Britain’s EdTech sector and artificial intelligence laboratories are being invited to pitch for a share of government funding to design a new generation of classroom-ready AI tutoring tools, in an initiative aimed squarely at closing the attainment gap between the country’s wealthiest and poorest pupils.

Up to eight companies will be selected to form a Pioneer Group, each receiving £300,000 to build and trial tools that could eventually reach as many as 450,000 disadvantaged pupils a year. The first cohort is expected to begin classroom testing under teacher supervision this summer, with a view to a national rollout from 2027.

The programme, unveiled this week, forms part of the delivery plan behind the government’s landmark schools white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, published earlier this year. That document sets an ambitious target of halving the outcomes gap between children from poorer households and their better-off peers.

For the UK’s fast-growing education technology sector, the tender represents one of the most significant public procurement opportunities in recent years. Ministers have made clear that bidders will be expected to demonstrate, in concrete terms, how their products will serve pupils from low-income backgrounds, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities. Accessibility and inclusivity are non-negotiable criteria.

The tools themselves will initially target Years 9 and 10 in four core subjects: English, mathematics, science and modern foreign languages. Each is expected to adapt to the individual learner, stepping in when a pupil falters and identifying areas where additional practice is required to secure mastery of the curriculum.

Crucially for the teaching profession, the government has stressed that the tools must be co-designed with classroom practitioners rather than dropped on them. The stated ambition is to provide an additional layer of support that frees up teacher time for the pupils who most need it, rather than to replace the teacher in front of the class.

The business case is straightforward. Private one-to-one tutoring, which research suggests can accelerate a pupil’s learning by as much as five months, typically costs hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year, placing it well beyond the reach of most working families.

Minister for Digital Government Ian Murray said the initiative was about democratising a form of support that had historically been the preserve of the wealthy. “The best educational support outside school has too often been the privilege of those who can afford it,” he said. “AI gives us a genuine opportunity to change that, to put the kind of personalised, one-to-one tutoring into the hands of all pupils, regardless of their background, and giving teachers the best technology to complement their work. That is why I’m calling on EdTech companies and AI labs to help us design safe and evidence-based tutoring tools that will deliver real educational improvements.”

Education Minister Olivia Bailey struck a similar note, while pointedly emphasising that the pace of the rollout would not be allowed to compromise safety. “Personalised, high-quality tutoring tools have the potential to help us make enormous progress in levelling the playing field for thousands more children from disadvantaged backgrounds,” she said. “But getting this right matters just as much as moving quickly. Every tool must be built with teachers, tested rigorously, and held to the highest safety standards before it reaches the country’s classrooms. That is why we are inviting leading EdTech and AI to rise to this challenge with us, not just to build something innovative, but to build something that will give pupils more opportunity, and perhaps even transform their life chances altogether.”

The reaction from the academy sector has been broadly supportive. Nav Sanghara, chief executive of Woodland Academy Trust, welcomed what he described as “a more thoughtful and evidence-informed approach to AI in education” and argued that co-designing tools with teachers was essential if they were to be safe, curriculum-aligned and genuinely effective. “At Woodland Academy Trust, we are clear that technology, including AI tools, must enhance rather than replace high-quality teaching, and should be grounded in strong pedagogy,” he said, adding that the programme’s focus on disadvantaged pupils, including those with SEND, was “particularly important”.

Safety considerations will run through the programme from start to finish. Every tool entering the pilot must meet rigorous UK safety standards and align with the national curriculum. At the end of the trial phase, suppliers will be required to report back on measurable impact, both for pupils and for their teachers.

In parallel, new national benchmarks are being developed to verify that AI tools are accurate, age-appropriate and safe, a framework that officials hope will future-proof the sector by allowing newly released models to be assessed rapidly as they come to market. Teachers are being drawn into the benchmark design process to help create realistic classroom scenarios and clear scoring criteria.

The government is also opening up its AI Content Store, a repository of publicly available educational resources, to participating developers. The aim is to give bidders a rich seam of high-quality material with which to test, evaluate and refine their products.

The tutoring programme sits alongside a broader package of EdTech investment, including an additional £325m committed to school connectivity through to 2029/30, designed to narrow the digital divide, and up to £23m earmarked for testing AI and EdTech products in schools with the twin aims of improving outcomes and reducing teacher workload.

