence across public and private sectors.

Key sessions on this topic featured voices such as the NCSC, Darktrace, and the Department of Science, Innovation & Technology highlighted the reality that AI is transforming both attack and defence faster than most businesses are prepared for. Here are some takeaways:

• AI-enabled cyber defence is no longer theoretical
• Shared threat intelligence is becoming the norm
• AI-risk regulation is just around the corner
• Innovation is accelerating fast in this space

UK-based sovereign infrastructure like OneAdvanced AI should be central to the tech roadmap of any business taking AI seriously, particular for those operating in mission-critical sectors such as healthcare, legal, education, and government. According to our 2025 Business Trends report, only 47% of IT professionals managing cybersecurity express confidence in their current systems’ ability to ward off cyberattacks, the emphasis on this topic is key.

In short: While no national cyber strategy unveiled, London Tech Week 2025 made it clear that cyber resilience – especially AI-driven – is a strategic priority.

For more on this check out:

• Our article: What is AI security?
• Our Q&A: Is secure AI the smartest tool in a leader’s innovation kit? - Raconteur

3. Ethical AI and workforce inclusion

London Tech Week also highlighted a growing imperative to close the digital skills gap through proactive training and inclusion. The UK Government’s TechFirst programme investing £187 million to upskill 7.5 million workers by 2030, signalled a nationwide commitment to building a diverse, future-ready talent pool that can harness AI responsibly.

Bringing digital skills and AI learning into classrooms and communities, the government aims to make technology accessible to a wider range of talent across industries. This is a critical shift bringing to the forefront an important message: if tech isn’t inclusive, it’s incomplete.

What this means: As AI accelerates, we should expect the bar to rise for explainability, inclusiveness, and clear alignment with ethical standards like those set by the NCSC and other UK regulatory frameworks. Meanwhile, our 2025 Business Trends Report indicates that, while nearly 60% of UK leaders want this, only 22% feel their current systems adhere.

Want the full picture? Download our 2025 Annual Trends Report Today

How UK businesses should respond

London Tech Week 2025 didn’t just showcase the future; it set the agenda. From AI investment to digital inclusion, cybersecurity to sovereign infrastructure. Here are our main takeaways: :

• Embed AI with purpose – not just speed
• Align with UK-based, sovereign infrastructure
• Make cybersecurity proactive and AI-driven
• Train your people like the future depends on it – because it does
• Track innovation, but act with intention

What’s next from OneAdvanced?

Looking ahead, we’re excited to introduce our latest AI-powered innovation, OneAdvanced AI, which provides a secure, compliant environment with UK data sovereignty, empowering organisations to innovate confidently.

Contact us today to discover what’s possible.