Dataiku has published research showing that UK chief executives are making artificial intelligence a top priority while delaying some initiatives. The survey found UK leaders were the most AI-focused of the regions studied.

The findings are based on a Harris Poll survey of 900 chief executive officers in the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, the UAE, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Respondents worked at large companies with annual revenue above USD $500 million, or the regional equivalent.

Among UK respondents, 81% said AI strategy was a top or high priority, compared with 73% globally. At the same time, 77% said they were more concerned about over-investing in AI than under-investing, versus 65% globally.

That tension points to a widening gap between boardroom ambition and execution. Leaders continue to rank AI near the top of the corporate agenda, but are weighing spending more carefully as questions about returns and oversight grow.

Regulation emerged as a key factor in that caution. More than half of UK chief executive officers, 51%, said they had delayed AI initiatives because of regulatory uncertainty, up from 26% a year earlier.

The increase suggests a sharper shift in sentiment in Britain than in many other markets covered by the study. It also shows that concern about AI rules is moving from a background issue to a direct influence on investment decisions.

Even so, confidence remains high. Some 89% of UK chief executive officers described themselves as “extremely confident” in their AI strategy, above the overall figure of 81%.

The data presents a mixed picture of executive thinking. British business leaders appear convinced of AI’s importance, but less certain about the pace and conditions under which they should expand its use.

Boardroom role

Chief executive involvement in AI decisions also remains strong. More than two-thirds of UK respondents, 71%, said they were actively involved in AI-related decisions at their companies.

That level of participation suggests AI governance remains close to the top of the organisation rather than being left solely to technology teams. It also places more direct accountability on senior leaders as projects move from experimentation to broader deployment.

Dataiku presented the results as evidence that access to AI tools is no longer the main issue for large companies. The harder task is turning AI investment into dependable business use while maintaining control over systems and decision-making.

Florian Douetteau addressed that challenge in a statement accompanying the findings. “Every enterprise now has access to powerful AI. The differentiator is whether they can turn that power into reliable business decisions,” said Florian Douetteau, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Dataiku.

“That is the cognitive dissonance happening in the C-suite right now: CEOs are staking their jobs on AI, but still questioning its outputs and struggling to control the systems they say they own. The companies that close that gap will be the ones building AI worth being accountable for. That is what separates a bet from a business,” he said.

Measured expansion

The UK figures stand out because they combine some of the strongest enthusiasm for AI with some of the clearest signs of restraint. British chief executive officers led the surveyed regions in the share ranking AI as a top priority, yet they also showed growing unease about committing too much capital before regulatory and commercial questions are settled.

For companies already under pressure to show returns on technology spending, that may lead to a more selective approach. Projects with clear business outcomes are likely to win backing more easily than broader or less defined AI programmes.

The survey focused on leaders of large companies, so the results reflect sentiment at the upper end of the corporate market rather than among smaller businesses. That matters because large organisations often have bigger budgets and more direct exposure to formal compliance requirements, making regulatory uncertainty a more immediate operational issue.

Across that group, the findings suggest AI is no longer treated simply as an experimental technology issue. It has become a board-level priority shaped by investment discipline, risk management and accountability.

For UK businesses, the combination of high confidence and rising hesitation may define the next phase of adoption. The clearest signal is that many leaders still believe in their strategy, even as 51% say they have already delayed AI initiatives because of regulatory uncertainty.

SugaROx, based in Hertfordshire, is developing crop biostimulants to boost crop yields.

The company plans to use the funding to bring its technology to market and expand globally.

Mark Robbins, chief executive officer of SugaROx, said: “We’re delighted to deepen our collaboration with The Mosaic Company as we move closer to commercialisation.

“Their continued support is a strong validation of both our science and our ability to deliver a differentiated product in a fast-growing market.”

The company’s lead product is based on trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P), a naturally occurring plant sugar.

The technology was developed from research at Oxford University and Rothamsted Research.

SugaROx plans to launch the product in the UK between 2027 and 2028, with EU and US launches expected between 2028 and 2030.

The UK and European markets will initially focus on wheat and barley, while North American efforts will target soybean and maize.

SugaROx is also exploring applications for horticultural crops.

The Mosaic Company previously invested £400,000 in SugaROx’s 2025 seed round, which helped scale production from lab to pilot facility and enabled testing in five markets.

Jeff Wheeler, Vice President – Biosciences at The Mosaic Company, said: “SugaROx is advancing a new category of precision biostimulants that aligns closely with our approach at Mosaic Biosciences, where we are building a science-backed portfolio of solutions that support the biology of plants and soil.

“We are pleased to support the team as they expand field validation and progress towards commercialisation.”