For EdTech founders and AI labs with an appetite for the UK education market, the message from Whitehall is unambiguous: the door is open, the funding is on the table, and the commercial prize, a potential national rollout reaching hundreds of thousands of pupils, is substantial. The price of admission, however, is a demonstrable commitment to safety, equity and genuine classroom utility.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

Asia Pacific’s AI ambitions are colliding with the past. Outdated infrastructure is quietly sabotaging the region’s artificial intelligence race, and a widening revenue gap is exposing who is falling behind.

Key takeaways

• Legacy infrastructure is the single biggest barrier to AI adoption across Asia Pacific, with nearly half of organisations unable to build new applications without major modernisation first.
• The revenue gap between digital leaders and the rest is not theoretical: leaders generate 71% of revenue from digital products while mainstream peers manage just 23%.
• Companies that ignore their technical debt are on borrowed time, with IDC forecasting a 50% higher AI failure rate for laggards by 2027.

Across the Asia Pacific, boardrooms are buzzing with AI ambitions. But beneath the optimism, a stubborn obstacle is stalling progress: the creaking weight of legacy technology that companies have long deferred modernising.

New research commissioned by MongoDB and conducted by IDC paints a sobering picture. A survey of 1,400 organisations across eight markets found that 43% reported their existing architecture makes it impossible to build new applications without extensive modernisation, systems that their own staff describe as too rigid, too costly, and too slow for what the AI era demands.

The findings land at a pivotal moment. Companies across the region have moved from experimenting with AI pilots to attempting full-scale production deployments. That transition is brutally exposing the gap between ambition and infrastructure.

The data problem no one wants to talk about

At the root of the crisis is data quality. The most commonly cited software development challenge was data management and poor-quality data, named by 32% of organisations. Close behind were outdated database technology that cannot support AI workloads and the difficulty of embedding security into development without sacrificing speed, each cited by 31% of respondents.

In plain terms, many companies are attempting to build next-generation AI systems on platforms designed for a previous era of computing.

Supporting new AI initiatives was the main reason for modernising databases and applications, with 46% of organisations naming it as their top driver. Yet the path to modernisation is proving treacherous. Nine in ten organisations surveyed reported having experienced failed modernisation initiatives, with siloed and poor-quality data identified as the main obstacle.

A revenue divide is opening up

The research does more than catalogue frustration. It identifies a consequence that finance leaders cannot ignore: a measurable and growing commercial gap between companies that have modernised and those that have not.

A smaller group of companies described as leaders are pulling away from their peers, generating 71% of revenue from digital products and services, compared with just 23% among mainstream peers. Those leading organisations share a common trait. 58% are running multiple programmes to reduce legacy constraints and build cloud-ready foundations for AI systems in production, treating modernisation not as a project with an end date but as a permanent discipline.

The cost of standing still is rising sharply. IDC has forecast that organisations that do not address technical debt will face a 50% higher failure rate and rising costs for AI initiatives by 2027.

What the experts are saying

IDC’s Senior Research Director for Asia Pacific, Dr William Lee, was direct about what the data reveals. He described high-quality, integrated data as the essential fuel that determines the accuracy and performance of an AI application, and said many organisations are being held back by rigid legacy architectures that lack the flexibility and scalability to handle the high volume of unstructured data required for AI.

MongoDB’s Managing Director of CXO Advisory, Thorsten Walther, framed the issue in board-level terms, arguing that AI has made technical debt an urgent priority for senior leadership and that the research shows strategic modernisation unlocks AI opportunities and supports significant revenue growth.

A real-world example

The study points to Bendigo Bank as a concrete illustration of what modernisation can achieve. The bank moved a core banking application away from legacy relational database technology to MongoDB Atlas and used AI-assisted tools to break the work into smaller releases, reducing development time by up to 90% and cutting costs to one-tenth of a traditional migration, all without service outages.

The path forward

IDC outlined a set of steps for organisations seeking to improve their AI readiness, including stronger data quality and governance, modernising architectures that slow application development, building cloud-ready hybrid operating models, and investing in skills and change management.

The survey covered organisations with at least 100 employees across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand, spanning developers, IT decision-makers, and senior executives.

The picture that emerges is of a region at a crossroads. Those who treat modernisation as a strategic priority are pulling ahead commercially. Those who continue to defer it are not simply falling behind on technology benchmarks. They are falling behind on revenue, resilience, and their ability to compete in an economy that AI is rapidly reshaping.

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Food and drink giant PepsiCo is seeing significant gains after lowering prices on its signature snacks and beverages earlier this year to lure back cost-conscious consumers.

In February, the company slashed prices by up to 15% on its signature snacks, including Lay’s and Doritos, as Americans tightened their budgets amid persistently high costs.

PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta told FOX Business anchor Liz Claman Thursday the strategy helped consumers financially and helped drive the company’s first growth in more than a year.

“It was a holistic transformation of the business. Price was one element,” he said on “The Claman Countdown”. “We thought that consumers needed more value given the economic situations.”

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Bags of Lay’s Classic potato chips are displayed at a grocery store on January 29, 2025, in San Anselmo, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

PepsiCo recently reported revenue growth of 8.5% and a profit rise of 27% since slashing prices.

“We increased consumption volume by 2% in our food business in North America, units 4%, almost 300 million new occasions in this first quarter,” Laguarta explained. “So, we’re very pleased with the overall transformation of the business.”

Laguarta revealed the food and beverage giant is addressing new consumer standards as Americans lean towards less-processed foods and learn the risks associated with artificial ingredients like food dyes, commonly found in PepsiCo snacks.

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The CEO said PepsiCo is “innovating” to meet evolving consumer preferences, cutting sugar in drinks like Gatorade, and removing artificial dyes from snacks like Cheetos.

Boxes of PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Flamin’ Hot flavored snacks including Cheetos, Fritos, Doritos tortilla chips, and Funyuns are displayed alongside packaged foods for sale at a warehouse grocery store in Hawthorne, California on Dec. 2, 2025.  (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

“We’re very optimistic about where we’re going in that part of the business,” he said.

PepsiCo launched Cheetos Simply NKD late last year, offering consumers a color-free alternative to the popular snack. He said it maintains the same flavor without artificial additives and without increasing costs.

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Laguarta said such innovation has been “well received” by consumers, pledging that PepsiCo will continue to expand those efforts.

“We’re seeing moms with little children that they’re saying, ‘Okay, now I can give my children my favorites, and I’m feeling good about it.’ So, this is a platform that now we’re taking everywhere.”

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Laguarta also addressed the “shrinkflation” as consumers grow frustrated with forking up more money for less product from food companies.

“We’re pleased with the execution of our pricing strategy, the fact that we’re giving consumers more value, especially in our multipacks and our multi-serve,” he told FOX Business.

The Chepstow medical devices firm said 25 staff will transfer over to a new company established by a management buyout team

Chepstow-based medical devices firm Creo Medical has agreed a sale of its manufacturing operation as part of an ongoing efficiency drive. The deal, the value of which has not been disclosed, is expected to be finalised next month via a management buyout.

Creo, which specialises in devices in the emerging field of minimally invasive surgical endoscopy for pre-cancer and cancer patients, said that 25 staff will transfer over to new entity NewCo, which will become a third party manufacturer of Creo devices.

It said the manufacturing disposal is consistent with its strategy to pivot to a “lean, new product introduction company that designs, builds and tests medical devices that are then produced by third party partners.” Having considered various options, it added that a management buyout represented the best outsourcing option.

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Peter Tomlinson, current chief operating officer at Creo and chief executive of NewCo, said: “his strategic decision marks an exciting new chapter for the Creo Medical operations team. Having developed the manufacturing capability within Creo, we see a clear opportunity to establish a focused, world-class medical device manufacturing and engineering business.

“We will have the agility to invest, scale, and support a wide range of medical device innovators while continuing to serve as a trusted partner to Creo. Our ambition is to build a highly capable and globally competitive manufacturing platform for advanced medical technologies.

“We remain deeply committed to supporting Creo Medical’s growth and innovation, and the long-term partnership between our organisations will continue to be a cornerstone of our future.”

Creo’s chief executive Craig Guliford said: “We have a commitment to improve the operational efficiency of the business and focus on our core strengths as a world class medical device design, clinical application and sales execution business. The outsourcing of product manufacturing has been a key part of this strategy, having already outsourced our next generation bipolar range in our near-term product launch program. This is a further important milestone enabling us to scale our business with increasing volumes on the back of a maturing manufacturing process.

“We are extremely proud of the sophisticated manufacturing operation and talented team we have developed for our class leading products over the last few years which have enabled us to reach this point.

“Having looked at the options available for our outsourcing strategy, it became very clear that the capability within the operations team stands out in the UK peer group we evaluated. I am excited to see our volumes grow in the short term and working closely with Peter and the team as they embark on realising the growth potential in this area of the devices market.

“This enables the team at Creo to focus on that which is unique to us, significantly differentiated product design, clinical application and sales execution through our sales channels with real traction and momentum.”

