Britain's AI labour market is not evenly distributed. London remains the country's deepest concentration of founders, investors, research institutions and enterprise buyers, with the South East and East of England extending that cluster through Cambridge and other technology centres.
The latest government sector study also shows why the story should not stop there. Regions that started from much smaller bases are adding AI companies quickly, raising a harder question for local economic policy: are registered offices being followed by durable technical jobs?
Three regions still dominate company location
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's 2024 AI sector study says London, the South East and East of England together accounted for approximately three quarters of registered office locations. That concentration matters because labour markets are reinforced by proximity. Engineers can change employers without moving city, investors see more companies and founders can recruit people who already understand the sector.
It also creates costs. Competition for experienced staff raises salaries, and companies outside the core can struggle to signal that comparable technical careers exist elsewhere.
Regional growth is real, but it starts from smaller bases
The same study reports that the West Midlands, North West, East Midlands, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber have at least doubled their number of AI companies compared with 2022. Growth rates outside the core therefore look strong even while absolute concentration remains high.
A regional AI strategy should distinguish startup counts from employment scale. One ten-person company and one thousand-person engineering centre both add one company to a register but have very different effects on the local labour market.
The skills shortage makes geography more important
The government's AI Labour Market Survey found that employers continue to report substantial technical skills gaps. That makes regional depth valuable. Cities with universities, experienced software employers and adjacent industries can build talent pipelines that are less dependent on relocating workers to London.
The policy challenge is to connect education, employer demand and career progression. Short courses can expand entry routes, but senior AI roles are often built on years of engineering, statistics or domain experience.
What to watch next
The next useful regional dataset would combine AI employer locations with actual headcount, vacancies, pay and seniority. Britain's AI map is broadening, but the evidence still says the centre of gravity remains heavily southern.