Catching UK tech up with the States – Tej Kohli, investor and philanthropist

Sharon Vosmek, chief executive and managing partner of Astia, discusses why backing female founders isn't just morally right, but also financial prudent, why not all definitions of women-led startups are equal and the danger of 'fomo' in investing.Astia is an inclusive venture capital group that seeks to address the vast and stagnant gap in funding for women-led businesses.

Steve Peralta, co-founder of Unmind, discusses the problem with the majority of corporate mental health programmes, why the world of work so often leads to deteriorating mental health, and how psychology-backed tech platforms can help.   Unmind is workplace wellbeing platform that partners with brands to offer employee mental health support. Peralta co-founded Unmind in 2016 having previously from a corporate wellbeing background alongside former NHS clinical psychologist Dr Nick Taylor. Peralta explains how so many workplace wellbeing policies are reactive, waiting from problems to occur before they even begin to try to help.

David Keene, CEO of Aurrigo, discusses how autonomous driving will progress in the UK, how a chance encounter pivoted his company’s entire market and the journey of turning grant funding into an initial public offering.  Aurrigo is an autonomous driving company that specialises in vehicles for the aviation industry, including self-driving baggage carriers. The Coventry-based company was founded in 1993, initially focused on autonomous passenger vehicles. A call from the head of innovation at International Airlines Group, convinced Keene that the future of Aurrigo’s technology was in supporting aviation. The group listed publicly on London’s AIM market in 2022. 

Jing Ouyang, co-founder and chief growth officer of Patchwork Health discusses the political pressure on health services to streamline operations, the difficulty in digitising NHS clinics and leaving a career as a medical doctor to launch a tech startup.  Patchwork Health is a digital platform for clinics to manage day-to-day operations, organise workflows and reduce agency spending. Ouyang spent years as a resident doctor where he saw first hand the manual processes and bureaucracy needlessly complicating matters. He co-founded Patchwork with another former NHS doctor to directly address the problems the founders had faced in their health careers. 

Jonathan Berry, Viscount Camrose and former Conservative AI minister, discusses how artificial intelligence policy has changed with the Labour government, why the work it must do is difficult but necessary and why clarity on AI regulation is vital for businesses.    Berry is a hereditary peer in the House of Lords and served as the minister responsible for AI and intellectual property under former prime minister Rishi Sunak. During his time at the tech department, Berry was key in organising the UK's AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park in 2023. 

Manjul Rathee, co-founder and CEO of BfB Labs, discusses the importance of providing broad access to mental health services to as many young people, the value of maintaining commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion and how the success of Adolescence has highlighted the anxieties families have around how children access the internet.  BfB Labs provides immersive digital gamified therapy targeting young people in partnership with the NHS. The group provides its services at no cost to the families using them as part of its commitment to democratise young people's access to mental health support. 

Chris Anderson, head of TED, discusses why the collapse of the ideals of the tech industry over the last 15 years, embodied by the behaviour Elon Musk, represents a crushing disappointment.  Anderson took over TED – which hosts viral talks at its conferences – from its founder Richard Saul Wurman in 2000. He turned the business into a non-profit and has spent years curating its eclectic list of speakers. Anderson discusses why developments in AI technology are terrifying and the future of TED as he plans to step back.

Louise Webster, founder of Beyond the School Run, discusses the challenges of balancing parenthood with launching a business, why parents need to be given resources and support to ensure they can thrive as entrepreneurs and how Covid radically reshaped the world of work for the better.  Beyond the School Run is a network for parent entrepreneurs offering networking, training and guidance on the difficult journey of managing a business and a family. Webster discusses why being a parent can actually make someone a better founder and offers words of wisdom for mums and dads with creative ideas who don't know where to start.

Tej Kohli, billionaire investor and philanthropist, discusses why he's most excited by the future of esports, biotech and artificial general intelligence, how the UK lacks the collaborative culture between academia and business seen in the US and why Elon Musk should stick to tech and avoid unelected government work.  Kohli is the founder of the investment firm Kohli Ventures and the charity the Tej Kohli Foundation, which aims to effect social and economic change in poor and underserved communities. Kohli warns that while the UK is full of talent and intent, there is not enough conversation about the most cutting-edge ambitious tech ventures. 

Martin Woodward, vice president of developer relations at Github, discusses how the benefits of open source culture still exist in a hyper-capitalist society, but tech has moved away from the idealism of early open source, what the future of software development might look like and way coders don't necessarily have to be afraid that AI will take their jobs.  Github is a platform for software developers to collaborate, create and share projects. The service has over 150 million users globally and has been at the heart of countless software innovations. In 2018, the platform was acquired by Microsoft for $7.5bn. Woodward is both an executive at the company and a member of the British open source advocacy group OpenUK.