SXSW London

🚨 10 days left to apply: Venture Spotlight at SXSW London 🚨 We’re looking for the most exciting early-stage tech start-ups in Europe building ideas that move the world forward. Venture Spotlight is our flagship start-up funding competition. It's a platform to showcase and support the next generation of founders across technology, culture and innovation. This year, we’re inviting applications across four key sectors: 🧬 Lifescience / Biotech / Healthtech Start-ups improving human health, medicine and biology - from digital health platforms to breakthrough biotech. 🤖 Deep Tech & Robotics Engineering-led innovation at the frontier, which could include robotics, AI infrastructure, quantum or advanced systems. 🌍 Climate Tech & Sustainability Solutions tackling environmental challenges, such as clean energy, carbon reduction, sustainable materials and food systems. 🎮 AR, VR, Design & Interactive Media Companies shaping how we experience digital worlds, such as immersive storytelling, music & film, gaming, creative tools and spatial tech. ✅ Eligibility Criteria To apply, your company must: 🎓 Be university-affiliated (Founder is an alumnus, faculty member or current student at any university globally) 🌍 Be based outside of the U.S. (U.S.-registered companies should apply via SXSW Austin) 💸 Have raised at least £350k in equity funding ⏱️ Be less than 5 years old (Founded in 2021 or later) If that’s you (or someone in your network), we’d love to hear from you. ⏳ Deadline in 10 days 🔗 Apply here: https://bit.ly/4tZ35mb #SXSWLondon #VentureSpotlight #Startups #EuropeanStartups #TechForGood #Innovation #Founders #ClimateTech #HealthTech #DeepTech #ARVR

We’re about to release our report around why you should ask your boss to send you to SXSW London. Or if you’re in charge of your own life, why you should send yourself! Drop ‘Shape The Future’ in the comments below to receive a copy of the report. Created in collaboration with Creative UK, you’ll learn why attending SXSW London is a pre-requisite for converging across industries, helping to collectively shape the future.

This world has never been more uncertain.  And you’re not going to find the answers sitting inside of the same algorithmic loop, listening to people that have gamed the social feed, reading the same identikit PDFs. Let’s peel back the curtains to reality. Brush aside the black-and-white thinking of the social media circus cycle.     – New Scientist says that we need to talk more about postpartum depression in dads  – The world’s going to war over computer chips  – AI helped birth the world’s first AI-assisted IVF child last year  – But no one has figured out how to deal with misinformation online yet  – Or pay artists a fair wage At SXSW London we examine what’s running through the bedrock of the next generation. There are monumental questions about the future of our society that need answering.  Questions across the battlegrounds of business, society, culture, art and technology – on the left, the right and middle – which can only be resolved when these industries converge.    – Why is the west developing frontier AI tech behind closed doors, while China is open?  – Who really holds power in the digital age?  – What does that mean for democracy?  – What’s going to happen to Europe?  – And what will London look like in 25 years time?    From the reason migration is the most underused competitive advantage of our times, to cutting-edge music and screen programming, SXSW London exists to shape the future. We provide the architectural playground – roundtables, meet-ups, mentorships, and conference programming – to help you network and expand your vision and potential. Leave your algorithm behind. Join us – but also join the likes of Jackie Jantos (CEO of Hinge), Rory Sutherland (VICE Chairman of Ogilvy), Zaid Al-Qassab (Global CEO of M&C Saatchi Group), Cindy Rose OBE (CEO WPP), Rose Wang (COO of Bluesky), Ilias Zapantis, Roman Axelrod and literally hundreds more, as we shape the future. SXSW London June 1-6. Shoreditch. Tickets: https://lnkd.in/gSADJ67f

Making art in this country can be a constant struggle. Especially when when you’re not bank-rolled by daddy’s money, or have already been established as part of the creative establishment. Just look at the so-called golden days of yore. London’s music and art boom of the 1970s and 80s came through squats; now you need on average just shy of £1000 to rent a room. But we all know that the best art slides into view when it’s democratized across a range of experiences. Which is why the latest news from Ireland is so good. They will pay artists £283 per week, making Ireland the first country to offer a universal basic income for artists. The pioneering development arrives off a pilot scheme that ran during 2022-2025 and resulted in a rise in revenue. For every €1 invested, Ireland saw €1.39 in return, thanks to increased expenditure and gains in productivity. Applications open in May for the permanent scheme with Ireland providing funding for 2000 artists. Ireland's Culture Minister Patrick O'Donovan has said that this makes Ireland a "global leader in the area of artist support". The arts matter. And supporting it pays. What’s stopping other countries from following Ireland’s example?

