Yorkshire AI Summit Showcases Regional Leadership in AI Innovation

The inaugural Yorkshire Annual AI Summit, recently held in Leeds, marked a pivotal moment for the region's business community. Over 40 local organisations came together to explore the vast potential of AI. The event was co-sponsored by Razor, a technology consultancy renowned for its AI and digital transformation expertise, Hays, a leader in recruitment and workforce solutions, and Tieva, one of the UK's leading providers of IT products, services, and solutions. The summit highlighted the importance of AI in driving business innovation and competitiveness.

Designed to spark meaningful discussions and foster collaboration, the summit featured keynote presentations, panel discussions, and networking sessions, all aimed at equipping Yorkshire’s business leaders with the tools and insights needed to adopt AI effectively. The event provided attendees with actionable ideas, whether they were just beginning their AI journey or seeking to deepen their understanding of the technology.

Jamie Hinton, CEO of Razor, delivered a standout keynote on the importance of empathy in AI adoption. He urged businesses to overcome common fears surrounding AI, emphasising that AI is not here to replace humans but to enhance human capabilities. Hinton advocated for a low-risk approach to AI adoption, recommending businesses start with small-scale experiments, or “firing tracer bullets,” to see what AI projects work before committing to larger investments. This pragmatic approach resonated with attendees, who left with a clear sense of how to start incorporating AI into their operations.

The summit received high praise from attendees, who valued the diverse perspectives shared across various sectors. One participant noted, “I found it a really useful event. It’s great to bring different providers together from different sectors. This will be really useful for me in thinking about the strategic direction for my team.” This feedback highlights the event’s success in fostering cross-industry collaboration, providing attendees with practical insights to help shape their AI strategies and drive business innovation.

While the summit highlighted the potential of AI for businesses in the region, Razor also demonstrated its real-world impact through a recent project with RTO Materials, a leading provider of educational resources. RTO Materials faced significant inefficiencies in managing and creating their extensive training catalogue, which was draining both time and resources. Razor stepped in to develop a cutting-edge generative AI platform that has revolutionised the way RTO Materials manages and creates content. By leveraging large language models, the platform cuts content creation time and costs by 50%, allowing users to quickly generate, search, and customise training materials while safeguarding intellectual property.

The success of the Yorkshire AI Summit underscores the region's growing prominence in AI innovation, and Razor’s involvement both as a sponsor and as a leader in delivering AI solutions places the company at the forefront of this transformation. Razor's recent acquisition by Fulcrum IT Partners—a parent company with a portfolio of successful IT solution providers across the UK, Canada, and the U.S.—is a testament to Yorkshire's strength in the AI and technology landscape. This acquisition highlights that Yorkshire is home to major players in technology and innovation, challenging the notion that such expertise is concentrated only in London. With plans to expand the AI Summit to more regions, Razor is committed to continuing the conversation on how AI can reshape industries, enhance efficiency, and unlock new opportunities for businesses across the UK.