CreateFuture launches initiative helping firms turn AI into economic value. 4 Nov 2026, 09:09 AI consultancy CreateFuture has launched a programme designed to help Scottish organisations move beyond AI experimentation and accelerate adoption to transform it into business value, drawing on industry partnerships with Anthropic, AWS and OpenAI. Scotland First brings together business leaders, technology partners and practitioners to accelerate the nation's AI-enabled future. The programme is supported by Version 1, the international technology group that CreateFuture joined in April 2026. The combined organisation brings together more than 4,250 people and in excess of £500m in revenue, providing Scottish businesses with access to greater delivery capability, international expertise and experience transforming complex organisations. Darren Dalrymple, industry director at CreateFuture and OpenAI Codex Ambassador for Scotland, said: "We're asking what needs to change for a Scottish organisation to get real value from AI. Scotland has an incredible opportunity with world-class universities, exceptional technical talent and established businesses operating on a global stage. But using AI and adopting it across an economy are two very different things. The next challenge is helping Scottish businesses fundamentally rethink how they operate." Dalrymple added: "CreateFuture is drawing on direct experience to lead Scotland First, taking AI out of a lab and into production within complex and regulated industries. We have developed our own approach to removing the three main bottlenecks when scaling AI: understanding complex legacy estates, connecting fragmented data, and delivering AI-assisted software at pace." CreateFuture is an OpenAI Select Partner and a preferred Services Partner of Anthropic, only one of five firms across Europe to hold this accreditation. "Built and proven in client work", added Dalrymple, "we've added significant depth in our business, not through internal claims but by working with the models themselves. We now have hundreds of externally certified consultants across Anthropic, AWS, and OpenAI, and thousands of related certifications..." Founded in Edinburgh 16 years ago, CreateFuture's roots have remained in Scotland's technology community where it has delivered AI into production for clients including NatWest, Barclays, SSE, FanDuel, Skyscanner, Royal London and Aggreko. With around 200 people based in Scotland, the firm is already a major contributor to the country's technology ecosystem. "We're not talking about this from the sidelines," added Dalrymple. "Right now, inside some of the most complex and regulated businesses in the UK, we're seeing AI change how work actually gets done. That means legacy systems modernised in weeks rather than years, software shipped in a fraction of the time it took previously. That's the gap Scotland needs to close, and we know how to close it because we're doing it." Euan Andrews, chief executive and founder of CreateFuture, said: "Scotland is our home, and we're proud of what we've built here. With our experience and relationships with Anthropic, AWS, and OpenAI, we can bring world-leading AI expertise closer to Scottish businesses. We want Scotland to be recognised not just for AI innovation, but for how successfully we put it to work." Scotland First is already under way with its first senior leaders' dinner being held next month in Edinburgh, focusing on why most AI pilots never scale and what separates the ones that do, with many of Scotland's leading companies and the Scottish Government in attendance... Alongside its regular Tech Meetups in Edinburgh and Glasgow, CreateFuture is also hosting hands-on OpenAI Codex sessions and Claude Code Curious events for teams wanting to share knowledge and get best practice for AI in a live environment.

CreateFuture appoints Eddie Bennett and Andy Wright. CreateFuture has announced the appointment of Eddie Bennett as Director of Lottery & iGaming and Andy Wright as Strategic Advisor to its iGaming practice. Both will report to Hass Peymani, Industry Director of iGaming, as they begin their roles this month. The gambling industry faces a significant challenge in integrating AI not due to technical limitations, but because of business and regulatory hurdles. Many AI programs in the sector falter not from weak models, but from fragmented data estates and outdated operating models. Bennett and Wright bring extensive experience in navigating these challenges, thus strengthening CreateFuture's position in the market by leveraging their expertise to tackle complex industry issues. The AI obstacle in gaming is primarily a data issue. Operators often face challenges with AI programs due to inconsistent data accrued from years of acquisitions and platform migrations. This inconsistency leads to inefficiencies in personalization engines and trading models, requiring a consolidated data estate and a revised business model to unlock AI's full potential. CreateFuture is addressing these challenges with its work with evoke plc and others, focusing on building a unified data foundation. This foundation supports live production workloads such as fraud detection, customer service and personalization, ensuring consistent data accessibility across departments, which is crucial in regulated markets. Eddie Bennett arrives with two decades of senior management experience in companies like Allwyn and Skybet. His focus will be on ensuring that the AI investments yield returns and meet regulatory compliance. Andy Wright, with 27 years of executive experience, will advise on completing AI projects that have stalled at the operational level. Eddie Bennett says: "I have sat on the other side of this table. A model that performs in a test is not the same thing as a model a regulator will let you run. That takes a business case, an operating model and an audit trail. "CreateFuture has the engineering and data depth already. My job is to make sure the commercial argument stands up as well as the technology does." Andy Wright adds: "Boards rarely struggle to approve the first investment. They struggle to explain the second when the first never reached the floor. "The operators calling now are not asking how to start; they are asking how to finish what they have already funded." Hass Peymani concludes: "Almost every operator Global Gambling News meet has a slide deck of AI pilots and a data estate that cannot support any of them. This is not a failure of ambition; it is the cost of 15 years of growth by acquisition. "The work that matters now is consolidating the platform and changing how the business runs on top of it, and that is a transformation job rather than a technology purchase. Eddie and Andy have both done it from the inside." CreateFuture is actively participating at SBC Summit, where it will sponsor the AI Academy. The company's leaders will discuss how AI is revolutionising the industry and share insights on navigating these technological advancements.