Artificial intelligence is poised to radically reshape the workforce within the United Kingdom’s financial services sector, with significant implications for employment levels, according to Matt Miller, founder of Evantic Capital and former partner at Sequoia. Miller, who has raised $970 million across three AI-focused investment funds based in London, predicts that AI-driven automation will lead to a substantial reduction in banking jobs and fundamentally alter the industry's economic profile.

Miller stated that the UK’s banking sector, historically a “big high-tax, high-revenue industry,” will face dramatic changes as agentic AI technologies increasingly take over tasks such as software development, analytical research, and the preparation of investment strategies. “The industry will survive but the headcount level will not be the same,” he explained, highlighting how AI advancements facilitate automation that requires far fewer human employees.

At the end of 2023, the financial services industry employed over one million people in the UK. However, recent developments have seen banks initiating layoffs attributed to AI-driven efficiencies. For example, Norway’s DNB Bank announced 400 redundancies earlier this month, while HSBC is reportedly planning significant job cuts within its wealth management division.

Miller’s observations underscore growing concerns about job stability in the sector as AI technologies accelerate. His investment fund, Evantic Capital, backs numerous AI startups worldwide, including London-based ElevenLabs, a speech-generation company valued at $22 billion. Miller is also actively engaged in debates around labor market policies, specifically opposing restrictive non-compete clauses that can hinder talent mobility. “It is far better to enable a more liquid labour market,” he argued, cautioning that non-compete agreements and lengthy notice periods impede growth in the UK’s tech ecosystem.

Evantic is among six AI and advanced technology funds that have been supported by the British Business Bank since March, benefiting from a £22 million commitment from the state-owned development institution.

While some Silicon Valley founders have predicted large-scale job losses as a result of AI adoption, many economists remain skeptical about the scale of displacement. Miller recognized that technological innovation traditionally leads to the creation of new roles but warned that this wave of AI-driven change is coming so rapidly that significant workforce disruption is inevitable. “A lot of areas once done by humans will be done by software,” he said. “There is nothing you can do but embrace it.”