In a trading statement in January, and in line with market expectation and management guidance, Creo said it achieved a revenue growth of 50% in 2025, to £6m with a far strong second half to the year. Underlying operating losses reduced by more than 40% to £13.3m with cash and cash equivalents of £12.4m (£8.7m at year end 2024). It will publish its full accounts for the year this summer.

In a brokers note Shore Capital said it believes that Creo is on track to reaching an Ebitda breakeven position in 2028.

It said: “Creo Medical is at a commercial inflection point. In FY25, sales of its surgical endoscopy tools grew substantially (up 50%) despite a tightening cost base ( down 20%), establishing that the model is starting to scale as clinical adoption compounds. With US reimbursement secured for Speedboat and a new suite of products expected to launch in the next 12 months, we see growth continuing to accelerate and believe the framework now exists for CREO to grow to a place of self-sufficiency and reach Ebitda breakeven in FY28.

“£Further progress with its MicroBlate lung cancer programme, which is being advanced in collaboration with robotics behemoth Intuitive Surgical, is also expected in this timeframe and could crystalise significant unrecognised value.”

The homeware retailer said sales over three months to March 28 had started well following a good winter sale

Dunelm has reported a slowdown in sales growth during March, citing an “uncertain” economic climate, and cautioned that profits are set to land at the “lower end” of expectations.

The Leicester-based homeware and furnishings retailer said sales over the three months to March 28 “started well”, buoyed by a strong winter sale and encouraging responses to its spring ranges. But it told shareholders that it “experienced a period of broad-based softening” in trade throughout March.

The retailer said total sales rose 2.1% year-on-year to £472 million over the most recent quarter. This brings year-to-date sales up 3.1% to £1.4 billion, following growth of 3.6% in the preceding half-year.

Dunelm noted that its cost plans remain on track for the current half of the financial year, but flagged that instability in the Middle East is anticipated to have a “small direct cost impact in this financial year”.

Recently appointed chief executive Clo Moriarty said: “We saw further sales growth in Q3, against an uncertain backdrop for both customers and businesses.

“Although the external environment is not helpful in the short term, we continue to focus on the areas within our control – strengthening our proposition while operating efficiently and effectively.

“Alongside this, we are making good progress building our long‐term growth plans with some exciting developments beginning to emerge, including a much stronger store opening pipeline and some encouraging early results from our recently launched app.”

Ms Moriarty, who previously served as chief retail and technology officer at Sainsbury’s, assumed the position of chief executive at Dunelm in October last year.

INDIO, Calif. — Eminem is nowhere to be found on the Coachella 2026 lineup, leaving many hip-hop fans disappointed as the desert festival kicks off its 25th edition this weekend without the Detroit rap legend who headlined back in 2018.

The absence has sparked online speculation, with some wondering whether scheduling conflicts, a preference for selective appearances or shifting festival priorities played a role. As of April 16, no official explanation has come from Eminem’s camp or Goldenvoice, the festival promoter, but industry observers point to several likely factors behind the snub.

Coachella 2026, running April 10-12 and 17-19 at the Empire Polo Club, features headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G, with Anyma delivering a special late-night set. The full roster leans heavily toward pop, R&B, Latin and electronic acts, including The xx, The Strokes, Addison Rae, Young Thug, Teddy Swims and a limited number of hip-hop performers — reportedly just eight across the entire bill.

Eminem last performed at Coachella in 2018, closing out the final night of both weekends after sets by The Weeknd and Beyoncé. That appearance drew mixed reviews, with some critics noting his high-energy lyricism felt like a throwback in an evolving festival landscape increasingly dominated by spectacle, choreography and genre-blending pop stars. Eight years later, the 53-year-old rapper appears to be charting a different course.

No confirmed 2026 tour dates or festival appearances for Eminem have surfaced on Ticketmaster, Live Nation or his official website. Recent activity has centered on merchandise drops, including “Stan” dog tag pendants released in March to mark the 25th anniversary of the hit single, and a collector’s set of “The Shady LPs.” A private January performance at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena for Rocket Mortgage employees offered fans a rare live glimpse, but larger public outings remain quiet.

Rumors of a 2026 world tour have circulated widely on social media and fan forums, with unverified claims of nearly 40 dates across North America and Europe. However, official channels show zero upcoming concerts, and insiders describe the chatter as typical for an artist known for surprise drops rather than traditional touring cycles. Eminem has historically avoided the heavy festival circuit in favor of arena shows or one-off events that align with album releases or personal milestones.

