The gap in board-level AI expertise at UK scaleup companies has gone largely unnoticed. However, Think & Grow’s latest research shows that this is an area that founders and board members need to pay closer attention to – less than a third (32%) of UK tech scaleups have AI expertise on their boards, compared to 40% of FTSE 350 tech firms.

As 2026 approaches, bringing further economic uncertainty and technological upheaval with it, scaleups are putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage by keeping AI expertise out of the boardroom.

The UK’s economic landscape is already being reshaped by AI, with Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Alphabet recently announcing multi-billion-pound investments in the UK’s data infrastructure. The question is whether home-grown, innovative companies can evolve their governance to keep pace with the change and leverage the opportunities it brings.

The growth gap

Scaleups are built to disrupt through agility, but many of them are failing to effectively utilise AI as a growth lever.

The lack of AI-literacy on the boards of UK scaleups is particularly striking given that firms with board-level AI expertise show signs of superior financial performance. For example, among UK scale-ups with annual revenue above £50 million, approximately half have board-level AI expertise, compared to just 15% of smaller firms.

This trend is also clear at larger, listed companies: among FTSE 350 technology firms, those with board-level AI expertise generate £6.8 billion in annual revenue on average compared to £953 million for companies without it.

One explanation for this is that boards with AI expertise can deploy capital more effectively. Many UK scaleups are successful in securing funding, figures from HSBC Innovation Banking UK and Dealroom show that UK startups and scaleups secured almost £7 billion in venture capital funding in the Q3 2025 – and over £13 billion so far this year.

However, companies with strategic AI expertise can leverage funding more effectively to streamline operations, deliver enhanced commercial insights and fuel growth at a pace that can’t be matched without the power of AI.

This is reflected to some extent in scaleup hiring trends. For example, 51% of the businesses we spoke to as part of our recent research said that their boards have recruited AI specialists in the last 12 months, and a further 30% said they plan to recruit for this role in the next 12 months.

Put simply, companies without AI expertise on their boards risk losing ground to competitors and stifling growth.

Shifting market reality

Failing to equip boards with AI expertise also means ignoring today’s market reality.

Our research shows that AI and technological change is now the most cited challenge among UK tech scaleup boards. Over a third (35%) described this as a top concern for 2026 and beyond, coming in slightly above other considerations like competition (34%), economic unpredictability (32%), regulation (32%), and labour shortages (32%).

However, AI shouldn’t just be seen as a risk to manage, important as this is, but as a commercial and strategic tool that will equip firms to deal with other challenges. AI can streamline compliance, ease the impact of labour shortages through automation and provide a competitive edge through real-time insights into customer behaviour.

Boards that treat AI purely as a challenge are at risk of being reactive to change, rather than proactively shaping it to their advantage. When it comes to new technology, board-level AI expertise can help companies make well-informed decisions on the appropriate balance between risk and opportunity, ensuring they are applying the technology safely, ethically and strategically.

The ability to intelligently leverage AI will come to define competitiveness as much as capital or talent.

Rethinking the boardroom

For scaleup boards, adapting to AI requires a fundamental rethink of governance.

Good governance can no longer just involve quarterly meetings and long-term plans. The pace at which AI is shaping the UK’s business environment demands an approach which is more data-driven, agile, and engaged. While long-term strategic planning is essential, our perception of boards must shift from high-level, oversight bodies to hands-on strategic support systems, able to guide and respond to change in real time and at the same fast pace these technologies evolve.

Today’s most effective boards are operationally engaged, with 31% of UK and European directors saying that hands-on operational support is now one of the most valuable board functions.

Embedding AI expertise, with at least one AI expert at board level, would empower boards to interpret and utilise data more effectively, ensuring that smart, evidence-based decisions can be made at speed. 

As one company director recently put it to me, “What worked yesterday isn’t going to work today.” Boards that engage regularly with executive teams, and combine diverse expertise with adaptive thinking and AI insights, will be much better equipped to steer through volatility, ensuring that new technologies are applied responsibly and strategically.

Future-proofing governance

AI has already rewritten the rules of innovation and competition. The question now is whether UK scaleups will adapt their governance structures to reflect this.

Boards that combine agility and engagement with AI intelligence guide their companies through uncertainty with clarity and confidence. The winners of the next decade won’t just use AI; they will integrate it from the top down.

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