Leeds has the digital foundations to evolve from ‘data city’ to ‘AI city’, but the wider region must shout louder about its achievements in unison, according to one of its prominent tech leaders.
Entrepreneur Zandra Moore, who formerly led business analytics firm Panintelligence and launched agentic AI consultancy Zygens last year, made the comments at Leeds Digital Drinks, a community event for founders.
During the Q&A section, Kane On AI asked if Leeds could evolve beyond its identity as a data city — shaped by financial services, healthtech and open data – into something that could credibly claim the AI mantle.
“The one thing about Yorkshire is that it adapts, and it adapts quickly,” Moore said, nodding to Leeds’ former status as a ‘textiles city’.
She continued: “I think this is a really great moment for us, because AI depends on data and really good datasets. We’ve got some of the richest data sets in this region around health and finance, in addition to the FCA and MHRA – the regulators that tell us what’s good and not good. That makes us a natural place for AI innovation to happen.”
Stop comparing, start shouting
When asked what Leeds needs to do better, Moore said the bigger issue was one of messaging.
“We talk ourselves down too much,” she said. “We’ve got so much to offer that we need to talk ourselves up. We have a really connected ecosystem and a really passionate community of people who love their region and their city, but we’re always comparing ourselves to Manchester or London. Stop comparing yourself. Own it and amplify it. We should all be shouting about our strengths.”
Moore pointed to Bradford as an example of an underplayed regional strength – comments that echo West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin’s recent warning that Bradford’s AI graduates are being held back by poor transport links.
“Bradford is the youngest city in the UK and has the largest number of postgrad AI students coming out of it right now – more than Leeds,” Moore said. “So why are we not hollering that as an AI lab for this region?”
Moore said the opportunity needed to be framed as a West Yorkshire story, not a city-by-city one.
“We should be talking about it as West Yorkshire, not just as Leeds,” she said. “But unless we tell everybody the things that we should be shouting about, it’s hard for us to have one voice.”
