UK tech leaders push for EMI reform, visa fixes and AI adoption
alexvoica · x · 2026-07-20
The piece argues that if the UK wants to keep its AI lead, a future government should focus on three practical reforms:
- Reform EMI: Raise the gross-asset cap from £120m to £500m and the employee cap from 500 to 1,000 so scaleups can more easily use equity to recruit and retain talent.
- Fix tech visas: Startups say hiring foreign workers is slowed down by cost, delay, and uncertainty, leaving them at a disadvantage versus larger employers.
- Speed up AI adoption: The government should back UK companies building applications on top of AI models, not just focus on the model layer. Better procurement, customer access, and deployment support would help businesses and public services adopt AI faster.
The author warns that AI policy cuts across procurement, skills, immigration, regulation, energy, national security, and public-sector reform, so it needs sustained attention from officials who understand the sector.
More from Companies & People
- AI industry astroturfing roundup tracks the sector’s fake-grassroots problem — ShakeelHashim · 2026-07-22
- Tesla expands Robotaxi rides to seven areas, including new Orlando and Tampa zones — elonmusk · 2026-07-22
- $5.3B Healthcare AI Leader: Domain Expertise Beats Tech — elizabeth · 2026-07-22
- Reformation says AI helped drive 80% of its DTC revenue from full-price sales — omooretweets · 2026-07-22
- OpenAI’s Codex and ChatGPT Work agents reportedly hit 10 million users — Polymarket · 2026-07-22
- Claude Managed Agents demo shared with Vercel in a new presentation — brada · 2026-07-22