UKTN | The Podcast

Priya Guha, venture partner at Merian Ventures, discusses the skills gap and the shortage of women in STEM roles, why tech companies shouldn’t overlook the arts, and how the early-stage gender funding gap is holding back UK growth. Elsewhere on the show, the investor and former diplomat discusses the UK’s “untapped capital pool” and reveals what she wants to see from the next British government.  ...

Nigel Toon, co-founder and CEO of Graphcore, discusses the goals of the AI Safety Summit, the danger of letting commercial interests and Big Tech shape regulations, and the shortcomings of government when it comes to reining in AI risks.     Bristol-based Graphcore designs hardware and software for intelligent processing unit (IPU) systems. Its technology is used to power AI and machine learning a...

Bianca Cefalo, co-founder of Space DOTS, discusses how the space tech industry in the UK and beyond is rapidly growing and ready for commercialisation. The engineer and CEO explains what it's like to be a woman in an industry dominated by men and encourages women to ignore the doubters and follow their engineering dreams.    Space DOTS is a British startup that offers in-space research and develop...

Eileen Burbidge, partner at Passion Capital, discusses the lessons she learned working in Silicon Valley before and during the dot-com crash, explains how luck plays a big role in success, examines the differences between the UK and US tech sectors, and shares how reproductive health support is the new frontier for employee benefits.     Burbidge, a British-American venture capitalist, moved to Lo...

Richard Robinson, co-founder of Robin AI, discusses how artificial intelligence has the power to massively transform the legal sector – though not without considerable risks. The CEO explains why people will always be needed despite the rise of automation, how the government can regulate AI without sacrificing innovation, and shares funding advice for startups.    Robin AI is a London-based startu...

Ashleigh Ainsley, co-founder of Colorintech, discusses what steps companies can take to build diverse teams, explains how Big Tech can do better on inclusion, and what he would like to see from the government's digital skills agenda to encourage more people from ethnic minority backgrounds into tech careers.     Colorintech is a non-profit that focuses on increasing access, awareness and opportuni...

Paul Scully, Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy, addresses criticism of the UK’s semiconductor strategy and explains why the government is avoiding a “subsidy race” with the likes of the US. The MP for Sutton and Cheam outlines the goals of the Digital Markets Bill, and explains how existing regulators will create a “baseline” while building up an understanding of AI risks. Elsewhere, he di...

Claire Lewis, CEO and co-founder of Baltic Ventures, discusses Liverpool’s rapidly growing tech scene, how there's now an understanding that tech investment must be spread across the whole UK, and some of the common mistakes that founders make.   Baltic Ventures is a not-for-profit accelerator located in Liverpool. Based in the city’s Baltic Triangle, the accelerator is aiming to address the fundi...

Carolyn Dawson, CEO of Founders Forum Group, discusses rebuilding Tech Nation after acquiring the shuttered entrepreneur network, explains why the UK is well-positioned to be a leader in generative AI, and the impact that pension fund reforms will have on the UK tech sector.    Launched in 2005, Founders Forum Group is an entrepreneur community that hosts networking events and provides advice to s...

Dr Mandana Ahmadi, the founder and CEO of mental health app Alena, discusses how technology can be a tool to support mental health, her journey as an Iranian immigrant to a UK-based startup founder and how artificial intelligence has yet to replicate real human emotion.    Ahmadi moved to the UK from Iran with a joint passion for technology and psychology. London-headquartered Alena is harnessing...

Richard Arundel, the co-founder of Currencycloud, talks about maintaining a good business culture whilst growing rapidly, how developments in cross-border payments have made a real impact in people’s lives, the current state of challenger banks and being acquired by Visa.    Arundel helped build the payments infrastructure company Currencycloud in 2012 from a background of 15 years working in fore...

Ilyas Khan, CPO and founder of Quantinuum, explains why quantum computers have the potential to radically change everything about how computing works, how the top prize in quantum has generated a geopolitical race, and what it’s like quietly building a deep tech multi-corn.    Khan is the founder of Cambridge Quantum, which in 2021 merged with US-based Honeywell to create Quantinuum, a deep tech c...

Dr Simon Thomas, co-founder and CEO of Paragraf, explains why the UK’s semiconductor strategy doesn’t do enough to support the country’s microchip industry, how wonder material graphene could revolutionise electronics, and how semiconductors have become less of a focus for the Silicon Fen area.   Cambridge-based Paragraf specialises in graphene-based electronics, a material with highly promising c...

