Dr Dritan Kaleshi
Director of Technology, – Future Networks and Digital Infrastructure, Digital Catapult
The convergence of AI with other areas of deep tech innovation will be critical to unlocking new opportunities to grow the economy.
In converging AI with other capabilities, including advanced connectivity, we must work together to establish a verifiable, resilient intelligent digital infrastructure critical to make the UK future-ready.
The UK’s AI industry is on track to increase the country’s GDP to over £550 billion by 2035, but the opportunity lies in how AI-enabled solutions can be integrated with other areas of deep tech.1 The UK’s deep tech ecosystem attracts significant global investment, with UK startups receiving the most funding last year, raising $5.2 billion in capital.2
Converging AI with deep tech innovation thus represents a significant opportunity to grow the economy and futureproof the UK in areas like advanced resilient connectivity.
Industrial value of convergence
At Digital Catapult, we often refer to the digital economy DNA: Data, Networks and Artificial Intelligence. True economic success is achieved when they work together. AI’s ability to create resilient, adaptive, secure and inclusive systems at a global scale means that it’s foundational to a resilient and AI-ready connectivity infrastructure.
For example, the next generation of AI-enhanced connectivity will see networks autonomously manage, optimise and self-heal in real time, responding to changing demand across industries, communities and regions. These capabilities will be strengthened by additional convergence with digital twins and quantum-safe encryption, protecting communications against cyber threats.
we must work together to establish a verifiable, resilient intelligent
digital infrastructure critical to make the UK future-ready
Convergence in action
The era-defining technology maturation we’re witnessing with AI now is unlocking unprecedented opportunity. Converging areas of deep tech innovation, however, aren’t easy. This is where convening capabilities and establishing frameworks to ensure that AI is used in a safe, resilient and open way are essential.
Digital Catapult’s accelerator and innovation programmes drive collaboration to develop and deploy AI-enabled solutions that see the practical application of deep tech innovation across industry, and ensure that AI adoption in infrastructure is resilient, safe, secure and open when converged with data-driven networks.
[1]Microsoft. Unlocking the UK’s AI potential: harnessing AI for economic growth. https://tinyurl.com/23stmk9e.
[2] King, et. al (2026). The European deep tech report. https://tinyurl.com/46mnemt5.
