£2.1m support to help Welsh businesses adopt AI

The funding will empower Welsh SMEs, entrepreneurs and microbusinesses to integrate AI into their business practices ethically and effectively, enhancing productivity, innovation, and competitiveness.

The Business Wales service will receive £600k to develop and deliver an AI awareness and adoption support programme – implementing recommendations from recent short-term reviews on SME productivity and AI adoption.

A further £500k will be provided to significantly enhance both the tourism and the events sectors in Wales using AI. This investment will include an AI Pollination Project, working in partnership with experts in the Hartree Centre Cardiff Hub (HCCH) and Cardiff University’s Digital Transformation Innovation Institute (DTII), to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence with event organisers in Wales.

It will complement specialist tourism digital expertise, with in-person workshops designed to provide up to 1,000 Welsh tourism microbusinesses and SMEs with practical AI skills for digital marketing and content creation.

Another £1m will see an AI upskilling offer developed through the Flexible Skills Programme (FSP). It will focus on bridging digital skills gaps and support inclusive growth by ensuring access to training across regions and industries – with employers paying just 25 per cent of AI training costs and 50 per cent for other FSP courses.

Swansea-based Something Different Wholesale is one business already embracing AI to supercharge its operations.

With a turnover of £11 million, a team of 75 staff, and 12,000 active business-to-business customers worldwide, the giftware company uses AI to process data and provide market insight on products, to automate time-consuming tasks so staff can focus their expertise in more valuable ways, and to deliver customer services.

It is also launching a new global website, using AI to translate its web pages into various languages.

Jane Wallace-Jones, the founder of Something Different Wholesale, said:

“Artificial intelligence is advancing at a rapid pace and businesses that successfully adopt AI and integrate it into their processes will gain a significant competitive advantage. However, many SMEs lack the in-house expertise needed to utilise the latest technologies effectively.

“This Welsh Government funding presents a valuable opportunity for Welsh businesses like ours to access high-quality AI training and improve productivity. This will help boost growth, innovation, and create more employment opportunities in Wales.”

Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, said:

“This important funding builds on powerful showcases of Welsh innovation, technology, and ambition in dynamic and forward looking sectors at Wales Tech Week and the Wales Investment Summit.

“AI is transforming the business sector, improving productivity and driving change. This programme of AI awareness, adoption and upskilling will help us ensure SMEs across all sectors in Wales are prepared to optimise the potential of emerging AI technologies in responsible, inclusive and ambitious ways.

“This will play a crucial role in putting the AI Plan for Wales into action, enabling people, communities, and businesses in every corner of Wales to start realising the benefits of artificial intelligence.”

Skills Minister Jack Sargeant said:

“We recognise the huge potential of AI to supercharge business development and economic growth and are determined to do all we can to support the ambition of SMEs across Wales to develop the skills needed for future success.  

“Our hugely successful Flexible Skills Programme already benefitting thousands of businesses across Wales and this latest £1m of funding will bridge digital skills gaps and accelerate the ethical and responsible adoption of AI in a rapidly evolving digital economy.”