Focus on AI era as London Tech Week 2026 announces its Founders Stage for next month’s event
London Tech Week 2026, which takes place next month, has announced its Founders Stage, a programme of speakers and content designed to reflect the realities of building in 2026: a market being reshaped by AI, a tougher capital environment, rising policy scrutiny, and a broader push to unlock the next generation of entrepreneurial talent.
Taking place as part of Startup World at Olympia London, the Founders Stage features 20 unicorn founders, as well as entrepreneurs, operators, investors and policymakers for conversations on what it takes to build enduring technology companies in the UK and acros Europe. Spanning six stages, 50 unicorn founders participate in London Tech Week 2026 including Alan Chang, Co-Founder and CEO of Fuse Energy, Alex Kendall, Founder and CEO of Wayve and Anne Boden, Former CEO & Founder of Starling Bank.
The programme opens with Tom Adeyoola, Executive Chair of Innovate UK, before moving into a set of sessions that place the UK startup ecosystem in a wider strategic context. In The Next Wave of AI: Building, Scaling and Winning from the UK, speakers including Jacomo Corbo of PhysicsX, Tamar Gomez of Ankar AI and Kanishka Narayan MP, Minister for AI and Online Safety, will examine where fresh opportunities are emerging as global AI platforms mature and competition intensifies.
Further sessions focus on the emotional and operational realities of company-building. In Riding The Entrepreneurial Rodeo, Emmie Faust of Female Founders Rise, Sofia Nunes, Co-Founder of Mambu and Timo Boldt, Founder of Gousto will explore how founders evolve through the highs, lows and identity shifts of scale. Lucy Liu, Co-Founder and President of Airwallex, will then unpack the mindset and operating discipline required to move from hypergrowth to profitability in her session From Volatility to Velocity.
The Founders Stage reflects how today’s leading founders are building in sectors where ambition must be matched by technical depth, regulatory understanding and execution speed. In Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, Deepika Bodapati of Athelas/Commure and Ali Parsa of Quadrivia discuss how companies at the edge of AI, health tech and advanced computation are navigating complexity while still moving fast enough to win.
Alongside founder leadership, the programme puts a spotlight on capital formation and the changing mechanics of growth. Sessions including The New Reality of Startup Value, Do I Really Need To Raise? From Bootstrapped to Unicorn, Where Will The Next £100bn of Spinout Value Come From?, and Is The Value of Venture Capital Changing? will examine how the realities of value creation are shifting in 2026 and what founders need to understand about fundraising, ownership and scale in a more disciplined market.
Speakers across these conversations bring perspectives from venture, public finance, platform ecosystems and company building. They include Carrie Babcock of British Business Bank, Matt Miller of Evantic Capital, Laura Modiano of OpenAI, Ben Blume, Partner at Atomico, Suranga Chandratillake, General Partner at Balderton Capital, Bryan Kim, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and Mike Collins, CEO of Alumni Ventures.
The stage also addresses who gets to participate in that growth. The Untapped Talent Wave Powering Global Growth will examine the barriers still facing underrepresented founders and the policy, capital and ecosystem action needed to unlock wider participation and stronger economic impact, underlining London Tech Week’s commitment to building an ecosystem where access to opportunity is as ambitious as the technology itself.
The Founders Stage will also examine how AI can expand human potential. In AI That Helps Humans Thrive, Serena Dayal of Athena Capital moderates a discussion with Dr Toyin Ajayi of Cityblock Health, Eynat Guez of Papaya Global and Dr Michelle He of Abound on how AI can widen access to healthcare, work and financial opportunity when deployed in ways that strengthen, rather than sideline, human capability.
Carolyn Dawson, CEO at Founders Forum Group and Lead for London Tech Week, says: “As Europe enters a decisive decade for technology, the challenge for founders is not just to start, it is to scale with clarity, resilience and real competitive edge. The Founders Stage at London Tech Week 2026 is designed to reflect that reality, bringing together the entrepreneurs, investors, operators and policymakers shaping what growth now looks like in practice. From AI and deep tech to founder wellbeing, venture dynamics and untapped talent, this is a programme built around the conversations founders need to have now.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
