Don’t be deterred by the size of your ambition – Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO, Octopus Energy

Don’t be deterred by the size of your ambition – Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO, Octopus Energy

Greg Jackson reflects on his journey building one of the UK’s largest double unicorns Octopus Energy. He reflects on how he wishes he had started the firm earlier and explains some of his unique ways of running a company, from how a telling off in a previous job made him realise the power of people in an organisation to why he has no HR department. Plus, he discusses how the firm is using AI, including a cautionary tale about how an over-enthusiastic AI system started selling customers a product which didn’t exist.

I have the best job in the City, working with clients changing the lives of millions - Emily Turner, CEO, HSBC Innovation Banking

Emily Turner, CEO of HSBC Innovation Banking UK discusses what makes it a go-to bank for start-ups and how her natural optimism means she sees plenty to celebrate in the UK tech scene, from more and more deals happening outside London, to the impact of AI and why she thinks we should celebrate an influx of foreign capital.

If we don’t embrace AI, we’ll be embraced by it – Ian Murray, Digital Minister

The Right Honourable Ian Murray, MP and Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology discusses the challenges that lie ahead in implementing AI both in government and wider society. He explains why some projects were abandoned and how government procurement is now being refocused on frontier technologies.     Murray talks about the practical applications of AI, from introducing AI tutors to help some of the most disadvantaged pupils and the call for edtech firms to help make that a reality to the ways the NHS is using the tech. The minister also discusses the “disappointing” decision from OpenAI to abandon its Stargate project but urges the sector to “concentrate on the 90% that is going really well”.

Half the population has a uterus and the rest of you came from one - Yasmin Baba, Co-Founder and CTO, Amilis

Yasmin Baba discusses pitching her early-stage health tech startup to a room full of men, how she coped with bootstrapping by “being a minimalist with big dreams” and how she believes that better data can bring down the half a million plus women on gynaecology waiting lists. Plus, why, as a machine learning engineer, she never says she runs an AI business.

Unlocking access to finance – Anna Wallace, CEO, CFIT

Anna Wallace, CEO of the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology discusses why so many SMEs fail to get the financing they need and what they can do to change this (listen to the very end to get this vital information). She also talks about how CFIT is helping to speed up the house-buying process and provide companies with a digital ID that could help combat fraud.