UK named the "heartland of European healthcare AI" in new report

Germany and France are two flourishing AI hubs, but the UK has been named the European AI "powerhouse" in a new report from London-based investment firm MMC Ventures. Published earlier this month, the analysis sheds light on the hype around the technology, but identifies healthcare as an area of increasing focus for AI entrepreneurs as systems start to embrace emerging technologies. Out of around 1,600 European early stage AI software companies, 21 percent are said to be focusing on health and wellbeing, with the UK dubbed the "heartland of European healthcare AI". This is due to a variety of factors, the research suggests, from the UK having universities that are world-renowned for medicine and teaching hospitals, to what is described as the "flywheel" effect of companies like DeepMind, Babylon or Benevolent AI, which are "simulating, attracting and recycling talent, capital and commercial engagement in the UK ecosystem". And although engaging with the NHS is still perceived to be "challenging", the analysis indicates that early stage companies can now benefit from a wider range of "accessible deployment opportunities". Health secretary Matt Hancock outlined today in a message to delegates at the Digital Health Technology Show in London his ambition to "make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a health tech business".