UK entrepreneurs are enthusiastically embracing AI as a driver of growth, efficiency, and competitiveness, according to research from e-Residency.

Many founders now see AI as essential to staying ahead, with 70% warning that companies which do not adopt AI risk being outcompeted within five years.

The findings show founders are rapidly building AI into the core of their products and operations and are now calling for stronger digital trust, clearer rules and better access to AI safety and cybersecurity expertise to help them deliver this transformation responsibly.

While the Government has pledged to give 30 million people access to AI skills training, startup leaders warn that these broad initiatives are not yet translating into the specialised technical capabilities they need on the ground to build and scale AI‑first businesses.

Trust Economy

As AI becomes embedded into everyday products and decision‑making, digital trust is fast becoming the passport for global business, increasingly shaping where UK founders feel confident scaling. They’re gravitating towards markets that combine strong reputation with the reliable, AI-ready digital infrastructure that lets them show up for customers every time.

Nearly nine in ten (88%) UK founders say digital trust will decide which startups succeed globally, and 85% view reliable digital infrastructure as vital as physical infrastructure for business continuity. More than four in five (84%) add that digital trust rivals product quality or price in customer decisions.

That belief is grounded in lived experience. In the past year, 73% of founders faced at least one challenge linked to online risk or misinformation. More than a quarter (26%) say AI-generated fakes or profiles have already damaged trust in their sector.

To protect their reputation and compliance in a world where 75% of UK entrepreneurs say most new startups will be AI‑first by 2030, businesses now spend an average of 16% of operational costs on digital trust and security.

For UK entrepreneurs, trust is a survival metric. More than four in five (84%) want governments to take a stronger role in digital resilience, and 78% warn companies ignoring trust risk being excluded from key markets.

New Growth Barriers

For UK startups, operating in a trust-led digital economy is creating new demands on small teams. While founders remain ambitious, shortages in AI, data and cybersecurity skills are making it harder to execute securely, comply with rules and scale with confidence.

About nine in ten (89%) UK founders say skills shortages at home have limited growth, with 29% reporting a critical impact over the past year.

Cybersecurity (80%) emerges as the sharpest skills gap, a critical capability for keeping the UK competitive in its digital transition.

About four in ten (37%) cite financial insecurity linked to business survival as a key challenge, while 34% struggle to balance family or personal life with founder responsibilities.

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Nearly one in five (18%) say isolation and lack of mentorship are ongoing obstacles to growth.

“UK founders are asking for the right foundations to realise their AI potential. Without that, the UK risks seeing its most ambitious startups build and base their companies elsewhere,” Liina Vahtras, Managing Director at e-Residency said.

“The starting point for those foundations is secure digital identity. e‑Residency shows how this future can work in practice: digital trust starts with giving every founder a digital identity they can rely on, so they can create and run companies remotely with seamless compliance and access to wider talent, spending more time innovating with AI and less time battling bureaucracy.

“For UK founders, AI creates the opportunity, but trusted digital first systems will determine who can truly go global.”