The event welcomed over 1,200 attendees and 120 speakers, including venture capital leaders, technology journalists, and policymakers. UK Minister for Tech and Digital Economy, Saqib Bhatti, and Turkish Minister for Tech and Industry, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, both spoke on the Main Stage. The Tech.eu Summit, an annual conference, brings together key stakeholders in the European tech industry to facilitate connections and discussions around the most important issues facing the industry today. This year’s event took place in London for the first time, at The Old Billingsgate from 16th-17th May.

During his 20-minute presentation, Saqib Bhatti addressed the current landscape of British technology and development, praising the government for backing enterprise and being strongly pro-tech. He highlighted that the UK tech sector had boomed over the last few years, now worth £1trillion and with 150 unicorns. Meanwhile, Mehmet Fatih Kacır discussed Turkey’s technology sector and some of the key factors that had enabled it to grow as an innovation hub. He also looked ahead to the future, mentioning the National Startup Strategy and his belief that startups have a key role in society to help solve major challenges. He also addressed how technology can help level the playing field, providing new opportunities for underdeveloped areas and for people who otherwise would not get access to education. The two ministers also held bilateral meetings during the summit.

Other key highlights from the day included:

• Pioneering the Future of Commercial Space, an address by Axiom President, Matt Ondler
• Navigating the Future of Tech Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a discussion that included Allen Taylor, Andrea Traversone, Gerard Grech, and Laura Citron
• AI and Innovation: Going Beyond Big Tech, a panel that included Andreas Brenner, Christian Bersch, and Dr. Bálint Várkuti
• London as a Gateway: Empowering Startups from Emerging Europe, a roundtable that included Enis Hulli, Lyubov Guk, and Yalcin Gungoren
• Navigating the current VC landscape with innovative fundraising strategies, an address by Martijn de Wever, Founder and CEO of Floww
• Importance of cross-border collaboration within the region, a panel that included George Karabelas and Kaan Eren
• Securing the Future: The Interplay of AI, Cybersecurity, and Quantum Computing, a panel that included Dr. Ken Urquhart, Duygu Oktem Clark, and Steve Brierley
• The Rise of Neobanks: A New Era of Banking, a discussion with Bulent Tekmen and Lucy Adams
• Unlocking the Potential: Technology, AI, and the Future of SME Financing, a panel that included Cate Lawrence, Sean Duffy, and Tayga Baltacioglu

This year’s Startup Lounge empowered networking and further engagement between startups and investors in a dedicated space that provided founders with the opportunity to present their innovative solutions and connect directly with potential VCs on stage.

The second and final day of the event commences tomorrow at 9:00 am and included further opportunities to hear talks and panels on some crucial topics, such as AI, Climate Tech, Healthcare, Entrepreneurship, Deep Tech, Venture Capital, Web3, SaaS, and more. The full programme can be viewed HERE.

The previous two of Tech.eu’s annual summits have taken place in Brussels. By moving the event to London for the first time, Tech.eu believes it can expand further into the UK Technology Sector, which was ranked the best in Europe and third in the world at the end of 2022, reaching a combined market value of $1 trillion USD (£793.8 billion GBP). Furthermore, the UK Tech Workforce is expanding. According to the CompTIA State of the Tech Workforce UK 2023 Report, net-tech employment has increased by 75,280 new jobs since 2017. These statistics demonstrate the size and scalability of the technology sector within the UK, and by moving its conference to London, Tech.eu aims to bring the biggest event uniting the technology ecosystem in the world’s capital of tech.