Mobile World Congress - AI gets real and other key takeaways from MWC
1. AI as a tool for growth
The conversation about AI is clearly shifting - from “where can we save?” to “how can we grow?”.
For the past couple of years, much of the focus has been on experimentation and efficiency. That’s still happening. But we are now starting to see organisations generate genuine returns from AI investments.
Some enterprises are operationalising AI in ways that go well beyond productivity gains - embedding it into products, services and decision-making.
That aligns with PwC research showing 81% of UK CEOs are doubling down on AI, data and cloud to drive growth.
But as organisations push further into AI, there’s a growing realisation among Chief Data and AI Officers - and CIOs - that the traditional way of making technology choices is no longer fit for purpose.
The pace of change is simply too fast.
Businesses increasingly need a plug-and-play approach to AI models - selecting the right LLM for the right task and being ready to swap or upgrade quickly as the landscape evolves. Do we need continuous sourcing for technology and AI?
Another important shift is employee-led adoption. Organisations that empower and harness the power of their people to experiment with new AI tools and models often move faster and unlock more value. The key, of course, is putting the right governance, controls and monitoring (of model behaviour) in place so that experimentation happens safely and responsibly.
2. Europe’s sovereign opportunity
Another big theme at MWC was digital sovereignty where I also had the privilege of hosting an ecosystem panel spanning software, AI, platforms, IT managed services & communications, real estate and data centres, and AI chip manufacturers.
There is growing recognition across Europe that developing local capabilities in AI, cloud and data infrastructure is becoming strategically essential.
This creates a major opportunity for Europe and the UK to regain momentum in the digital, software and AI economy - particularly with trillions expected to be invested globally in digital infrastructure over the coming 5 years.
This push for sovereign capabilities could accelerate growth across a wide ecosystem - from neo-cloud providers and AI platforms to data centres and infrastructure specialists to real estate and off-grid power providers.
For telecom operators, this could also open up new ways to repurpose legacy infrastructure and play a larger role in the digital stack.
But capitalising on this opportunity requires more than ambition.
It requires the right regulatory environment, market structures and investment conditions that create confidence – and, critically, a strong and connected ecosystem that builds power systems, infrastructure, software and AI capabilities.
If those pieces come together, the UK and Europe have a real chance to unlock a new wave of innovation and economic growth.
3. Start-ups pushing the bounds - and purpose - of the possible
Innovation was on full display through the European Innovation Council’s showcase of start-ups tackling some genuinely fascinating challenges, many of which were focused on helping save lives and improve quality of life.
The winning start-up demonstrated technology that uses data from connected devices in the home to detect early signs of cognitive or physical health decline.
Second place went to a company developing a new way of distributing power using quantisation - potentially enabling multiple devices to receive electricity without physical cabling. Getting this right could be genuinely game-changing for the world of electric mobility and IoT that we’re heading into.
Both examples highlight the strength of deep-tech innovation emerging across Europe - and the important role start-ups will play in shaping the next wave of technology and powering wider economic growth.
4. Quantum edges closer to reality
A technology that feels closer than ever to practical reality - quantum computing.
Across the event there were multiple “quantum chandeliers” and quantum demonstrations showing how rapidly the field is advancing.
We’re not quite at full commercial maturity yet. But the direction of travel is clear - and the pace of progress is accelerating. Quantum is moving from theoretical promise to tangible capability and, when combined with AI, the applications in pharmaceuticals, healthcare and financial services will be game-changing.
5. Physical AI - from large language models to real-world models
Large language models have transformed digital work - from customer service and software development to marketing and financial analysis.
But in the real world: a factory floor, into a power plant or a warehouse - and the opportunity for AI looks very different.
The physical world doesn’t communicate in text. It operates through visuals, movement, vibration and in changing environments and with human interaction. Making decisions in these settings requires AI that can interpret real-world signals and act safely in dynamic conditions.
This is where Physical AI comes in.
Physical AI systems combine data from cameras, sensors and connected devices with models that understand space, motion and context. By bringing together language models, world models and real-time connectivity, we will start to see machines and robots that understand where they are, and how they operate to understand reason, risk, time and safety.
One start-up we encountered at the European Innovation Council’s showcase was a robotics start-up using wearables for workers to record and generate the next generation of physical training data - helping machines learn how real environments behave.
This also points to the growing need for new observability capabilities. As AI increasingly makes decisions in both digital and physical environments, organisations will need to understand how those decisions are made and ensure they are transparent, auditable and safe.
Success will depend not just on the intelligence itself, but on the ability to see what the AI sees, understand its reasoning and continuously improve it while maintaining safety and compliance.
In many ways, this becomes IT for running AI - and AI for running AI.
Physical AI may well mark the point where AI moves from transforming digital work to transforming the physical world.
So those are my five key talking points from MWC – I’d love to hear what you think. Please get in touch and connect with me on LinkedIn.
Author
Warren Tucker
Warren Tucker
techUK - Seizing the AI Opportunity
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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.
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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.
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Sue Daley OBE
Sue Daley OBE
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work. This includes work programmes on AI, Cloud, Data, Quantum, Semiconductors, Digital ID and Digital ethics 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 also been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the tech agenda in the UK, in December 2025 Sue was appointed to the UK Government’s Women in Tech Taskforce by the Technology Secretary of State. She also sits on the UK Government’s Smart Data Council, Satellite Applications Catapult Advisory Group, Bank of England’s AI Consortium and BSI’s Digital Strategic Advisory Group. Previously, Sue was a member of the Independent Future of Compute Review and co-chaired the National Data Strategy Forum. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries in 2020, Sue has been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and has been a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI, the UK Tech 50 and annual UK Cloud Awards. She is a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015, Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. Before that, 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 Master’s Degree in 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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