Sifted Summit returns this week (8-9 October) for its fourth annual edition, with startup founders, operators and investors from all corners of Europe set to join us at Magazine London.
This year’s theme is “resilience” and we’ll be bringing together some of the industry’s leading voices to discuss how Europe’s startup ecosystem has stuck together through a pandemic, a war on its doorstep and a recent slowdown in VC investing.
Highlights from this year’s Summit are set to include firesides with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Sequoia investor Luciana Lixandru and Octopus Energy founder Greg Jackson, as well as panels on the future of AI agents and defence tech.
Check out 10 must-see sessions at this year’s Sifted Summit below:
Hermann Hauser, Arm cofounder
When: 12:20pm, Oct 8
Where: Main Stage
In the early 1990s, Hermann Hauser helped develop the Arm processor, a computer chip design which powers electronic devices all over the world to this day. An outspoken critic of the company’s eventual £24bn sale to Japanese tech giant SoftBank, Hauser joins Sifted editorial director John Thornhill for a fireside chat on Wednesday.
Luciana Lixandru, partner at Sequoia Capital
When: 11am, Oct 9
Where: Main Stage
A veteran of European tech investing, Luciana Lixandru worked at Accel for almost a decade before joining Sequoia in 2020. Among the most recognisable faces in the industry, Lixandru holds board seats with companies such as Vinted, UiPath and Stripe. She joins Sifted editor Amy Lewin for a fireside chat on Thursday.
Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy CEO
When: 12:50pm, Oct 8
Where: Main Stage
Over the past few years, Octopus Energy has grown into one of the UK's largest domestic energy suppliers, surpassing incumbents decades its senior.
Founder and CEO Greg Jackson is keeping busy. When not running one of Britain’s most successful startups, he’s advising the government on energy policy and working on plans to spin out Kraken, Octopus’ software division. He joins senior reporter Freya Pratty for a fireside chat on Wednesday.
Sifted 250 launch
When: 5:30pm, Oct 8
Where: Main Stage
Every year, the Sifted 250 ranks Europe’s 250 startups with the highest percentage revenue growth over the past three financial years, calculated using a two-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Join us for networking drinks as we announce this year’s top 250 startups.
Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO
When: 3:15pm, Oct 8
Where: Next Stage
Eric Schmidt took the reins at Google when the company was just three-years-old, steering it through a blockbuster IPO and securing its status as an international tech titan. He joins Sifted editorial director John Thornhill for a fireside on European innovation, regulation and aspiration.
What next for defence?
When: 4:20pm, Oct 8
Where: Main Stage
With fresh capital pouring in and geopolitical tensions rising, startups are stepping in and innovating where governments can’t. So what’s next?
Senior reporter Anne Sraders is joined by some of Europe’s leading defence investors — Project A partner Jack Wang, Project Q cofounder Leonard Wessendorff and SmartCap CEO Sille Pettai — to discuss the industry’s future.
The rise of AI agents in Europe
When: 3:05pm, Oct 9
Where: Main Stage
Today, almost anyone can create a powerful AI agent in a few clicks, which can be instructed to imitate a brand’s voice, trained to learn from feedback, work 24-hour shifts and complete tasks in minutes, if not seconds. The question now: what can't they do?
Senior reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz sits down with Anthropic’s EMEA startups chief Benoit Dubief, Visionaries Club partner Judith Dada and Portia AI founder Emma Burrows to find out how AI agents are reshaping productivity and innovation.
100 Women in Tech — live announcement
When: 12:50pm, Oct 9
Where: Main Stage
Join Sifted, Sistafund and Station F as we shine a light on the brightest and boldest women in tech in the inaugural list of 100 Women in Tech in Europe.
Alexandra Depledge, UK advisor on entrepreneurship
When: 1:55pm, Oct 9
Where: Main Stage
A serial entrepreneur, Alexandra Depledge previously launched and oversaw Resi, an online architectural platform, and Hassle, an online marketplace for cleaners. In June, she was appointed the UK government’s first ever entrepreneurship advisor. She joins senior reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz for a fireside chat on Thursday.
Gautier Cloix, CEO of H Company
When: 2:40pm, Oct 9
Where: Startup Life LIVE
Earlier this year, much-hyped AI startup H Company unveiled its first raft of publicly-available agents after months spent in stealth. The company had spent its first year largely in stealth, but came under increased scrutiny after three of its original five cofounders quit with little explanation.
In June, Gautier Cloix, who spent 10 years as a director at US data giant Palantir, has now taken the reins and to scale the company’s business’s commercial operations around the world. Find out more on Thursday morning.