Harry Keen, CEO and co-founder of Hazy, explains how synthetic could address bias issues for AI training data, why we should prioritise the near-term issues with AI instead of doomsday predictions, and shares his experience spinning out from UCL.   Founded in 2017, Hazy creates artificial data that replicates the quality of real-world data without including personal information. Companies can then...

Dr Ali El Kaafarani, founder and CEO of PQShield, explains how quantum computers will one day crack today’s encryption to expose our data, discusses the race to create cryptography that can fend off quantum attacks, and why “strengthening the startup position in the UK should be a top priority for the UK government to excel at quantum computing”.  Oxford-headquartered PQShield is a cybersecurity s...

Jodie Cook, founder of Coachvox AI, discusses how her company creates "artificially intelligent” versions of coaches and mentors to provide 24/7 support, how AI regulation could impact smaller businesses, and why friends and family should have a “safe word” in the age of deepfakes.    London-headquartered Coachvox AI creates digital coaches of entrepreneurs, coaches and content creators, who train...

Antony Walker, deputy CEO of techUK, discusses some of the key policy areas affecting the UK’s tech companies, from AI to the online safety bill. He also reflects on how the economic shocks of Brexit and the pandemic have impacted UK tech, and the role the UK should play in influencing new technologies on the global stage.  The trade association represents nearly 1,000 members and its goal is to “...

Eccie Newton, co-founder and CEO of Karma Kitchen, addresses some of the misconceptions surrounding dark kitchens, explains how the sites are “closer to a co-working space” and shares ways to minimise courier traffic in local areas.    Newton co-founded Karma Kitchen with her sister Gini in 2018 after struggling to find kitchen space for their corporate catering delivery company. The London-based...

Immigram CEO Anastasia Mirolyubova opens up for the first time about Slush’s controversial decision to award - then revoke - a €1m startup prize to her talent relocation company, following the outcry over Mirolyubova and her co-founder's Russian roots.    Mirolyubova co-founded Immigram in 2020 to assist IT and tech professionals with relocation across the world. The company is headquartered in Lo...

Lucy Jung, CEO and co-founder of Charco Neurotech, discusses spinning out a medical device startup from academia, the science behind treating Parkinson’s disease with vibrations, balancing regulation with innovation and how devices like Elon Musk’s Neuralink could “maximise our brain”.   Jung, who has a background in design, co-founded Charco Neurotech in 2019, launching out of Imperial College Lo...

Tessa Clarke, CEO and co-founder of Olio, talks about the business model behind the food sharing app, the company’s plan to be the be the “Mailchimp of food redistribution”, organic international expansion and the plan to take on Facebook Marketplace by moving into second-hand items.   Clarke launched Olio, which lets people list surplus food and second-hand goods, in 2015. It has since attracted...

Mikela Druckman, CEO and co-founder of Greyparrot, explains how her company uses AI to identify and sort through “mountains” of waste, why legislation is key to reducing the volume of rubbish, and discusses the crackdown on greenwashing in the packaging supply chain.   London-headquartered Greyparrot was co-founded by Druckman in 2019. The company uses computer vision technology to analyse and sor...

Toby Mather, CEO of Lingumi, shares his first-hand account as a startup founder who scrambled to withdraw company funds from Silicon Valley Bank UK as the crisis unfolded.    The edtech startup held most of its funds with SVB UK. Like thousands of other startups, Lingumi worried whether it would be able to pay staff and invoices. Mather recounts his rollercoaster experience of the weekend that roc...

Iggy Bassi, founder and CEO of Cervest, talks about launching a startup to provide climate intelligence for the world’s assets, how smart industrial policy can work hand in hand with the private sector to reach net zero, the power and limits of data in combatting global warming, and why climate tech investors need to be in for the long haul.   Bassi, a serial entrepreneur, founded London-based Cer...

William Sachiti, the CEO and founder of the Academy of Robotics, explains whether ChatGPT will be integrated into companion robots, why mass-market autonomous cars won’t be on the road any time soon and how his company is disrupting package delivery with AI.   Sachiti is a serial entrepreneur and inventor who moved to the UK from Zimbabwe in the early 2000s. By his mid 30s he had set up and succes...