Welcome to What's Next with Balderton Capital, where we take a closer look at emerging technologies, the people behind them and the potential impact on our lives.
We're interviewing the founders of companies behind breakthroughs in fields as diverse as self-driving vehicles, robotics, drones, biohacking and clean energy. If you're interested in hard tech companies, what drives the people behind them, and how they might shape our world, this is for you.
Is There A Future For Data Scientists? Frank Hutter | Prior Labs
From pioneering AutoML research to building Prior Labs, Frank Hutter is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with models on tabular data — the kind that still powers most of the real world. We sat down with Frank to talk about Prior’s world-leading performance on structured datasets, the fast-growing tech and AI scene in Freiburg, and how the role of data scientists will evolve as automation and foundation models reshape the field.
10 Dec 2025
He Accidentally Created Viagra — Now He’s Reinventing Drug Discovery with AI | David Brown, Healx
From accidentally creating Viagra to pioneering AI-first drug discovery at Healx, David Brown has spent his career pushing the boundaries of pharmaceutical science. We sat down with David to explore how drug discovery has evolved, how AI and omics are reshaping the field, and why overcoming scientific bias may be the industry’s biggest challenge. https://healx.ai/ https://www.balderton.com/
3 Dec 2025
Can European Tech Hold the Line in Ukraine? | Florian Seibel, Quantum Systems
From supplying autonomous drones to Ukraine’s frontline to redefining how Europe thinks about defence, Florian Seibel, founder and CEO of Quantum Systems, is building some of the most consequential technology of our time. We sat down with Florian to explore how drone innovation is shifting the balance on modern battlefields, why defence tech has become one of this year’s most hyped VC sectors, and what it really takes to work with governments, defence ministries, and primes to build technolog...
26 Nov 2025
Will the UK Lead the Next Energy Revolution? | Alan Chang, Fuse
From scaling Revolut to now reinventing the energy system with Fuse, Alan Chang is tackling one of the toughest challenges in climate and infrastructure. We sat down with Alan to talk about why the UK energy grid is fundamentally broken, how AI will supercharge energy demand, and why rebuilding the sector from the ground up—with both software and hardware—is the only way to create a low-cost, customer-first future.
19 Nov 2025
Can the UK Become a Global AI Leader? Meryem Arik | Doubleword
From optimising AI inference at Double Word to helping organisations deploy models securely and at scale, Meryem Arik is building the infrastructure powering the next era of artificial intelligence. We sat down with Meryem to discuss the rise of sovereign AI, the future of open-source innovation, and how Europe can lead the next wave of deeptech breakthroughs.
12 Nov 2025
What Comes After the AI Gold Rush | Marvin Purtorab, Convergence (Salesforce)
From building next-generation AI agents at Convergence to joining Salesforce in one of Europe’s fastest deeptech acquisitions, Marvin Purtorab represents the new wave of founders shaping the global AI frontier. We sat down with Marvin to explore the rise of AI agents, why London is becoming a global deeptech hub, and how autonomous systems could redefine how humans and machines work together.
5 Nov 2025
How ZOE Is Turning Science Into a Startup | Jonathan Wolf, ZOE
From adtech to healthtech, Jonathon Wolf has built ZOE into one of the world’s leading nutrition science companies, translating cutting-edge microbiome research into tools that help millions improve their health. We sat down with Jonathon to explore how ZOE turns complex science into daily action, what it takes to build trust at the intersection of research and consumers, and why personalised nutrition could redefine preventative healthcare.
29 Oct 2025
Building Europe’s Answer to SpaceX | Hélène Huby, The Exploration Company
From Airbus executive to space entrepreneur, Hélène Huby is leading Europe’s bid to build its own SpaceX with The Exploration Company. We sat down with Hélène to talk about reusable spacecraft, Europe’s growing space ambitions, and how international cooperation could define the next era of exploration.
22 Oct 2025
Barney Hussey-Yeo | Building AI with an attitude | Cleo
From state-school beginnings in Sheffield to building one of Europe’s leading consumer AI companies, Cleo’s Barney Hussey-Yeo has spent the last decade redefining how people interact with money. We sat down with Barney to discuss his journey from data scientist to founder, the evolution of AI assistants, and what it takes to build a profitable, mission-driven fintech with personality.
1 Aug 2024
Transforming business processes with generative AI with Writer's May Habib
The raw potential of generative AI has been made clear in recent years, but how can enterprises draw on the technology's full potential? And do so in a secure and compliant manner? Suranga Chandratillake sat down with Writer CEO and co-founder May Habib to discuss how the company's full-stack platform is making it faster and easier for organisations to build and deploy highly-customised AI apps.
