Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On October 21, 2025, at the Times Tech Summit, the UK Technology Secretary announced plans to introduce an AI Growth Lab in the UK, consisting of artificial intelligence (“AI”) sandboxes where companies and innovators can test new AI products in real-world conditions. The sandboxes will initially target key sectors such as healthcare, professional services, transport, and advanced manufacturing. The goal is to accelerate the responsible development and deployment of AI in the UK, enabling faster and safer innovation without compromising public safety or regulatory standards. The AI Growth Lab marks one of the UK’s first ventures into regulatory sandboxes specifically designed for AI, building on the success of previous testing grounds in other sectors.

The AI Growth Lab is intended to play a pivotal role in delivering measures set out in the UK Regulation Action Plan, which includes plans to save UK businesses nearly £6 billion a year by 2029 by eliminating unnecessary administrative tasks.  The UK government believes AI tools could make direct improvements to public services, such as the UK National Health Service and housing, referring to existing collaborations between businesses and regulators, such as the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, that have already successfully delivered public benefits.

The UK government emphasized that the AI Growth Lab will operate under carefully defined parameters. Strict, time-limited restrictions will specify which regulatory requirements may be relaxed or adjusted, with all activities closely supervised by technology and regulatory experts. A robust licensing framework, reinforced by strong safeguards, will ensure that any breaches or unacceptable risks will immediately halt testing and may result in fines for those found in violation.

The UK government has launched a public call for views on the AI Growth Lab proposals, in particular considering whether the program should be run in-house or overseen by regulators.

Read the press release here.