New data published today (8 June) by Invest Manchester shows Greater Manchester’s AI sector has reached a valuation of $4.7bn, up 9% YoY, in 2026.
The data sourced from Dealroom highlights the city region as continuing to attract investment from some of the world’s leading technology companies.
Greater Manchester has attracted almost $1bn in cumulative AI investment since 2010 and is now home to 13,500 AI professionals.
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In the past 18 months, 59 AI fundraisings have been completed in the city region totalling $167m.
ARM, IBM, Makutu, Boom Interactive, Xcubated, OLT and Slick + have all chosen to invest further or expand into Greater Manchester over the same period, joining homegrown firms including Matillion, Peak, ConnexAI, UrbanChain and Summize.
Invest Manchester, the investment agency for Greater Manchester, supports AI and cyber businesses to establish and grow their operations across the city region.
Since 2010, around $1.2tn has been invested in AI companies worldwide, with those companies now worth $26.6tn. This means that for every $1 invested, the market currently reflects around $22 in enterprise value. Global AI company valuations have grown by 145% since 2023.
Greater Manchester is ranked 13th in Europe for AI talent, according to a recent Turing Innovation Catalyst report, and earlier this year the government gave the green light to the Manchester Digital Campus to drive forward world-class digital public services.
The city region has also topped the SAS AI Cities Index for the second consecutive year as the UK’s most AI-ready city outside London and has been chosen to host the Global Government Forum’s first Global AI Cities Conference, in testament to the strength of the growing sector.
Invest Manchester will be at London Tech Week on the 9th June presenting Greater Manchester to international investors and technology companies.
Joe Manning, managing director of Invest Manchester, said: “Greater Manchester has spent over a decade building and establishing the right conditions for the growth of the technology sector and the data proves the success of this. The talent is here, the research base is here, and the governance to pull it all together is here.
“Global businesses do not make location decisions lightly. The fact that they keep choosing Greater Manchester tells you something about what we have built.”
Councillor Bev Craig OBE, leader of Manchester City Council and GMCA economy lead, added:
“Manchester has always backed the industries that create jobs and opportunities for people across the city region, as demonstrated by our capacity to connect up those opportunities to local people.
“Our AI sector has not emerged by chance, it has been built through collaboration with our universities, businesses and public sector, and through the devolved powers that allow us to make decisions that work for Greater Manchester. This is built on our commitment to harness new tech like AI for good. The companies choosing to invest and grow here are creating real opportunities for our residents and that is what this is all about.”