The latest funding will support expanded field trials and generate the data needed for regulatory approval and commercial launch in target markets.

A key challenge for biostimulant products has been delivering active molecules effectively into plant cells using standard practices like foliar spraying.

SugaROx has developed a patented delivery technology that allows these molecules to cross cell walls and membranes, supporting more consistent performance in the field.

Each molecule targeted by the company has a clearly defined cellular function.

The first molecule in its pipeline inhibits a famine-signalling enzyme, stimulating the movement of carbon and nutrients towards grain filling, improving yield and quality.

Biostimulants represent a rapidly growing segment in agricultural inputs, with a forecasted compound annual growth rate of around 12 per cent.

SugaROx continues to seek additional investment to complete its Series A funding round and bring its proprietary technology to market.

More information is available at sugarox.co.uk.

Temenos has launched Composable Retail Deposits and Composable Retail Lending, aimed at banks seeking to modernise retail banking systems in stages.

The launches come as many lenders continue to run deposit and lending operations on older core platforms that are difficult to change and costly to upgrade.

Two products are designed as separate building blocks for deposits and lending, allowing banks to update one area without replacing the entire core system at once.

Core overhaul

The banking software provider said the products are cloud-native and connect with existing systems through application programming interfaces and event-driven links.

Each has its own deployment and upgrade cycle, which should limit knock-on disruption elsewhere in a bank’s technology estate.

The move reflects broader demand among banks for a more gradual route to replacing legacy technology. Rather than undertaking a full core overhaul in a single programme, some institutions are modernising selected functions first, particularly retail deposits and lending, which sit at the centre of day-to-day banking operations.

“Banks need to modernise from legacy systems to stay competitive, but they cannot afford disruption,” said Barb Morgan, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Temenos. “Our Composable Retail Deposits and Composable Retail Lending enable banks to upgrade critical core domains progressively without destabilising existing operations. It is a clear step forward in our composability strategy, focused on delivery, flexibility and customer value.”

Phased approach

Industry analysts have pointed to steady interest in modular approaches, particularly among larger banks, where the complexity of existing infrastructure can make a single large migration harder to execute.

“We see sustained appetite, particularly from large banks, for composable core solutions that enable incremental transformation,” said Bola Rotibi, Chief of Enterprise Research at CCS Insights. “Temenos’ composable approach reflects this reality, giving banks the option to upgrade one capability at a time, prove value, and expand from there as part of a phased modernisation strategy.”

Temenos said the products were developed with design partner clients including Raiffeisen Bank International. Their input was used to shape the products around the operational needs of banks running established core systems.

“Traditional core banking systems are slow to adapt to changing market demands or new technologies,” said Shyam Gopal Rajagopalan, Head of Operations Platform at Raiffeisen Bank International. “Upgrade cycles are often complex and disruptive, with impact extending well beyond the area being changed. The composable approach offered by Temenos provides an opportunity for banks like ours to take a more efficient and controlled path to core banking modernisation.”

Reliance deal

Separately, Temenos said Reliance Bank in the UK will adopt its software-as-a-service platform for core banking, digital banking and payments.

The bank, owned by The Salvation Army, plans to replace legacy systems as part of a broader technology overhaul aimed at improving efficiency and supporting deposit growth.

Reliance Bank serves retail and business customers and has a long-standing focus on ethical and community banking. It offers savings products for individuals, and current accounts, savings and loans for charities and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Under the agreement, the bank will use Temenos software delivered as a managed cloud service rather than operating the technology itself.

The arrangement includes access to its UK Model Bank configuration, intended to reflect local market requirements and reduce the need for additional software customisation.

Cloud platform

The bank is also expected to use Temenos’ architecture to connect with financial technology partners. That could support the lender as it seeks to broaden its customer base while updating the systems behind its current products and services.

“Implementing Temenos SaaS is a key element of Reliance Bank’s digital transformation strategy, providing a resilient, modern infrastructure that will support our growth plans,” said Nikki Fenton, CEO of Reliance Bank. “With Temenos, we’ll be able to scale efficiently and launch customer-centric digital solutions quickly, helping us to grow our deposit base and provide more financial support to charitable and ethical institutions.”

“We’re proud to partner with Reliance Bank on this strategic transformation, and support the bank’s mission to deliver a positive societal impact,” said Mark Yamin-Ali, Managing Director, Europe, at Temenos. “With its flexible, cloud-native architecture, broad functionality and pre-configured capabilities for the UK market, Temenos SaaS will help Reliance Bank to meet the needs of its specialist customer base with agility and speed. This agreement reflects Temenos’ proven ability to support institutions with specific requirements, as well as our strong track record and continued momentum in the UK.”