Priya Lakhani Biography: Remarkable AI Career Journey

Introduction

Priya Lakhani OBE is a British entrepreneur, former barrister, author and artificial intelligence leader. She is best known as the founder and chief executive of CENTURY Tech, an education company that uses AI to support teachers and learners.

Her career has moved through law, food, social enterprise and education technology. She has also advised the UK Government on artificial intelligence, science, technology and responsible innovation.

Priya Lakhani is 45 years old as of July 2026 and holds British nationality.

Priya Lakhani Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Full name	Priya Lakhani
Public title	Priya Lakhani OBE
Birth month and year	May 1981
Age	45 years old as of July 2026
Nationality	British
Country of residence	England
Family background	East African Indian family
Childhood area	Cheshire, near Manchester
Profession	Entrepreneur, former barrister, author and AI leader
Famous for	Founding CENTURY Tech
Current position	Founder and CEO of CENTURY Tech
Education	Law with Economics at Queen Mary University of London
Major honour	Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Government role	Member of the Council for Science and Technology
Notable book	Inadequate: The System Failing Our Teachers and Your Children

Who Is Priya Lakhani?

Priya Lakhani is a leading British businesswoman working in artificial intelligence and education. She created CENTURY Tech to make learning more personal while reducing the amount of marking and data work completed by teachers.

Before entering education technology, she trained and worked as a barrister. She later left law to launch a cooking-sauce company with a strong social purpose.

Her official GOV.UK profile describes her as the founder and chief executive of an AI education technology company serving schools, colleges, universities and employers.

She is also known for discussing the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence. Her public work covers education, future skills, business leadership, government regulation and the effect of technology on society.

Priya Lakhani Age and Nationality

Priya Lakhani was born in May 1981. She turned 45 in May 2026.

Companies House records identify her as British and list England as her country of residence. The same records show that she has served as a director of CENTURY-TECH LIMITED since April 2013.

Her full birth day has not been used because the public company record provides only her birth month and year.

Early Life and Family Background

Priya was brought up in Cheshire, near Manchester. She attended an independent school before moving to a grammar school.

She comes from an East African Indian family that placed great importance on formal education. Her upbringing encouraged her to see education as a path towards opportunity and choice.

Entrepreneurship also appeared early in her life. She and her older brother bought and sold small products, including chocolate bars and items from auctions.

Visits to East Africa exposed her to poverty and unequal access to food, healthcare and education. These experiences later influenced the social purpose behind her first company.

Education and Legal Training

Priya studied Law with Economics at Queen Mary University of London and completed her degree in 2003. The university includes her among its notable entrepreneurial alumni.

Her studies combined legal subjects with an understanding of economics and business. This combination became useful when she moved from legal work into entrepreneurship.

She continued developing specialist knowledge in areas connected with media law and bioethics. Her early ambition was to build a professional career in law.

Her education gave her skills in research, argument, communication and problem-solving. These abilities remained important when she later began leading technology companies and advising policymakers.

Career as a Barrister

After completing her studies and professional training, Priya worked as a barrister.

Her legal career included work connected with media law, privacy, libel and reporting restrictions. She also gained experience with organisations working in broadcasting, publishing and education.

Law provided a successful professional route, but she wanted to create businesses that could address social problems more directly.

In 2008, she made the major decision to leave her legal career and enter the food industry. This change became the first important turning point in her entrepreneurial journey.

Founding Masala Masala

Priya launched Masala Masala, a fresh Indian cooking-sauce business, in 2008.

The company was created after she identified demand for fresh and authentic Indian cooking products. Its sauces later gained distribution through major British retailers.

However, Masala Masala was not designed only to sell food. It was connected with a charitable foundation that supported communities in India and Africa.

According to official government information, the business helped provide millions of meals, thousands of vaccinations and funding for several schools.

Her work earned her the Business Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2009. It also showed that a commercial company could connect business growth with social impact.

Why Priya Lakhani Founded CENTURY Tech

Priya later turned her attention towards education.

She became concerned about students falling behind and teachers spending too much time on marking, planning and administration. She believed technology could help identify individual learning gaps while giving teachers clearer information.

She founded CENTURY in 2013. The company brought together teachers, neuroscientists and technology specialists to develop personalised learning tools.

The aim was not to replace teachers. Instead, the platform was designed to support their decisions and allow students to work on subjects suited to their needs.

What Does CENTURY Tech Do?

CENTURY Tech uses artificial intelligence, learning science and neuroscience to support education.

Its platform studies how a learner performs and recommends suitable lessons or activities. It can identify areas where a student needs more help and provide teachers with information about progress.

The system is used in schools, colleges, universities and professional-learning environments. Its tools cover subjects including English, mathematics and science.

CENTURY also aims to reduce teacher workload by helping with marking, data analysis and the selection of educational resources.

Priya remains the company’s founder and chief executive. Official company records also confirm that she continues to hold an active directorship.

Business Leadership and Working Style

Priya’s career is unusual because she has worked across law, consumer products, charity and artificial intelligence.

Her path makes her a distinctive British entrepreneur who has built organisations in very different industries.

