UK faces challenges in nurturing tech startups like OpenAI, says government advisor
Watch: 'UK faces challenges in nurturing tech startups like OpenAI' | The Crypto Mile
A UK government advisor on artificial intelligence (AI) expressed skepticism about the possibility of fostering a tech startup similar to OpenAI within the country.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance UK, Xenesis Founder Tirath Virdee said: a "tech startup like OpenAI could never exist in the UK." He then highlighted concerns about the short-term focus in the country's approach to innovation.
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Having served as an advisor to the UK Cabinet Office on various issues, the data scientist said: "It has always gone down to the fact that we have got this short-termism."
According to Virdee, the UK lacks a conducive environment for nurturing companies similar to OpenAI. "There is no appetite in the UK to take the risk of investing billions in speculative enterprises [like those that saw] the emergence of artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI," he emphasised.
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Discussing his firsthand experience as the chief scientist and founder of the AI startup Xenesis, he emphasised, "There is no way that a company like mine could secure funding in the UK, so we have to look outside."
The UK should focus on its strengths
Despite these challenges, Virdee acknowledged the UK's strengths, mentioning a recent survey on the maturity of nation-states in AI. "Britain is still up there; it's number three in the world. This is because there is so much funded research in this country when it comes to fields connected with AI," Virdee added.
He underscored the potential for the UK to lead in the convergence of artificial intelligence and fintech. "Because Britain has always had its position in the world as a financial centre, investing in startups in this space ought to be one of the national priorities."
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However, he noted a key distinction between the UK and the US, where innovative startups are typically led by "geeks." In contrast, he observed, "In the UK, it is the opposite. It is not the people in the doing end that end up driving these startups; it is somebody from broader business that tells you, 'I'll tell you how to do it.'"
Virdee highlighted the dominance of these business figures over technical experts in the UK startup landscape. "In the UK, the business people end up overpowering the geeks," he said, attributing this trend to British understatement and a lack of forceful self-belief.
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