Leading AI provider Anthropic is to support the second tranche of firms entering the FCA's 'Supercharged Sandbox' testing programme after the regulator signed a deal with the company.
The Sandbox is a long running FCA initiative which allows start-ups and entrepreneurs to test new financial businesses in a controlled and safe environment.
In the 'Supercharged Sandbox' firms can safely experiment with advanced AI, the FCA says.
The second Supercharged Sandbox has already received 199 applications in total, compared to 132 in the first tranche.
Anthropic will provide access to its Claude AI product for participants – including Claude Code and Claude Cowork – to help speed up their development work.
The regulator says that the second group of firms in the Supercharged Sandbox will be able to explore a range of AI use cases. This includes testing solutions designed to:
• enable safer agent-led payments and commerce
• detect fraud and economic crime more effectively
• strengthen AI governance and accountability
• widen access to financial services for vulnerable and underserved consumers
• streamline compliance and business automation
Some 21 organisations, including Scottish Widows, Money Advice Trust and TrueLayer, will join the second group. The selection process followed strong demand, with a 51% increase in the number of applications compared to the first group, the watchdog said.
The Sandbox builds on existing support from NayaOne and NVIDIA.
Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, intelligence and information officer, said: "The high level of interest in the Supercharged Sandbox demonstrates the demand for trusted environments where firms can experiment safely and responsibly.
"With the support of Anthropic, participants will benefit from the technology they need to accelerate innovation. This is central to our commitment to supporting economic growth – enabling firms to make the most of technological advances while maintaining the UK’s position at the forefront of responsible AI adoption and innovation."
The FCA has also launched the new Agentic Academy, a 10-week specialist AI programme for selected firms which will be delivered by the FCA and the Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE).
Among the firms accepted into the second Sandbox cohort are: calQrisk; Merx Digital Solutions Ltd (SmartDrops); Aegis Trace; Sardine AI Corp; Zquas; Trustie Labs; Welleness; IntelXview Ltd; RMI Agentic; Ubyx, partnering with Amazon; Deepflow; FSCom; GAI Labs; Condukt; Kaption; and Relace.
The FCA announced the launch of the Supercharged Sandbox last year.