Find out more about Writer here (https://writer.com/) and follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/getwriter/posts/?feedView=all)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/balderton/?originalSubdomain=uk)
25 Jul 2024
Government and deeptech with IQ Capital's Jonno Evans
From 10 Downing Street to deeptech investing, IQ Capital's Jonno Evans brings unique insight into the relationship between government and startups. We sat down with Jonno to explore the opportunity government has when faced with new technologies, how to encourage collaboration, and how to understand and bridge the culture around risk-taking.
Find out more about IQ Capital (https://iqcapital.vc/) and follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/iq-capital-partners/posts/?feedView=all)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/balderton/?originalSubdomain=uk)
18 Jul 2024
The future of energy: small modular nuclear reactors with Blue Energy's Jake Jurewicz
There's clear untapped potential as the world looks to decarbonize the energy sector: nuclear power. Blue Energy's CEO and co-founder Jake Jurewicz joins James Wise to discuss how offshore nuclear power plants can play a key role in building a sustainable and resilient energy grid of tomorrow.
Find out more about Blue Energy here (https://www.blueenergy.co/)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/balderton/?originalSubdomain=uk)
11 Jul 2024
Robots that lay bricks with Monumental's Salar al Khafaji
The UK is facing an acute shortage of bricklayers. At the same time, the new UK government has pledged to build 1.5m new homes over the next five years. Can bricklaying robots be the solution? Salar al Khafaji, CEO and co-founder of Dutch robotics startup Monumental, sat down with Suranga Chandratillake to why autonomous construction robots are the future, why Monumental was on construction sites as early as possible and lessons from Salar's first start-up.
Find out more about Monumental here (https://www.monumental.co/) and follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/monumentalco/?originalSubdomain=nl)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/balderton/?originalSubdomain=uk)
4 Jul 2024
AI safety and responsibility with Baroness Joanna Shields
Drawing on her experience leading big social media platforms in their early days, we talk with Baroness Joanna Shields about what AI leaders need to get right when thinking about building their businesses, and how we’d accelerate the adoption of these new technologies in a safe and responsible way.
Find out more about Precognition here (https://www.sava.health/) and follow Baroness Joanna Shields on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/baronessjoannashields/?originalSubdomain=uk)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/balderton/?originalSubdomain=uk)
27 Jun 2024
Reinventing health monitoring with Sava's Renato Circi
Painless real-time health monitoring at an affordable price? Listen to our chat with SAVA’s Renato Circi to find out how their advanced biosensing technology will deliver on this.
Find out more about SAVA here (https://www.sava.health/) and follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/savahealth/?originalSubdomain=uk)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/balderton/?originalSubdomain=uk)
20 Jun 2024
Transforming logistics with Manna Drone Delivery's Bobby Healy
Coffee delivered to your doorstep via a drone? Manna Drone Delivery is already making it happen in the suburbs of Dublin and Texas. Tune into our conversation with founder and CEO Bobby Healy to learn more about how Manna are making deliveries more accessible in suburbs, the regulatory journey, and whether there’s a case for drones in space.
Find out more about Manna Drone Delivery here (https://www.manna.aero/) and follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/mannaaero/)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/balderton/?originalSubdomain=uk)
6 Jun 2024
Antibody discovery with LabGenius' James Field
What do synthetic biology, machine learning and robotics have in common? James Field, CEO and founder of LabGenius, explains how his company is integrating bleeding-edge technologies from across these fields to discover the next-generation therapeutic antibodies. And change the way we approach drug discovery.
Find out more about Labgenius here (https://labgeni.us/) and follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/labgenius/)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/balderton/?originalSubdomain=uk)
23 May 2024
Cultivated Meat with Uncommon’s Benjamina Bollag
Uncommon is using ground-breaking RNA cell technology to tackle the most pressing challenges to our health, starting with cultivated pork. Co-founder and CEO Benjamina Bollag sat down with James Wise to break down how cultivated meat will help tackle not only climate challenges, but also help improve global public health.
Find out more about Uncommon here (https://uncommonbio.co/) and follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncommonbio/?originalSubdomain=uk)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com%20/) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/company/balderton)
8 May 2024
Embodied AI with Wayve's Alex Kendall
Welcome to What's Next with Balderton Capital, where we take a closer look at emerging technologies, the people behind them and the potential impact on our lives.
Wayve has just raised a landmark $1.05 billion Series C round to launch their first Embodied AI solutions for autonomous vehicles. James Wise sat down with co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall to chat about the company's early days, what embodied AI actually is, and why Wayve decided to tackle transportation first.
Find out more about Wayve here (https://wayve.ai/) and follow them on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/wayve-technologies)
Find Balderton Capital here (https://www.balderton.com ) and follow us on LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/company/balderton)
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