Her public talks often focus on persistence. She faced rejection while developing her education technology company, particularly when artificial intelligence in classrooms was still an unfamiliar idea.

Instead of leaving the project, she continued developing the technology and building a team of teachers, scientists and engineers.

Her working style appears to combine commercial ambition with social purpose. Education, fairness and responsible technology remain central themes throughout her public career.

OBE and Major Recognition

Priya was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2014.

The honour recognised her services to business, community work and voluntary initiatives. She uses the title Priya Lakhani OBE in her professional work.

Her other recognised achievements include Business Entrepreneur of the Year and National Economic Innovator of the Year.

CENTURY was selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer in 2021. The programme recognises growing technology companies working on important economic and social challenges.

She has also received an honorary doctorate from Coventry University for her work in entrepreneurship, technology and education.

Government and Public Leadership Roles

Priya has advised the UK Government on artificial intelligence, technology and regulation.

She joined the UK Government’s AI Council in 2019. The council brought together experts who could offer advice about the country’s artificial intelligence strategy.

She later served as a non-executive board member at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Priya also contributed to work connected with the government’s review of pro-innovation technology regulation.

She now serves on the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. The council’s current membership page lists her as the founder and chief executive of CENTURY Tech.

Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Education

Priya co-founded the Institute for Ethical AI in Education in 2018.

The institute was created to encourage the safe, fair and responsible use of artificial intelligence in schools and other learning environments.

Her position is that AI should help teachers rather than remove human judgement from education.

She has warned that receiving a fast answer from an AI system is not the same as understanding a subject. Real learning often requires effort, mistakes, thought and reflection.

This idea became the main subject of her 2025 TEDNext talk, This Is How Kids Should Be Learning with AI. In the talk, she explained how AI could strengthen learning without weakening independent thinking.

Books Written by Priya Lakhani

Priya is the author of Inadequate: The System Failing Our Teachers and Your Children.

The book examines teacher workload, assessment, education policy and the problems faced by modern schools.

It also explores how carefully designed technology could help teachers understand learners and provide more personalised support.

She has also created children’s writing and contributed articles about education, business, skills and artificial intelligence.

Broadcasting, Interviews and Public Speaking

Priya regularly appears as a commentator on artificial intelligence and education.

She is a co-host of AI Decoded, a BBC News programme that examines how artificial intelligence is changing work, business, education and daily life.

She has delivered speeches at technology, business and education events in the UK and other countries.

Her interviews often cover responsible AI, personalised learning, entrepreneurship, teacher workload, education reform and future workplace skills.

She has also appeared in podcasts and long-form conversations about leaving law, building Masala Masala and creating CENTURY Tech.

Priya Lakhani’s Public Philosophy

Priya believes that every learner should have access to high-quality education suited to their individual needs.

She supports technology that gives teachers helpful information without taking control away from them.

Her work also reflects the view that businesses can make money while producing a positive social result.

Another important part of her philosophy is persistence. Her career shows several major changes, but each stage developed from her interest in solving practical problems.

She presents artificial intelligence as a powerful tool, but not as a replacement for teachers, human thought or personal responsibility.

Current Status in 2026

As of July 2026, Priya continues to serve as the founder and CEO of CENTURY Tech.

She remains an active member of the Council for Science and Technology and contributes to discussions about AI, education, innovation and future skills.

She also continues her broadcasting work as a co-host of BBC News’ AI Decoded.

Her recent public work has focused on the difference between receiving information from AI and genuinely learning or understanding it.

Interesting Facts About Priya Lakhani

• She began her professional career as a barrister.
• She left law to start an Indian cooking-sauce company.
• Her first business supported meals, vaccinations and schools.
• She founded CENTURY in 2013.
• She studied Law with Economics at Queen Mary University of London.
• She received an OBE in 2014.
• She co-founded the Institute for Ethical AI in Education.
• She serves on the Council for Science and Technology.
• She is an author and BBC artificial intelligence presenter.
• She delivered a TEDNext talk about children learning with AI.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Priya Lakhani’s full name?

Her full public and legal name is Priya Lakhani.

How old is Priya Lakhani?

She is 45 years old as of July 2026.

When was Priya Lakhani born?

She was born in May 1981.

What is Priya Lakhani’s nationality?

She is British.

What is Priya Lakhani’s family background?

She was raised in Cheshire in an East African Indian family.

What did Priya Lakhani study?

She studied Law with Economics at Queen Mary University of London.

Why is Priya Lakhani famous?

She is famous for founding CENTURY Tech and promoting the responsible use of AI in education.

What does Priya Lakhani do now?

She leads CENTURY Tech, co-hosts BBC News’ AI Decoded and serves on the Council for Science and Technology.

Conclusion

Priya Lakhani has built a career across law, business, social enterprise and artificial intelligence.

She first worked as a barrister before creating a food company that supported health and education projects. She later founded CENTURY Tech to help teachers and provide more personal learning experiences for students.

Her OBE, government appointments, broadcasting work and international speeches have made her an important British voice in education technology.

Her central message is clear: artificial intelligence should improve human learning and support teachers rather than replace thought, effort and personal judgement.