AI Growth Labs could accelerate AI innovation and deployment.
Today, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced the launch of the AI Growth Lab, a new proposed framework for a cross-economy sandbox initiative designed to “accelerate innovation and cut bureaucracy in a safe environment.”
DSIT has now launched a call for evidence, which will be open until 2 January 2026, on how the Lab should operate — including which sectors to prioritise, what regulatory changes could unlock innovation, and what safeguards are needed.
The AI Growth Lab aims to:
- Grant time-limited exemptions to allow responsible experimentation.
- Operate issue- or sector-specific sandboxes where regulatory modification may be needed.
- Maintain strict oversight and safeguards for the regulatory modifications the Lab has enabled.
- Recommend that successful pilots inform future regulatory reforms, through guidance updates, codes of practice, or statutory changes.
Why it matters
In its call for evidence, government acknowledges that much of the UK’s regulation was written before AI existed. While most rules remain technology-neutral, many are not designed for systems that learn, adapt, and make autonomous decisions. Flexible and adaptive oversight can therefore be an essential way to maintain public trust, enable AI adoption, and attract investment.
The AI Growth Lab offers a potential solution — a way to pilot novel approaches to regulation before reforms are made permanent. It aims to build on lessons from the FCA’s Innovate Sandbox, MHRA’s AI Airlock, and similar initiatives across the UK and abroad.
What is the proposed model
Two proposed styles of AI Growth Lab are being explored
- A centrally operated lab: a single, government-led entry point that will establish and supervise pilots across sectors, working with sectoral regulators as part of its Oversight Committee
- Regulator-operated labs: multiple labs led by sectoral regulators - one lead regulator per sandbox - for focused, domain-specific applications such as healthcare or transport.
Initial pilots are expected to target sectors that align with the Sovereign AI’s strategic priorities and Industrial Strategy, where innovation potential is high but regulation is slowing adoption. In their call for evidence, DSIT highlighted three main examples: planning reform, clinical care, and robotics. The call for views also mentions the potential for place-based regulatory sandboxes that will complement AI Growth Zones.
As part of the call for evidence, DSIT is also asking for what kind of mechanism could make successful regulatory modifications permanent through secondary legislation, ensuring pilots can translate into long-term change with appropriate parliamentary scrutiny.
techUK’s view
techUK welcomes the launch of the AI Growth Lab as a positive step toward a pro-growth regulatory approach that helps companies safely develop, scale, and deploy AI in key sectors of the UK economy.
In response to the announcement techUK’s deputy CEO Antony Walker welcomed this as a strong step:
If we get this right, the AI Growth Lab can add real value by drawing on learnings from existing sandboxes and working closely with AI businesses to deliver tangible results and real-world impact. This is about accelerating innovation and the pace at which AI can be deployed into sectors of the economy where complex regulations apply. To do innovation at pace, we need to trial and test technologies in the real world – and the AI Growth Lab will provide a managed environment to do that safely.
The call for evidence
The government is seeking views on the full proposal they have set out through a call for evidence, that focuses on:
- whether an AI growth lab will make it easier to develop or adopt AI;
- the advantages and disadvantages of cross-economy or single regulator labs
- lessons learnt from past sandboxes;
- regulatory provisions needed to modify regulation for the lab;
- which types of regulation should be off-limits;
- how to design effective oversight, supervision, monitoring, and controls for the AI Growth Lab initiative;
- how to enable an AI Growth Lab to make permanent legislative changes if a pilot is successful; and
- whether this initiative could or should apply to other high-potential technologies.
Responses are due 2 January 2026.
Next steps
techUK plans to respond to the call for evidence by the end of this calendar year. Any members interested in contributing to techUK’s responses are invited to share any of their feedback, including their views on:
- regulatory barriers your AI products/services face today;
- the sandbox design and safeguards that would enable safe, faster deployment;
- which sectors/applications should be prioritised first; and
- how the route from sandbox to scaling onwards should work.
Please email Kir Nuthi, Head of AI and Data at [email protected] with short written input or to register interest in a potential member roundtable, which we will confirm based on interest. Further information will be shared with members in due course.
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Contact the team
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.
She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.
Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego.
Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.
- Email:
- [email protected]
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.
He leads techUK’s AI Adoption programme, supporting members of all sizes and sectors in adopting AI at scale. His work involves identifying barriers to adoption, exploring solutions, and helping to unlock AI’s transformative potential, particularly its benefits for people, the economy, society, and the planet. He is also committed to advancing the UK’s AI sector and ensuring the UK remains a global leader in AI by working closely with techUK members, the UK Government, regulators, and devolved and local authorities.
Since joining techUK, Usman has delivered a regular drumbeat of activity to engage members and advance techUK's AI programme. This has included two campaign weeks, the creation of the AI Adoption Hub (now the AI Hub), the AI Leader's Event Series, the Putting AI into Action webinar series and the Industrial AI sprint campaign.
Before joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, regulatory and government/public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales, marketing, and FinTech.
Usman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a GDL and LLB from BPP Law School, and a BA from Queen Mary University of London.
When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.
Sue Daley OBE
Sue Daley OBE
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work.
This includes work programmes on cloud, data protection, data analytics, AI, digital ethics, Digital Identity and Internet of Things as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy.
In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List.
She has been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and in 2021 was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the data agenda in the UK, Sue was co-chair of the UK government's National Data Strategy Forum until July 2024. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries for 2020 Sue has also been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and was a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI. In addition to being a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security, Sue was recently a judge for the UK Tech 50 and is a regular judge of the annual UK Cloud Awards.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015 Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. She has spoken at events including the UK-China Internet Forum in Beijing, UN IGF and European RSA on issues ranging from data usage and privacy, cloud computing and online child safety. Before joining Symantec, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Masters Degree on International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
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- [email protected]
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- 020 7331 2055
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- @ChannelSwimSue,@ChannelSwimSue
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Authors
Samiah Anderson
Samiah Anderson is the Head of Digital Regulation at techUK.
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.