travelwitness - stock.adobe.com
Welsh government launches £2.1m fund to help SMEs adopt AI
The funding is being used to deliver artificial intelligence awareness and adoption support to businesses, as well as to upskill staff, enabling them to take advantage of AI
The Welsh government is spending £2.1m on helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country adopt and use artificial intelligence (AI) in their business.
The aim is to create AI awareness among small businesses and enable them to upskill staff to be able to take advantage of emerging technologies.
Part of the funding is going to the Business Wales service, the Welsh government’s free advice and guidance body, which is using its £600,000 to develop and deliver an AI awareness and adoption support programme.
The scheme is focused on implementing recommendations from a short-term review, commissioned by the Welsh government in October 2025, which included the launch of an awareness campaign explaining the benefits of new technologies, and for the government to offer enhanced digital support to businesses.
Wales’s cabinet secretary for economy, energy and planning, Rebecca Evans, said the funding builds on “powerful showcases of Welsh innovation and technology”.
“AI is transforming the business sector, improving productivity and driving change,” she said. “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.”
Read more about AI and government
- The UK has a 50-point plan of action to drive the AI sector. There’s ongoing investment, but plenty of areas to improve.
- Major obstacles facing Labour’s AI opportunity action plan: Skills, data held in legacy tech and a lack of leadership are among the areas discussed during a recent Public Accounts Committee session.
- Inaugural AI Security Institute report claims that safeguards in place to ensure AI models behave as intended seem to be improving.
The largest part of the funding will go towards an AI upskilling offer developed through the Flexible Skills Programme, which will receive £1m to bridge digital skills gaps and support inclusive growth.
The programme offers employers access to training across regions, with subsidised costs, only paying 25% of AI training costs and 50% for other courses.
Welsh skills minister Jack Sargeant said the government recognises “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 is 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,” he said.
Some SMEs are already using AI to improve its operations, including Something Different Wholesale, a Swansea-based business using AI to process data and provide market insight. Founder Jane Wallace-Jones said that businesses adopting AI and integrating it into its processes will gain “a significant competitive advantage”, but added that many SMEs lack the in-house expertise to do so.
“This Welsh government funding presents a valuable opportunity for Welsh businesses like ours to access high-quality AI training and improve productivity,” she said. “This will help boost growth and innovation, and create more employment opportunities in Wales.”
Another £500,000 will be used to improve the tourism and events industry in Wales, using AI, including providing up to 1,000 Welsh tourism microbusinesses and SMEs with AI skills for digital marketing and content creation.
