Welcome! Please note that:

  • This event currently has a waitlist, as we received 900+ applications for just 100 spaces.

  • All approved applicants have already been notified, and we will soon send an update to those not selected for this edition.

  • All applicants are welcome to join us at The London Startup Meetup 2026, which happens on Wednesday evening.

  • Interested in partnering, alongside Google, Stripe, and Zendesk? Then just connect with us on LinkedIn.

Event Description

Following the big success of The London AI Startup Conference 2025, Startup Network Europe is honoured to announce a 2026 version for Thursday, 3rd of September.

Hosted at Google London, this is an exclusive event that will bring together 100 pre-approved AI Startup CTOs, Founders, Investors, and Ecosystem Leaders, selected from 2,000+ applications.

This Conference is hosted by Startup Network Europe, and supported by Google Cloud, Zendesk and Stripe.

A Unique Format

Attendance is capped at 100 hand-picked participants, including:

  • 65 AI Startup Founders (UK-based, early-stage, selected from thousands of applications)

  • 25 Venture Capital Investors

  • 5 Ecosystem Tech Leaders

  • 5 Ecosystem Stakeholders (Accelerators, Incubators, Government, Innovation & Research Centres, etc)

Unlike typical startup events, this conference is carefully curated to foster meaningful connections among the UK’s leading AI players. The four-hour programme balances two hours of dynamic content sessions with two hours of structured networking, supported by a dedicated networking app.

Agenda

8:30am-9:15am: Registration (note: entry is strictly limited to 9.45am at the latest, due to security precautions)

9:15am-9:30am: Introductions

9:30am-10:15am: Panel Discussion, for 100 in-person attendees and 1,000+ online attendees.

Topic: Moats in the AI Age: Building Real IP in a World of Foundation Models

  • This session tackles the existential shift from "GPT-wrappers" to defensible Architecture. Founders can discuss how to build technical defensibility & IP in a tech stack that Big Tech cannot easily replicate. Angel Investors and VCs can bring their perspective on what this means for long term enterprise value.

Panellists:

  • Brian Kinane, Founding Partner, Sure Valley Ventures

  • Sara El-Hanfy, Director of AI & Digital, Innovate UK

  • Jocelyn D'Arcy, Founder & CEO, Poindexter Labs

  • Meryem Arik, Co-Founder & CEO, Doubleword

10:15am-11:15am: Roundtable Talks

  • “Funding” Roundtables- Oli Hammond, Partner, Fuel Ventures

  • Paul Davidson, Partner, Octopus Ventures

  • Oliver Woolley, Co-Founder & Executive Chair, Envestors

  • “Growth” Roundtables- Joel Perlman, Co-Founder, OakNorth Bank (Unicorn)

  • Roy Tuvey, Co-Founder, Vertice (ranked #1 in the Sifted 100 in 2025)

  • Varun Bhanot, Co-founder & CEO, MAGIC AI (ranked #13 in the Sifted 100 in 2026)

  • Mayank Pant, Principal Billing Architect, Stripe (Topic: Mastering AI Pricing: Flexible & Agile AI Monetisation)

  • Gavin Walsh, Regional Vice President, Zendesk (Topic: Customer acquisition/retention challenges)

11:15am-1:00pm: Networking, with pre-arranged meetings facilitated by a networking app

About Startup Network Europe

Startup Network Europe is an Irish Company that has hosted 300+ AI and Startup Conferences across 50 European Cities since 2021. Our most notable events include:

  • The London AI Startup Conference 2025

  • The European AI Conference 2024 (full-day event in Google’s European HQ)

  • The European Startup Conference 2022 (online event with speakers including Steve Wozniak)

Our hundreds of previous speakers include:

  • Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple

  • Sabeer Bhatia, Co-Founder of Hotmail

  • Joel Perlman, Co-Founder of OakNorth Bank

  • Nathalie Roos, CEO of Lipton Teas and Infusions

  • Spenser Skates, Co-Founder & CEO of Amplitude

  • Katya Denike, Chief Product Officer at Holland & Barrett

  • James Eddison, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Octopus Energy

  • Lucile Cornet, Partner at Eight Roads

  • Edward Keelan, Partner at Octopus Ventures

  • Razvan Ranca, Co-Founder & CTO of Tractable

  • Emma Burrows, Co-Founder & CTO of Portia AI

  • Barry Downes, Managing Partner at Sure Valley Ventures

For more information on SNE, please visit our website:

https://startupnetwork.eu/

For any questions on this event, please reach out to:[email protected]