Grow London at London Tech Week 2024: Day 2

Day 2 of London Tech Week 2024: Completed! ??

Arriving at Olympia Events yesterday morning, two things were apparent... firstly, the buzz from day 1 hasn’t died down, in fact it hadn't even faltered. Founders, innovators, investors, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts had flocked back to the venue to make the most of the second day of the weeklong tech event.??

Secondly, London Tech Week has became not just an event for London tech, but a global tech event BASED in London. As mentioned by our Director, Janet Coyle CBE :??

“I spoke to delegates from Armenia, Turkey, Australia, US, Canada, Sweden and Germany. One thing soon became clear, London Tech Week had become a global tech festival, hosted in London. After a video interview with Oli Barrett (our official LTW host), we talked about how London is "the BEST city in the world to do business and the BEST city to do business WITH the world."?

International collaboration continues?

A standout panel discussion that conveyed the message of global collaboration was that moderated by Janet on the topic “Does Place Matter? Where To Found a Startup and How to Go Global.”?

The panel was formed of founders and pioneers from an array of different markets, who all spoke passionately and informatively about the strengths of their respective markets for supporting founders.

London, and the UK as a whole, were cited as being particularly strong markets in this regard. The topic of talent and investors were considered two of London and the UK’s strongest assets from a founders’ point of view.??

“In the area there’s lots and lots of talent, you have Imperial College London, Oxford, Cambridge. London and the surrounding area present one of the largest tech ecosystems in the world.” - Yoram Wijngaarde, Founder & CEO – Dealroom.co

“The investors in the UK have been, out of all the countries, the ones with the best diligence and compliance, and will make the best introductions on behalf of companies” - Minette Navarrete , President at Kickstart Ventures .?

As well as discussing individual markets, something that made this panel discussion notable was the insightful conversation around unity and finding strength in market and business collaboration internationally. There was an agreement that while different cities and markets held different strengths, combining these strengths would lead to more affective innovation for the benefit of all.??

Looking at it from a talent point of view specifically, there was the recognition that global exposure improved the attitude of the “brain train” and can ultimately supercharge international talent.??

AI is the leading topic of the week?

Following yesterday's theme, AI was of course still a hot topic for discussion on several panels. Including one led by Alban Remy , Head of Enterprise Tech & Business Services at London & Partners .??

Acknowledging that AI is changing the way we live our lives, Alban asked the pivotal question of what good AI use means.??

The shared consensus from the panel of experts was that AI should be used for the betterment of human lives, to help us overcome the challenges facing society.??

“Now, with AI we have the opportunity to overcome challenges, and to make good use of AI would mean using it ethically by understanding how it can solve challenges within societies.” - Katie Platts , Global Tech Innovation, Sustainability & AI Director – 联合利华 .?

It was also pointed out that good AI requires strong regulations, legislation, and of course the human touch.???

“A good use of AI comes from humans – good engineers, good governments and good talents create the right legislations” - Russell Goodenough – Head of AI, CGI .????

Grow London at London Tech Week?

One of the things we are most thrilled about at this year's London Tech Week is having our own physical Grow London | London & Partners stand (number 860)!??

It has been such a pleasure chatting to ambitious founders and innovators about their journeys, and being able to connect them into our business support ecosystem.?

If you’re around tomorrow, don’t forget to swing by and say hi on the last day. We’d love to discuss all the ways we can supercharge your business growth in London! ???

Grow.London ?