Kanishka Narayan, born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, has been appointed as the UK's first AI Minister. He moved to Cardiff, Wales, at age 12. His first phone call as AI Minister was to Nobel laureate and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who described the appointment as “great news" for the UK’s AI ecosystem. Narayan’s parents worked minimum-wage and night-shift jobs after immigrating. A scholarship helped him move from a state-funded school in Cardiff to Eton College; he later studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford before earning an MBA from Stanford University. Inspired by his family’s experience, he joined the Labour Party. His parliamentary journey began in 2022 when he was selected as Labour’s candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan constituency. After Labour returned to power under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Narayan was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. This week, he was elevated to the newly created post of AI Minister. Narayan has indicated collaboration with industry leaders will be key to translating Britain’s AI leadership into economic opportunities and high-quality jobs.