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In 2025, Wales is leading a technological revolution, harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools to champion the Welsh language (Cymraeg) while driving innovation in economic growth and healthcare. Under the leadership of Mark Drakeford, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, the Welsh Government is committed to integrating Cymraeg into technology, aligning with the ambitious Cymraeg 2050 strategy to achieve one million Welsh speakers by 2050. Technology is central to this vision, promoting the daily use of Cymraeg across education, workplaces, and social settings.
A core aim of Cymraeg 2050 is to increase the everyday use of Welsh, and reliable Welsh-language technology is vital to this goal. From chatting with friends and family to collaborating with colleagues, digital tools make Cymraeg accessible and practical. The Welsh Government ensures that Welsh-language interfaces, tools, and resources are widely available, partnering with organisations to streamline access. The ‘trio writing’ methodology is promoted to enhance the accessibility of Welsh content and services, making them user-friendly for all.
The Iaith Gwaith (Working Welsh) logo – a distinctive orange speech bubble often seen on lanyards or posters – signals the availability of Welsh-language services and encourages users to connect with other Welsh speakers. In collaboration with the Welsh Language Commissioner, who oversees the initiative, the logo’s digital presence is being strengthened to build confidence in starting conversations and accessing services in Cymraeg.
The Welsh Government is fostering a vibrant community of developers in Wales to create Welsh-language content and services, driving local tech innovation. By adopting an open approach, government-funded Welsh-language technology is made freely available, ensuring that using Cymraeg incurs no cost for users. Existing tools, such as Welsh spelling and grammar checkers, are regularly updated and expanded to new platforms, while the Helo Blod resource list keeps users informed about the latest Welsh tech options. In February 2025, this list was enhanced with a dedicated section for parents and carers, supporting their role in children’s Welsh-language education.
Cymraeg is for everyone, and the Welsh Government is dedicated to making Welsh-language technology inclusive. This includes tailored support for parents and carers, with updates shared via the Hwb platform to help teachers, parents, and children integrate Cymraeg into education and daily life. The National Centre for Learning Welsh provides tools like the Learn Welsh Level Checker to boost confidence, with ongoing efforts to improve the underlying technology.
Special attention is given to accessibility, ensuring that Welsh-language technology supports diverse groups, including disabled individuals, those with additional learning needs (ALN), and people with cognitive or physical impairments. Partnerships, such as with Tobii Dynavox, have delivered Welsh-language software for children and adults with speech difficulties, while technology enables Welsh speakers with Motor Neurone Disease to communicate in Cymraeg after losing their ability to speak.
To address gaps in Welsh-language support, the government provides data and resources to encourage companies to integrate Cymraeg into tools like screen readers, pen-readers for school assessments, and bilingual synthetic voices for the visually impaired. Safety is a priority, with efforts to ensure regulators and companies flag harmful content in Welsh-language technology, protecting users.
Improving Welsh-language AI and speech recognition is a key focus, requiring vast amounts of training data to ensure accuracy, cultural relevance, and minimal bias in modern technologies like Large Language Models (LLMs). The Welsh Government contributes Welsh text, video, and other data to global initiatives, such as Amazon’s Massive database and the AINA project, led by the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre. Data is also shared with Microsoft through a formal partnership or released under open licences to support Welsh AI development.
A significant collaboration with Microsoft has delivered simultaneous interpretation on Microsoft Teams and is now enhancing Copilot, Microsoft’s AI tool, for Welsh-language processing. These advancements aim to support natural bilingual interactions, including ‘code-switching’ between Cymraeg and English, reflecting how Welsh speakers communicate in everyday life. International partnerships ensure these efforts benefit multilingual communities worldwide, positioning Wales as a leader in inclusive language technology.
AI and machine learning are revolutionising healthcare in Wales, unlocking real-world data to enable earlier diagnostics, better clinical outcomes, and enhanced patient experiences. By identifying cost efficiencies in logistics, supply chains, and planning, AI is streamlining healthcare processes. Advanced robotics in surgery allow for less invasive, more precise procedures, reducing costs and improving outcomes.
With one in four people in Wales projected to be over 65 by 2030 – approximately 700,000 individuals – technology is critical to healthy ageing. This aligns with Welsh Government strategies, including A Healthier Wales: Our Plan for Health and Social Care (2018), the Strategy for Older People in Wales 2013-2023, and The Social Service and Well-Being Act (2014). Life Sciences Hub Wales is driving innovation in assistive technologies, such as remote monitoring and virtual wards, which proved invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This work aims to enable natural interactions, such as ‘code-switching’ between Cymraeg and Saesneg, mirroring how Welsh speakers communicate in real life. Collaboration with international partners ensures this work benefits multilingual communities globally.
Digital Health and Care Wales is developing application programming interfaces (APIs) to integrate software into health and social care systems. Machine learning is transforming diagnostics, medical imaging, patient records, and genetics, with AI rapidly interpreting radiology images to address backlogs and complement the National Imaging Academy Wales. Life Sciences Hub Wales facilitates partnerships between health boards, social care organisations, and digital healthcare businesses, providing project management to accelerate innovation.
Wales is at the forefront of the UK’s AI revolution, bolstered by Vantage Data Centres’ £12 billion investment to create one of Europe’s largest data centre campuses, generating over 11,500 jobs. This investment, part of the UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, positions Wales as a global hub for technological innovation, supporting the goal of increasing public compute capacity twentyfold by 2030.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has emphasised AI’s potential to transform lives, from personalised education to faster planning processes. Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle highlights Wales’s role as a catalyst for AI-driven change, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves underscores AI’s ability to boost the economy, enhance public services, and raise living standards. With more AI Growth Zones planned, Wales is poised to benefit from improved public services, a stronger tech sector, and sustainable development.
Wales’s commitment to integrating Cymraeg into cutting-edge technology, alongside advancements in healthcare and economic growth, demonstrates its leadership in the AI revolution. By fostering innovation, ensuring inclusivity, and collaborating globally, Wales is not only preserving its linguistic heritage but also building a healthier, more prosperous future for all its citizens.