His most recent studio album, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce),” dropped in 2024 and earned American Music Awards recognition. Since then, activity has been subdued on the recording front, though manager Paul Rosenberg and others have teased ongoing work. Family events, including becoming a grandfather, have also kept Eminem in headlines without tying to major live commitments.

Coachella’s 2026 programming reflects broader industry trends. The festival has increasingly embraced global pop and Latin superstars, as seen with Karol G’s prominent slot and Bieber’s return. Hip-hop representation remains sparse compared to past years, prompting complaints from fans who note only a handful of rap and R&B acts made the cut. This shift may explain why a veteran like Eminem, who commands high guarantees and typically headlines rather than slots mid-bill, did not factor into bookings.

Festival organizers often prioritize acts with current chart momentum or viral appeal among younger demographics that dominate Coachella crowds. Carpenter’s rapid rise, Bieber’s enduring pop dominance and Karol G’s Latin music influence align with that strategy. Eminem, while still a massive draw with strong catalog streaming numbers, has not released new music since 2024 and maintains a lower public profile than in previous eras.

Logistical considerations could also play a part. Coachella weekends fall in mid-April, a period when Eminem has occasionally focused on studio time or personal matters. His history of selective live performances — often tied to hometown Detroit events or major anniversaries — suggests he may be holding out for a more controlled environment rather than the chaotic, multi-stage desert setting.

Some fans pointed to past comments from Eminem about festival experiences, including his 2018 set where he paused to address “mean tweets” mid-performance. While that moment became memorable, it also highlighted the challenge of translating his intense, word-heavy style to massive outdoor crowds more accustomed to sing-alongs and production-heavy shows.

Moby’s set at Coachella 2026 even included a mashup referencing an old Eminem diss track, briefly injecting Slim Shady energy into the festival without the man himself on stage. Clips circulated quickly, fueling lighthearted memes but underscoring the void left by his absence.

Eminem’s team has long emphasized quality over quantity in live work. After years of battling addiction and navigating fame, the rapper has spoken openly about protecting his energy and focusing on projects that matter personally. A full Coachella commitment, with travel, rehearsals and the demands of desert weather, may simply not fit his current priorities.

That said, the door remains open for future appearances. Eminem surprised fans with a Thanksgiving 2025 halftime performance alongside Jack White at a Detroit Lions game, proving he can still deliver when motivated. Merchandise continues selling well, and the “Stans” documentary exploring his superfans has kept cultural conversations alive.

For hip-hop enthusiasts, the limited rap presence at Coachella 2026 highlights ongoing debates about the festival’s evolution. Once a destination for genre-blending lineups that included Eminem alongside Beyoncé and The Weeknd, the event now tilts more toward pop spectacle. Acts like Young Thug and a handful of others provide some representation, but many fans hoped for heavier hitters or a veteran closer.

Goldenvoice has not commented publicly on booking decisions, and Eminem’s representatives have stayed silent on the topic. In the absence of official statements, speculation fills the gap: perhaps negotiations never advanced, fees proved too steep, or the artist simply passed on the offer to focus elsewhere.

Coachella tickets sold out quickly after the September 2025 lineup announcement, reflecting strong demand despite the lack of certain legacy acts. Livestream options and the official app allow remote viewers to catch sets, but many die-hard Eminem supporters expressed frustration online, with some calling the hip-hop underrepresentation a missed opportunity.

As the first weekend wraps and the second approaches, attention turns to on-site surprises and any last-minute additions. Past festivals have seen unannounced guests or stage swaps, though nothing points to an Eminem cameo this year. Jack White’s added set and other adjustments show the promoter’s willingness to tweak programming, but rap icons remain off the bill.

Eminem’s career has always defied expectations. From breakthrough albums to Oscar-winning soundtrack work and consistent catalog strength, he has thrived by moving at his own pace. Whether 2026 eventually brings a dedicated tour, new music or strategic one-offs remains uncertain, but his decision to sit out Coachella fits a pattern of deliberate choices over chasing every major festival slot.

For now, attendees will experience a Coachella defined by fresh pop energy, Latin flair and electronic innovation rather than the raw lyricism that once closed out the night. Fans hoping to see the Real Slim Shady in the desert may need to look toward arena dates or future announcements instead.

As temperatures rise in the Coachella Valley and stages light up, the conversation around Eminem’s absence serves as a reminder of how festival lineups evolve while legacy artists carefully curate their returns. Marshall Mathers remains one of hip-hop’s most bankable names, but this spring, the desert belongs to a new wave of headliners.