From codebreaking to AI futurism: Milton Keynes’ impressive tech credentials have their roots at Bletchley Park

As a living testbed for invention and home to a thriving network of tech companies, Milton Keynes, which incorporates the town of Bletchley, is a prime destination for the technology-minded. Within its tech cluster are organisations like the Government’s Communications Centre, rising fintech stars like Xero and Allica Bank, multinational tech companies such as Zoho, and AI and robotics specialists including Aiimi, Starship Technologies and ABB Robotics. 

These businesses, and others like them, are attracted by a city that’s ‘better by design’, with smart infrastructure, space to expand, and a prime location - at the heart of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor. But though Milton Keynes is growth-focused and forward-looking, its strengths rest on a foundation stretching back to the dawn of modern computing.    

Breaking codes at a country estate 

On the outskirts of Milton Keynes, the town of Bletchley has long been a site of strategic importance for technology and computation. It’s home to Bletchley Park, an expansive historic site which, thanks to its unique role in 20th century history, now attracts more than 200,000 visitors every year.  

The Mansion was built in the 1880s but Bletchley Park’s most storied period was during the Second World War. From 1939, Bletchley Park became the site of the Government Code and Cypher School – Britain’s codebreaking agency, a diligent team of mathematicians, linguists and many others, who worked tirelessly to  break foreign codes and ciphers to produce vital intelligence. Their work  contributed to shortening the duration of the war, saving many Allied lives.  

The Codebreakers worked in the Historic Mansion and, due to rapid recruitment that swelled their numbers from 150 to nearly 9,000, in a series of huts and blocks, some of which still stand in the grounds today. Many of the early Codebreakers were recruited from Oxford and Cambridge, which are equidistant from Bletchley Park - an advantage of Bletchley and Milton Keynes to this day. 

Turing’s dream, our reality 

Among the Codebreakers was Alan Turing, the legendary mathematician and theorist who pioneered the concept of ‘machines that can think.’ Turing published research that laid the groundwork for the modern computer during his time at Cambridge University, and his theoretical ‘Turing machine’ is widely considered to be the conceptual root of the machines we use today.  

At Bletchley Park, Turing and his team developed the British Bombe, a high-speed electromechanical machine that tested possible Enigma settings and so helped unravel German encrypted messages. A large number of Enigma settings were in use, and all were changed each day. The Bombe made it possible to find the correct settings more quickly and break far more messages than would have been possible through manual decryption. 

A treasure-trove of computer history 

Fittingly, also based at Bletchley Park is the National Museum of Computing, the world’s largest collection of working historic computers. The museum brings to life the history of modern computing, from the room-sized mechanical apparatus of the 1940s and 1950s to the pocket devices of today. It houses the Colossus Rebuild, the world’s first programmable electronic computer, developed by the General Post Office to help break the German Lorenz  cipher.   

Bletchley today: a centre for tomorrow’s technology 

The war may be long over, but an appetite for technology is alive and well in Bletchley, which has become a focal point for those with a passion for AI and digital. 

In 2023, a landmark event took place at Bletchley Park - the first ever AI Safety Summit. This international forum brought together global AI leaders, innovators and government representatives from 28 countries to grapple with the vast opportunities and challenges that come with AI. Over two days, delegates collaborated, resulting  in the Bletchley Declaration, an agreement on international cooperation that places human-centric design and safety at the forefront of AI development. 

In 2024, Bletchley Park was a principal venue for the Milton Keynes AI Festival, which brought together industry leaders, scholars, students and members of the public to discuss and learn about the future of AI. 

Bletchley Park’s 2025-2026 temporary exhibition ‘The Age of AI’, shows how artificial intelligence is a part of our lives today and how AI could affect our future. 

There is plenty of grassroots activity in the town too. For example, a regular programme of meetup events is run by the Bletchley AI User Group, which has over 800 members and has welcomed guest speakers from Microsoft and Github, among many others. 

Modern computing has its roots in a strategic location between Oxford and Cambridge, where the best minds in the business achieved incredible things. Today, Milton Keynes and Bletchley host one of the UK's most innovative tech clusters - the technology's very different, but some things remain the same.