// PRESS RELEASE · 28 SEPTEMBER 2026

Deep Tech London Summit, 8 October 2026, Brick Lane — the five themes: Powering Britain, Manufacturing Abundance, The Next Computer, The Biological Interface and The Final Frontier.

From quantum to synthetic fuel: London launches festival for Britain’s deep tech founders

Inaugural Deep Tech London festival runs 5–11 October, anchored by a 500-person flagship summit on 8 October at Shoreditch’s Truman Brewery
Founders from across industry, including quantum computing, synthetic fuels, space manufacturing and Bio-AI startups, will speak across five themed sessions modelled on “questions of civilisational importance”
Organisers frame the week, inspired by the 1951 Festival of Britain, as a bid to raise public awareness of the UK’s deep tech sector alongside 20+ partner events citywide

LONDON, 28 September 2026 — Deep Tech London, the UK’s largest-ever gathering of startups applying frontier science to problems in medicine, energy, quantum computing and space, will launch its inaugural festival across London from 5–11 October, anchored by a 500-person flagship Summit on 8 October at the Truman Brewery in Shoreditch.

Inspired by the future-facing spirit of the Festival of Britain 75 years ago, which drew 8 million visitors in the summer of 1951, Deep Tech London will celebrate the economic and societal value being created as founders build world-leading companies at the intersection of the UK’s frontier science expertise and emerging technology.

The 8 October Summit will spotlight the dynamism underway by running talks across five pillars:

Powering Britain — how we create a future of abundant clean energy.
Speakers include Harvey Hodd, CEO of Rivan, producing synthetic fuels cheaper than drilling the ground; Matthew Williams, Founder and CEO of Ionate, whose smart transformers create a more resilient grid; and Richard Pearson, Co-founder and CEO of StandardX, who make the rarest isotopes on Earth needed to advance fusion and medical innovation.
The Next Computer — reinventing computing for the intelligence age.
Speakers include James Spall, Co-founder and CTO of Lumai, building optical compute for inference; Jascha Achterberg, Co-founder and CTO of Callosum, whose company orchestrates heterogeneous compute; and Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, CEO of Nu Quantum, building the networking infrastructure to enable quantum computers to scale.
The Biological Interface — AI that can read, model and shape living systems.
Speakers include Hannah Madan, Co-founder of Prima Mente, using unique datasets to model the brain and cure neurological disease; Drake Caraker, VP Science at Apoha, whose Liquid State Intelligence measures molecular behaviour; Julian Englert, Co-founder and CEO of Adaptyv Bio, an automated protein validation lab working with Anthropic, Roche and ARIA; and Amine Raji, Co-founder and CEO of Spore Bio, building spectroscopic techniques to identify micro-organisms.
The Final Frontier — space as infrastructure that is transforming industry.
Speakers include Katie King, Co-founder and CEO of BioOrbit, whose company makes medicine in zero gravity; Anatolii Papulov, Co-founder and CEO of NewOrbit, putting satellites closer to Earth; and Joshua Western, Co-founder and CEO of Space Forge, who manufactures advanced materials in orbit.
Manufacturing Abundance — automated factories, labs, agriculture and transport.

The Summit will also feature an expo for deep tech startups and VC-hosted roundtables, alongside the talks. Beyond the flagship Summit, more than 20 partner events will run across London during the week, including the EDTH Hackathon, the Resilience Conference, and ConceptionX’s Scientist to Founder day, part of a broader push to spotlight deep tech activity happening throughout the city.

The festival is co-organised on a grassroots basis by Lachlan Chavasse, who runs the London Calling events and hackathon community, and Bharat Harbham, founder of DeSci London’s decentralised science community, both longtime builders in the ecosystem.

“Much of the innovation in deeptech occurs in the shadows. We have great academic research but we fail to commercialise. Rarely are there rooms where the next generation of builders can be inspired by those tackling civilisational problems and bending science to their will. With founders from Rivan, Adaptyv and BioOrbit in the room, and the best talent from our community and partners like ConceptionX and Wilbe, we are creating one.
Now is a pivotal time across the UK & Europe to define the socioeconomic impact of a new era of industry. London has been home to countless generations of engineering and science — it’s a privilege to be supporting the next one.”
LACHLAN CHAVASSE, FOUNDER OF DEEP TECH LONDON

Tickets and the full programme are available at deeptech.london.

About Deep Tech London

Deep Tech London is a city-wide festival for the scientists, engineers, founders and investors building the next generation of industry in the UK and beyond. Running 5–11 October 2026, the week is anchored by a flagship Summit on 8 October at the Truman Brewery in Shoreditch, bringing together 500 founders, engineers, scientists and investors alongside more than 20 partner events across the city. Inspired by the 1951 Festival of Britain, the festival showcases work across five deep tech themes: Powering Britain, Manufacturing Abundance, The Next Computer, The Biological Interface and The Final Frontier. Deep Tech London is co-organised by Lachlan Chavasse of London Calling and Bharat Harbham of DeSci London, in partnership with Deep Tech Week and Euro Defense Tech Days. More at deeptech.london.

Media Assets

Artwork for this release, at full size.

Media Contact

Andrada Dobre, Commplicated
andrada@commplicated.com

Issued 28 September 2026.