London Tech Week 2023: What next?

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Summary

Events like London Tech Week are always upbeat – but this year’s iteration was notable because there seemed to be something quite genuine about the optimism. Some fintech events throughout 2022/23 dialed back on some of the hype, were more circumspect in their predictions, and muted in terms of policy announcements. In contrast, London Tech Week was very full of itself, not just because of the increased political interest with both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in attendance, pitching their economic and technological vision of the nation. There seemed to be a determined effort to shrug off some of the doom and gloom of the last year, and unambiguously focus on the future.

How can players turn insights into actions?

There was a lot of talk about difficult funding environments, slashed valuations, headcount reductions, and the general challenges of squeezed consumers and rising interest rates; however, it was a more measured discussion. All of these issues have been factors in the tech landscape for at least a year, and it was clear that people acknowledged them but did not want to let them act as self-propagating barriers to some of the potential advancements being discussed. Part of the reason for the crowd’s reinvigoration was the excitement around artificial intelligence (AI), primarily the role and function of generative AI as websites like ChatGPT have stormed to prominence and governments are grappling with how to deal with this kind of technology. It was notable, however, that some of the old hype was coming back; people were talking in huge, sweeping, but rather unanchored statements about the potential of AI, and those interested in detail or nuance were left wanting.