TL;DR

A study paid for by the GMCA, Greater Manchester’s combined authority, has identified 663 businesses developing or using AI across the city region, About Manchester reported on 20 October. The report, written by consultancy Perspective Economics, estimates the wider AI workforce at almost 11,000 people, which it says is more than any UK region bar London. It is the first full baseline of AI activity in the area.

What the baseline shows

Most of the companies are home-grown. According to the study, 54% were founded in Greater Manchester, rising to 68% among firms whose core offer is AI itself.

The report places the region’s strength in applied AI: putting the technology to work on problems inside particular industries and in public services. Health and life sciences stand out, alongside research at the city region’s universities and a group of local firms selling AI products internationally.

Looking ahead, a medium-growth scenario has the ecosystem reaching about 1,420 businesses by 2035. On that path it would contribute £1.6bn in gross value added each year and support upwards of 28,000 people in the wider AI workforce. The GMCA plans to use the findings to target investment and support, and to measure progress over time.

The mayor’s framing

The region’s mayor, Bev Craig, said the ambition is to be “a world-leading AI city region”, where AI is applied responsibly and creates “lasting public value”. Craig added that “growth alone is not enough”, arguing that innovation must create and protect good jobs and be “ethical and trusted”.

Looking forward

We could not find the full report or the authority’s own announcement online, so we have not been able to check the methodology behind the counts or the growth scenario. In our view, the baseline matters less for the headline numbers than for what comes next: a fixed starting point lets the region show over time whether its AI growth is real, not just asserted. For businesses in the North West, it suggests the combined authority will steer support towards applied uses such as health and public services.