Northern Ireland firm, Kainos announces £10million strategic investment in Generative AI

Building on its long-term investment in AI, the UK’s leading digital technology firm will harness the potential of Generative AI to foster innovation, elevate client experiences, and drive digital transformation for its clients.

Committed to aiding research and skills development in Northern Ireland, the organisation has been a leader in the AI space for nearly a decade with a well-established Data & AI Practice, which has grown to more than 150 established experts, delivering work across complex organisations such as the United Nations, the Ministry of Defence and HelloFresh.

This strategic investment underscores Kainos' dedication to remaining at the forefront of technological advancements. It will focus on advancing breakthroughs in Generative AI understanding, as well as developing cutting-edge solutions, including accelerators, systems, and ecosystem partnerships that address the complex challenges faced by clients.

Kainos is dedicating significant funding to further enhance its leadership in Generative AI understanding, developing cutting-edge solutions, including accelerators, systems, and ecosystem partnerships that address the complex challenges faced by clients. This includes the training of more than 1,000 team members in AI tooling and Copilots and the appointment of a new Generative AI Lead to drive initiatives and education across its internal business operations.

Kainos will also be increasing its investment in partner organisations that are focused on researching the societal implications of Generative AI. Its experts will collaborate with academia and industry leaders to establish additional AI Research Centres across the UK to advance ethical and responsible approaches to developing AI solutions. Ensuring the ethical use of AI is a key focus for Kainos who established their data ethicist capability in 2022.

Welcoming the investment, Russell Sloan, incoming CEO of Kainos who will be taking the reins in September, explained: “We have been at the forefront of AI for almost a decade and today’s announcement represents the next step in the development of our AI capabilities.

"We are investing in the skills of over 1,000 colleagues to ensure that they can harness Generative AI for the benefit of our customers. At the same time, we are increasing our investment into the funding of academic research institutes including the AI Research Centre (AIRC) at Ulster University, to ensure that the deployment of this exciting technology is undertaken in an ethical and responsible way - for the benefit of everyone.”

Earlier this year, Kainos revealed plans to support an Artificial Intelligence Research Centre at Ulster University’s new Belfast campus. The partnership between Kainos and Ulster University represents a collaboration between industry and academia experts, to inspire the next generation to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve society.

The Artificial Intelligence Research Centre is one of several specialist research spaces in Ulster University’s new city centre campus and will help to further knowledge in AI and the difference it can make both locally and further afield.