London leading the Intelligent Cities Index: why Fitzrovia is ahead of the game

BCG’s inaugural Intelligent Cities Index (ICI) shows how AI, digital capabilities, and robust governance combine to improve outcomes for those who live in urban areas. 

Having assessed how 61 of the world’s biggest cities use technology to serve their businesses and residents, London came out top, drawing on a diverse mix of players, from government leaders to private sector partners and residents themselves.

According to the report: “Innovation ecosystems create economic opportunities for leading cities.”

This is where Fitzrovia is at the centre of the action.

Over recent years, we’ve seen a clustering of tech and innovation companies moving into the district and surrounding neighbourhoods: Benevolent AI, Databricks, Vanta, Holistic AI are all in and around Fitzrovia, with Anthropic (the maker of Claude) in neighbouring Regent’s Place.

It’s not just the behemoths choosing this area either; a clustering of AI start-ups and scale-ups such as Toolkit, Strala.ai, and Tribe can be found on the fringes.

Looking at talent, the University of Westminster, UCL, and Birkbeck Universities are all here, and are all offering courses in related fields. 

Connections between the talent, investment, and business is where we, at the Fitzrovia Partnership come in; as Fitzrovia's Business Improvement District, we work with companies to connect these dots. We facilitate networking opportunities between our members and have forged close relationships with neighbouring organisations like the Knowledge Quarter, and property owners such as British Land, Derwent and GPE, where many of these AI businesses are situated. 

It’s not just AI that makes up this ecosystem. Clusters of Fintech, life sciences, and professional services are also dominating the office spaces around Fitzrovia. With the potential to serve as accelerators, customers, data providers, or providers of practical use cases, test beds, and regulatory guardrails, means that, as an economic marketplace, all the necessary ingredients are here. 

Fitzrovia clearly offers the perfect mix of talent, investment, and location. So, whilst London is first in BCG’s list, perhaps Fitzrovia should be first in London.