The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy and the Future of Generative AI

What the Document Is: A 10-Year Plan to Reposition the UK

In June 2025, the UK government released its updated Modern Industrial Strategy — a long-term roadmap to catalyse productivity, regional growth, and technological innovation. It’s a detailed, 200+ page document laying out the government’s comprehensive approach to economic transformation, with AI front and centre. Crucially, this isn’t just about “tech for tech’s sake”. It reframes AI as a foundational layer for national prosperity, competitive advantage, and even sovereignty.

The strategy is structured around the so-called “IS-8” — eight high-potential growth sectors — and Generative AI cuts across nearly all of them. From new AI Growth Zones and talent pipelines, to data valuation and compute infrastructure, this strategy is about making the UK an AI maker, not an AI taker.

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📄 View the full UK Industrial Strategy 2025 report here

Why This Strategy Matters

This isn’t just policy fluff or digital fanfare. Here’s why it matters:

  • AI = Economic Engine: The government forecasts up to £47 billion a year in productivity gains through AI adoption by 2035. It’s not just theory — they’re backing it with £500m for the Sovereign AI Unit and major expansions in supercomputing (the AIRR) and health data access.

  • Global Positioning: With ambitions to become one of the top three places globally to scale a tech business by 2035, the UK is attempting to carve out space between the US and China in the AI arms race.

  • Cross-Sector Fusion: Generative AI is seen not as a standalone sector but as a transformative multiplier across defence, manufacturing, health, finance, and the creative industries.

  • Skills and Safety Together: It balances growth with governance. There’s emphasis on transparency, copyright standards, smart data use, and pro-innovation regulation through the RIO and CMA.

Where It Aligns with Techosaurus

As a company focused on helping people and organisations evolve with technology, Techosaurus is deeply aligned with several core pillars of this strategy:

  • AI Skills for Everyone: The launch of the AI Skills Hub and TechFirst echoes the very foundation of our Generative AI Bootcamps. We’re already delivering on what the strategy calls for: grassroots AI education with clear pathways to real-world application.

  • SMB AI Adoption: The Industrial Strategy recognises that SMEs are critical to national growth, but face barriers in adopting emerging tech. This is exactly the space we operate in — helping small and medium businesses integrate AI into their operations and workflows.

  • Local-first Innovation: With new emphasis on city regions and clusters, the government is finally thinking regionally. We’ve been doing this for years through Digital Hub and our regional partnerships in Somerset, Devon, and across the South West.

  • Ethical Framing: Our bootcamps, talks, and consultancy all foreground responsible AI use. The government’s call for transparency, IP protections, and pro-innovation regulation align strongly with our ethical-first approach.

Where It Doesn’t Align (Yet)

Of course, the strategy isn’t flawless, and there are areas where it diverges from our values or falls short:

  • Delivery Uncertainty: There’s always a gap between ambition and execution. The UK has had strong industrial strategies before — they often collapse under political change or bureaucratic inertia. We’ll be watching closely to see if these commitments translate to accessible funding and real opportunities on the ground.

  • Limited Focus on Microbusinesses: While SMEs are acknowledged, the smallest companies — freelancers, sole traders, community organisations — often fall through the cracks. These are precisely the groups we work with every day, and they need tailored support, not just trickle-down benefits.

  • Computing Centralisation: The AI Research Resource expansion is impressive, but much of the infrastructure remains centralised in elite institutions or large cities. Regional equity in access to compute and data remains a challenge.

  • Opaque IP Framework: The copyright and creative content licensing strategy is still under consultation. It’s a sensitive area where AI companies and rights holders have competing interests. Until clear, fair frameworks are defined, there’s uncertainty for AI creators and developers.

Final Thoughts: A Welcome Roadmap, But We Can’t Wait for It

This strategy is a major step forward. It sets the tone for a UK that wants to lead in AI, not follow. But real change will come not from policy alone, but from action - by businesses, educators, and local leaders willing to do the hard work of adoption, innovation, and upskilling.

At Techosaurus, we’re already ahead of the curve. We’re building the training, tools, and community needed to turn policy into progress. So while we welcome this roadmap, we’re not waiting for government to catch up. We’ll keep moving, along with our partners at Yeovil College - evolving with the tech, and helping others do the same.

If you want to understand what this means for your team, your region, or your organisation, you know where to find us.