The UK’s £500 million Sovereign AI Fund met Northern Ireland entrepreneurs at a Belfast launch event on 8 October, as the region’s count of firms commercially engaged with AI doubled from 198 to 400 in 12 months, Sync NI reported.
Key points
- The government-backed fund was established in April to invest directly in early-stage and growth-stage AI companies.
- Selected Northern Ireland companies pitched privately to its investment team.
- AI-related employment in the region reached 2,402 full-time equivalent roles.
Sovereign AI brings £500m fund to Belfast
The Labour Government established the fund in April to invest directly in AI companies at early and growth stages, The Irish News reported. Its Belfast event took place at Catalyst’s Innovation Centre and brought together 100 founders, investors, industry leaders and policymakers.
Sovereign AI, the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC), Catalyst and People Playbook delivered the event in partnership. The programme included a presentation by Joséphine Kant, an Investment Partner at Sovereign AI, on the fund’s ambitions and investment approach for British AI companies.
Kant said Sovereign AI had spent its first six months travelling around the UK to meet founders, investors and people leading regional technology networks. The fund was looking for AI companies across the country and wanted to know the founders building them, she said.
Sovereign AI is also seeking to help high-potential UK AI companies reach procurement opportunities and, where relevant, resources including compute and other national assets, Sync NI reported. Those forms of support sit alongside the fund’s intended investment in companies.
Humain and Pytilia pitch to fund representatives
Before the main programme, selected Northern Ireland companies took part in a private session with the Sovereign AI team and investors. It gave them an opportunity to present their businesses and growth plans directly to people involved in the fund’s investment work.
Humain and Pytilia were among the local firms that pitched to fund representatives, The Irish News reported. The session was one part of a wider event intended to connect Northern Ireland companies with investors and introduce them to national investment and procurement opportunities.
Other discussions addressed the work of building and financing technology companies. Erwann Le Lannou, an investor at Sovereign AI, joined investor Michael Black and Cloudsmith Chief Strategy Officer Alan Carson on a panel moderated by Patrick McIlveen, Catalyst’s Head of Entrepreneurship and Scaling.
Kainos CEO Brendan Mooney discussed building a Northern Ireland technology company for international markets. People Playbook founder Tony McGaharan led a separate session on leadership in organisations making greater use of AI. Catalyst hosted the fund’s delegation and the wider gathering at its Belfast centre.
AICC census counts 400 AI firms
The AICC’s AI Capability Census 2026 counted 400 Northern Ireland firms commercially engaged with AI, compared with 198 a year earlier. AI-related employment reached 2,402 full-time equivalent roles, while estimated AI-related gross value added stood at £214 million.
AI-related employment rose by 79% in a year, and the £214 million gross value added estimate compared with £82m in 2025, The Irish News reported. The AICC is led by Ulster University in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast and works with businesses on AI adoption and commercialisation.
The increase in company numbers was concentrated among smaller businesses. The census counted 176 micro firms commercially engaged with AI, up from 83. It counted 105 small firms, compared with 42 a year earlier. Micro firms employ fewer than ten people.
Seven in ten of the region’s AI firms employ fewer than 50 people. Of the 400 firms counted in the census, 236 were founded in Northern Ireland and 87 have been incorporated since 2024.
