THALES IN THE UK
“ There’ s a huge difference between creating a prototype which pleases customers and deploying trusted systems which can go into operations, into theatre, defending national security,” he says.“ The consequences of something going wrong are huge.”
Five bets through Thales’ s cortAIx AI research accelerator Thales operates cortAIx as its global AI accelerator, launched in March 2024. The initiative brings together over 800 AI and data specialists globally, making Thales Europe’ s top patent applicant in AI for critical applications with more than 200 patents filed. In February 2025, Thales launched cortAIx in the UK with
200 AI and data specialists, backed by £ 40 million in research funding and a partnership with Faculty AI.
Ajay’ s UK strategy centres on five application areas, starting with enhancements to the OODA loop – Observe, Orient, Decide and Act – used in defence operations. The Talios pod with Thales Neural Processor demonstrates this work in Rafale fighter jets, where real-time threat detection operates at speeds impossible for human operators alone.
The Multi-Domain Mission Support Systems project, deployed with the RAF and Royal Navy and built with UK SMEs such as Faculty AI, extends this approach to pattern of life analysis and behaviour
56 February 2026