CFTE and the FCA launch the AI Lab Supercharged Academy to turn AI experimentation into capability-building and responsible innovation in finance.

 

Opening Remarks at the FCA, Launch of the AI Lab Supercharged Academy, 2026 – By Tram Anh Nguyen, Co-founder, CFTE:

“I am thrilled to share that CFTE – Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship is partnering with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help turn AI experimentation into shared learning and capability across the financial services ecosystem.

The FCA has taken a leading role in engaging with AI innovation in financial services. Our role at CFTE is to support this work by translating experimentation into structured insight and practical capability. It enables firms, regulators, and stakeholders to better understand how AI is being applied in practice and to learn from these real world experiences.

The FCA AI Lab has been at the forefront of supporting firms exploring AI through initiatives such as the Supercharged Sandbox and AI Spotlight. As AI adoption accelerates, the challenge is no longer only about experimentation, but about ensuring that insights contribute to broader understanding, maturity, and responsible innovation across the sector.

Through this collaboration, the FCA and CFTE will connect live experimentation with capability-building, so that learning does not remain isolated within individual firms, but strengthens the wider financial system.

Together, we will deliver:

✓ The AI Lab Supercharged Academy — a capability-building programme for AI-led innovators
✓ The AI in Finance Observatory — bringing together real-world AI use cases and emerging insights
✓ Industry engagement and global knowledge-sharing from UK AI experimentation

Our shared objective is to strengthen AI literacy, improve the maturity of AI-enabled propositions, and support responsible innovation at scale while preserving regulatory independence.

The first session of the AI Lab Supercharged Academy has taken place at the FCA on 30 January 2026, running over the following 10 weeks.”

 

 A Bigger Shift: AI Is Transforming Finance

The Academy is not just a programme launch. It is part of a much bigger shift:

• AI is transforming finance

• Experimentation is not enough

• Talent, capability, and governance are now the bottleneck

• Regulation must become a learning platform

• The future belongs to ecosystems that build skills fast

In the 21st century economy, talent has always been a competitive edge. But with the rise of artificial intelligence, we are no longer simply talking about talent,  we are now in a full speed race for AI-ready talent.

Across industries and nations, the same pattern is unfolding: some individuals and organisations are scaling their capabilities at exponential speed, while others are quietly losing ground.

What’s driving this divergence isn’t access to technology.

It is readiness to use it: strategically, structurally, and systemically.

 

The Shift We Identified: The AI-fication of Talents

In our report The AI-fication of Talents, we argued that AI transformation is not primarily a technology shift.

It is a workforce shift.

AI does not simply automate tasks: it reshapes roles, decision-making, accountability, and organisational culture.

The report highlighted a growing mismatch:

• AI capabilities are expanding quickly

• But institutional talent, governance, and readiness are not keeping pace

In other words:

AI is moving faster than the systems meant to support it.

The frontier of innovation is no longer technical feasibility.

It is human capability.

 

From Experimentation to Shared Learning

The FCA AI Lab has taken a globally leading role in engaging with AI innovation through initiatives such as:

• Supercharged Sandbox

• AI Live Testing

• AI Spotlight

• AI Sprint

• AI Input Zone

These initiatives enable firms to experiment with AI in real world conditions while maintaining appropriate safeguards.

But as AI adoption matures, experimentation alone is not enough.

The next step is ensuring that insights do not remain isolated within individual firms.

The industry now needs:

• Structured learning

• Capability building

• Ecosystem wide maturity

Why the Supercharged Academy Matters

The AI Lab Supercharged Academy is designed to connect live AI experimentation with practical capability development.

Its purpose is clear:

To equip AI innovators with the skills needed to move fast and not break things.

The Academy delivers:

• Principles based frameworks rather than checkbox compliance

• Governance and accountability embedded in innovation

• Regulatory preparedness as a design feature, not an afterthought

• Learning that strengthens the wider system, not just individual projects

This reflects a shift we see globally:

Regulation evolving from roadblock to platform.

 

Capability Is the Bottleneck of Responsible AI

As we argued in The AI-fication of Talents, responsible AI cannot be achieved through technology alone.

It requires:

• Talent that understands both AI systems and financial risks

• Leadership that can navigate ethical and regulatory complexity

• Cultures of trust inside firms and institutions

• Continuous learning as AI evolves quarter by quarter

Guardrails matter.

But mindsets matter more.

Responsible AI is not just about constraints.

It is about capability.

 

Building the Next Chapter of Financial Innovation

Through the FCA x CFTE collaboration, we will also deliver:

• The AI in Finance Observatory, capturing real-world use cases and emerging insights

• Broader industry engagement and global knowledge-sharing

• Ecosystem-level learning from UK AI experimentation

Our shared objective is to strengthen AI literacy, support maturity in AI-enabled propositions, and enable innovation at scale while preserving regulatory independence.

 

The AI Future Will Belong to Learning Systems

AI will not wait.

Static frameworks will grow obsolete quickly.

The institutions that thrive will be those that can flex, learn, and build talent continuously.

The launch of the Supercharged Academy is therefore more than a programme.

It is a signal:

The next frontier of AI in finance is capability.
And capability must be built together.

The future of AI in financial services will not be shaped by experimentation alone, but by the capability to deploy innovation responsibly at scale.

The AI Lab Supercharged Academy reflects a shared commitment between the FCA and CFTE to build the talent, governance, and learning systems that trustworthy AI requires.

This is how innovation and resilience progress together, by design, not by chance.

 

 First cohort of the FCA x CFTE AI Lab Supercharged Academy, signalling the start of a 10-week   immersive learning journey.

 

Press release: https://lnkd.in/ezFaisQd

 

Authored by Tram Anh Nguyen
Co-founder of CFTE and chairwoman Global Women in AI, is a global leader building the systems, alliances, and platforms that ensure the AI transition delivers widespread, human-centred progress.
Whitepaper report: AI-fication of Talents Whitepaper
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tramanhnguyen9

 

About FCA

The FCA enables a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy. Find out more about the FCA.

 

About CFTE

The Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) is a global platform that builds capabilities in finance and technology. Headquartered in London, with offices in Singapore and Abu Dhabi, CFTE works with governments, regulators, and financial institutions to design frameworks, programmes, and learning systems that support transformation at scale. CFTE’s programmes have reached learners in more than 130 countries.

 

Disclaimer

Participation in any programme or initiative under this collaboration does not imply regulatory approval, endorsement, or authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority of any firm, product, service, or innovation. Neither the FCA nor any of its staff or committees has provided an assessment of compliance with regulatory requirements. Responsibility for compliance remains with the relevant firm or participant.