Event Seven – AI and the new reality for companies
Not just recordings — a curated record of ambition, insight, and real industrial momentum.
Opening Keynote
Fireside Chat
Panel
Laura Bennett leads Royal Academy of Engineering entrepreneurship programmes supporting deep-tech startups, scaleups, and spinouts, with extensive ecosystem development expertise.
Jamie Hinton, CEO of Razor, helps organisations deploy enterprise AI at scale, transforming ambitious concepts into practical, competitive business advantages.
Amber Jardine is an investor at Mercia Ventures, backing early-stage businesses across advanced manufacturing, deep tech, and B2B SaaS sectors.
Mark Hewitt, Co-Founder and CTO of LEXcelerate, leverages 30 years’ experience to transform legal services through AI-driven innovation.
Gary Neville is a Sheffield-based entrepreneur and technologist using AI to solve real-world challenges while championing grassroots innovation and Northern talent.
Pitching at The Foundry
Katie is tackling one of the built environment’s hardest problems, adapting historic buildings for a low-carbon future while maintaining performance, comfort, and heritage value.
With 15+ years across building conservation, BIM, and digital innovation, Cheribim sits at the intersection of AI and the physical world, creating a source of truth for better decisions and more confident investment.
Dr. Robert Loftin is a Lecturer in Machine Learning at the University of Sheffield. He received his PhD in Computer Science from North Carolina State University in 2019, after which he completed a two-year post-doc with Microsoft Research Cambridge (UK), exploring the use of Reinforcement Learning in Xbox games. He also completed a post-doc at TU Delft with Dr. Frans Oliehoek, applying game theory to the problem of human-AI cooperation. His lab’s current research focusses on the theory of human-AI cooperation and negotiation, and the application of AI to international diplomacy.
Dr Lin Cao is a Lecturer in Robotics at the University of Sheffield, specialising in flexible endoscopic surgical robots. His research focuses on intelligent, sensor-driven systems that enable precise and adaptive interaction in complex real-world environments.
As Co-Founder of RallyMatics, he applies this expertise to the sports domain, combining sensing, motion tracking, and data-driven modelling to build AI-powered training systems. His work underpins the company’s core technology for adaptive, personalised coaching in tennis and racquet sports, with future potential across broader athletic training applications.
Together with Dr Ehsan Alborzi, he co-founded RallyMatics in early 2026 to transform sports practice into a more adaptive, data-driven training experience.
Lucia Scotti M2i2
Lucia is co-founder of M2i2 a spin out form the University of Sheffield, developing AI-driven simulation tools to accelerate materials and manufacturing design.
Lucia has a background in computational engineering and brings experience in working closely with industry in high value manufacturing. She won a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship to develop the business.
Passionate about bridging advanced modelling and real-world engineering challenges, she co-founded M2i2 to reduce development time and cost of manufacturing processes through physics-informed AI.