As the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves pushes for deeper EU ties and increased AI adoption, Burkhard Boeckem, CTO at Hexagon, has shared his perspective on why investment alone will not be enough to deliver meaningful economic growth from emerging technologies.
As CTO, Boeckem leads the global technology strategy at a company operating across multiple markets, giving him direct insight into how regulation affects the deployment of AI at scale.
We're seeing a shift in the global technology landscape. Innovation is increasingly shaped by collaboration between countries, institutions, and industry rather than by individual companies acting alone. Across Europe, rising investment in AI and quantum technologies signals real momentum, reinforced by new frameworks such as the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act that aim to support trustworthy and responsible AI.
The UK's focus on deeper collaboration reflects how connected markets now shape where innovation happens. But investment alone won't unlock the full economic potential of AI and quantum. If the UK and EU are serious about boosting growth through these technologies, regulatory alignment will be just as important. Today, companies operate across markets with different rules, and that fragmentation slows innovation and makes it harder to scale new technologies.
Closer co-operation between policymakers and industry to align standards would help reduce that friction and give businesses greater confidence to invest and deploy new capabilities. The countries that combine investment with clear, consistent frameworks for innovation will be best positioned to turn research into real-world impact and lead the next phase of technological growth.