That funny feeling you've felt over the last few years? This is technofeudalism. It's a new system, which theorists argue has replaced capitalism. Read all about this in the first of our new Trend Report series below 👇

🗣️ Do you want investment, mentorship and the chance to pitch to an international community of VCs? Well, good news. We can reveal the Venture Spotlight jury for this year’s SXSW London, featuring a who’s who of funds: from Sofinnova Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners and Antler, through to Cherry Ventures and Kindred Capital VC. Follow the link here to find out how to enter into this year’s Venture Spotlight to win £100,000 of investment: https://lnkd.in/eBshgF95 And see our full rundown of jury members below 👇 Adam F. at Creator Fund Alexandra Thornton at Felix Capital Ana Barjasic at Connectology Anastasiya Sybirna, PhD at F-Prime Capital Andrew Rubenstein at Shorewind Capital Ayokunmi Ajetunmobi, PhD, PhD at The Pioneer Group Dr Ben Miles, Ph.D. at Empirical Ventures Charles Sekwalor at Movemeback & The Continent Diala Sanbar Khlat MBE at Blue Five Partner Dinika Mahtani at Cherry Ventures Dorothy Chou at Google Deep Mind Eli Krieger at Lansdowne Partners Juliet Bailin at Kindred Capital and Whitting Junkai Z. at Early Bird Ventures Lee Lindley at Mercia Ventures Leigh Brody at Albion VC Hannah Leach at Antler Paul Ashley at Johnson & Johnson Perman Jorayev, Ph.D. at Amadeus Capital Gülce Horataci at EWOR Richard Oakley at Oxford Science Enterprise Simon Turner at Sofinnova Partners Tom Lambert at LocalGlobe Will Wells at Speed Invest Yasmin Siraj at BackedVC

Big daddy capitalism as we know it is over. And in its place? A new Technofeudalism. That’s according to former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who argues Big Tech has rewritten the rules of our society, introducing a new era of techno-feudal overlords. In today’s age, modern-day tech barons like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg function as feudal landlords, extracting unwaged labour and capital from us simply by our use of their platforms. And given how much we all spend on Instagram, they’re doing a great job.    Unlike capitalism, which is based on generating product for profit, Technofeudalism revolves around cloud capital. Whereby everyone from businesses to consumers all rent space from the same people. As part of cloud capital, many companies operate around raising shares and investment, rather than generating actual capital for their product. So, where do we go from here? Slide through for more info below and join us at SXSW London for a week of conferences looking into #SocietyRewired #InnovationandTransformation and #FrontierTechnology.

Imagine if Reddit began today, from scratch, but instead of AITA and proud bald men, it’s entirely made up of bots. That’s the scene on Moltbook, a social platform populated entirely by AI “agents” posting into the unconscious void. 

It’s not just streaming services that are asking for your money. Now, you can subscribe for pretty much anything. But where does this leave us in the future?

🗣️ Are you doomscrolling your way through AI generated slop from marketers you don’t even know? Leave your algorithm behind, and join us in person in Shoreditch in June.   At SXSW London, you can hear from boundary-pushing voices spanning tech, business, culture, and society, across conference talks, roundtables and mentor meet-ups. And we’ve just announced our latest run of speakers at this year’s event. Featuring Rory Sutherland, Yomi Adegoke, Audrey Tang, Nick Clegg and more.   Your feed cannot bring you something new. The future happens IRL. Find out more ➡️  https://lnkd.in/eyQV-99W