#LondonTechWeek Thread! Monday, Day 1

@LDNTechWeek kicks off with @foundersfactory announcing their new £100m Planet Fund, backed by @skyuk - well done team!

@Founders_Forum Group CEO, @carolyndawson_ , gave a warmly-received opening address before a surprise appearance.../1

Chancellor @RishiSunak joined to open #LTW, proclaiming capital, people & ideas as the bedrock of an innovative UK.
He also announced a new addition to the gov's #NewDigitalStrategy live at #LTW: Future of Compute Review w/ world-leading AI expert, Prof. @ZoubinGhahrama1 /2

@DCMS Sec @NadineDorries arrived at #LTW soon after in a @wayve_ai self-driving car! A startup I'm proud to have helped in a small way through @firstminutecap

DCMS Stats: 20,000 people here for #LTW & £12.4bn raised by UK startups so far this year, more than whole of 2020!/3

@tezos's @breitwoman & @Klarna's @klarnaseb talked how to steer organisations for greatest impact in a Tech For Good panel - great insight.

+Enjoyed hearing @taavet ( @Wise) & @waldec ( @boltapp) on their coding school - a model we were inspired by when starting @01_Founders! /4

It was queues out of the doors and standing room only for @dr_aliparsa at @FFxHealthTech as he broke down the verticalisation of healthcare /5

@Founders_Forum's very own @riya_pabari ( @use_framework) spoke eloquently on finding #balance during the entrepreneur's journey with @nikkiwicks ( @thebodycoach).

Riya's write up here https://www.linkedin.com/posts/riyapabari_londontechweek-balance-entrepreneurship-activity-6942122650349531136-y35k /6

And congratulations to @EQLHER on an impressive day... @FinancialTimes feature for #InspiringFifty celebrating the top fifty women in European tech + networking drinks + dinner. Well done team @elkagoldstein & Rhianna Miller /7

We say plenty of exciting #demos throughout the day ... /8

@priyalakhani packed out the very top of @QEIICentre for an #EdTech address and panel... a sector that's raised 300% investment vs. pre-pandemic! (and, of which, the UK has 3x as many EdTech companies as the rest of Europe... h/t Stephanie Leung, @localglobevc) /9

@mahonalex ( @Channel4), @Erin_Platts, Natasha Pope & Lisa Shu discussed The Investment Gap and, crucially, how tech as a sector can take collaborative action to overcome #bias during a brilliant @EQLHER session /10

Another busy room for Journey To Tech IPO Success w/ @gordon_sanghera ( @oxfordnanopore), MP @CPhilpOfficial & Charlie Walker... fave quote: "Go for one thing & do it brilliantly. Be a searing white hot heat, and ignore everything else!", Dr. Gordon Sanghera on not settling! /11

I made my way across town to close my day with @firstminutecap's Ancillary Events Day, where fmc hosted an array of impactful sessions for their portfolio startups & founders. I look forward to the main Investor Summit with LPs tomorrow! /12

I'll close by thanking our array of speakers & experts who kept the @QEIICentre packed from start to close despite the #GreatBritishSummer's best efforts during a beautiful London summer's day

Catch you tomorrow for @ClimateTech_, @InformaTechHQ's GLIS +much more!
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