Grow Summit: Future Horizons + Annual Dinner ??

Day 3 of Grow Summit 2024 saw us kick off Future Horizons at the iconic The Royal Institution – home to groundbreaking discoveries in electricity and magnetism that underpin tech today.?

We brought together the tech ecosystem of London & beyond to explore the future of technology and its impact on businesses, cities and lives. With cutting edge industry insights from world-class speakers and innovators, live demonstrations and interactive sessions, and supercharged networking with industry leaders, investors, founders and policymakers - the day was a buzz of energy as we talked transformative tech.?

We got started with welcomes from Janet Coyle CBE , Oli Barrett and the Royal Institution’s Katherine Mathieson , as we talked about how much we have to be proud of as a capital, a global city, and a phenomenal ecosystem.

Into panels on New Frontiers: Solving Critical Challenges with Technology. We heard how innovation has the power not only to disrupt but to uplift and transform industries, where we were joined by:?

• Claire Valoti , Haylo Ventures ?

• Megan Kelley , Fidelity Center for Applied Technology?(FCAT)

• Laurent Rossi , Vektor Partners ?

• Alexander Macgillivray , Former Principal Deputy CTO, The White House

• Ilan Gur , Aria

Onto Responsibility in the Age of AI, delving into topics such as the recent election of Donald Trump, regulation in AI and ethical AI amongst lots of other talking points. With thanks to moderator Oli Barrett , 彭博资讯 Technology Columnist Parmy Olson and AI Caramba! ’s Matthew Blakemore .?

Data security was a hot topic of the week, with a panel moderated by Russ Shaw CBE on The Value of Personal Data where we were joined by:?

• Dr David Harland , 阿斯利康

• Dr Bea Bakshi , C the Signs ?

• Orsola De Marco , Open Data Institute .?

We heard about the rising popularity of ‘data donation’ in participants volunteering data for a cause, about what is needed to ensure demographic diversity in clinical trials, and what a robust data structure should consist of.?

Next topic: Brain data. Professor Tom Carlson , Professor of Assistive Robotics at 英国伦敦大学学院 talked us through the applications and implications of mind-machine links. In a fascinating talk, Professor Tom asked us to imagine being able to control devices just by the power of our minds, with non-invasive tech.?

That got us in the mood for our first demo on human-machine interfaces, with Panda Surgical l’s Hani Marcus and George Dwyer . The team demonstrated their cutting-edge surgical robotics for the audience in a real wow moment that got our brains working overtime.?

After the break we got going with a fireside chat between our own Janet Coyle CBE and Matt Brittin , President EMEA at 谷歌 . The takeaways were endless as Matt took us through his proudest achievements and what he believes are the biggest opportunities, in reflections on nearly two decades at Google and a look ahead to what the future holds.?

Time to take part in a podcast as we talked IPO to R&D: The Future of Computing with Raspberry Pi .?

彭博资讯 Radio Anchor Stephen Carroll and Raspberry Pi’s Dr Eben Upton CBE joined Sherry Coutu CBE in the recording for a look towards the future, commenting on the huge changes the technology world has encountered in just the last 10 years alone. We heard why Raspberry Pi listed on the London Stock Exchange over New York, as well as why talent is such a big challenge right now. ?

Time to go quantum! Next, we sat down for a panel moderated by Greater London Authority ’s Sandy Tung , asking will quantum power the future of computing??

Joined by:?

• Vincent Martin , Pasqal ?

• Ilana Wisby , Deeptech entrepreneur?

• Benjamin Cox , Multiverse Computing ?

The chat dived into the world of quantum computing (even explaining it to quantum novices), and how it can be used to look at complex situations that classical machines can’t handle. We heard how London and the UK as a whole is the best place for quantum tech with a phenomenal skill base and ecosystem ???

Onto our second demo with Snap Inc. ! We looked at Experiencing AR with Snap Spectacles, looking at how we can transition from our phone to AR glasses to interact in smart cities. We heard how AR has the potential to change the way we live globally, and to connect better with other people and our surroundings. Thanks to Qi Pan for the amazing demonstration. ?

Onto our final panel of the day for a discussion on connectivity and distribution in our cities. Our superstar panel contained:?

• Laura Citron OBE , London & Partners

• Qi Pan , Snap Inc. ?

• Kai-Tse (KT) Lin , Bellwether Industries ?

• Tim Houter , Hardt Hyperloop ?

• Martine Wauben , Greater London Authority

So many notes were made as our panel discussed high speed transport, data collection, the role of AR and AI in the built environment and privacy by design. ?

We closed out the event with some reflections on the massively insightful day, before heading in to a networking lunch where there was a LOT of new connections made at the Royal Institution, with tech products on showcase throughout the space.?

A huge thanks to all of our speakers, panellists, moderators and attendees for making it a Future Horizons to remember!?

We wrapped up Grow Summit 2024 with an annual dinner at the stunning Lancaster House.

Convening our community of serial entrepreneurs, CEOs of the fastest-growing global tech companies, investors, corporate leaders and partners, we talked not just about the insights into the future of tech learnt, but also how London will be shaped by current and emerging technologies.?

And that’s a wrap on a week we won’t forget in a hurry. ?

See you next year? ???