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Sunak urges UK businesses to move fast on AI or risk a K-shaped economy
At a Birmingham event, Rishi Sunak told business leaders to focus AI on concrete business needs, move fast, and pilot solutions to prevent widening economic divides.
Mar 26th 2026 · United Kingdom
Insights
- Former prime minister Rishi Sunak told hundreds of business leaders in Birmingham to prioritise rapid AI adoption.
- He advised firms to start from business needs, make decisions quickly, and pilot and iterate AI projects.
- Sunak warned that slow adopters risk being left behind in a K-shaped economy where adopters advance and laggards decline.
- He is an adviser to Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and Anthropic and holds an MBA from Stanford.
- Audience founders warned of false confidence from AI models like Gemini, Claude and Perplexity and stressed the need for strong business judgment.
- The article cited UK tech valuations including Nscale at $14.6 billion and Revolut at $75 billion.