LONDON BIO Turns Two: A Milestone for Europe’s Techbio Movement

Two years ago, LONDON BIO began as an experiment: could we bring together the people building at the frontier of AI and biology in a way that felt open, human, and genuinely useful?

Since then, it has grown from “another event” into a community that convenes the entrepreneurs, operators, investors and researchers shaping Europe’s techbio movement.

WAR STORIES OF BUILDING IN TECHBIO

Every quarter, we gather approximately 80 techbio practitioners from across London, Oxford and Cambridge: VC-backed founders, postdocs spinning out their first ideas, early-stage stealth teams and the investors backing them and the pharma execs who bring industry firepower. The purpose remains simple: create a space where people can speak candidly under Chatham House rules to share their war stories about of drug discovery, and building and scaling a biotech company.

At our tenth edition, which took place on 18th November 2025, during London Life Science Week and the Jefferies Healthcare Conference, we welcomed two incredibly powerful speakers. 

• Sir Jon Symonds CBE, Chair of GSK who had a really thoughtful and open conversation with LONDON BIO co-founder Jack O’Meara (Co-Founder and CEO of Aerska). Followed by Chris Gibson, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO of Recursion, who shared the spotlight with another LONDON BIO co-founder, Yasmin Siraj (Investor at BACKED). 

Conversation ranged widely: 

• What does an AI-native pharma company really look like? 
• Have we already had our AlphaFold moment, or is the next breakthrough still ahead? 
• Can biology support scalable business models beyond traditional asset creation? But one theme cut through everything: people and community matter more than any single technology shift.

THE POWER OF NETWORK

Chris Gibson captured it perfectly: “Don’t forget about the people… ultimately, that’s the only thing that’s absolutely essential for you to be successful: having the right people around you.”

As Alex Brunicki, BACKED Co-Founder and LONDON BIO Co-Founder (and co-founding partner at BACKED VC), puts it: “It’s about bringing people together. This is where you meet your cofounder, your next investor, or have the conversation you didn’t know you needed.”

We partnered with the inimitable Emma Tinsley (CEO of Weatherden) for this one again, building on the success of last year’s Jefferies’ event. Emma echoed Chris’ sentiments advising aspiring founders to: “Never underestimate the value of your network. You will not save the world from behind a desk. Get out there, meet people, learn from them, and know when to listen — and when to be brave enough to go from first principles.”

CAPTURING THE SECTOR'S RESILIENCE

Following the event, the Timmerman Report described London Bio as “a moment that quietly captured the sector’s resilience… a relaxed but purposeful atmosphere.” That observation hits the nail on the head for what we envisioned 2 years ago: a forum that is high-signal, low-ego, and intentionally designed around connection.

Unlike traditional events, LONDON BIO is structured differently to enable more valuable interaction. We encourage audience participation, with conversations often spilling into the room long after the session ends.

This human centric philosophy runs deeply throughout BACKED. As Clare Hunter, Head of Brand, Communications & Marketing, notes: “At BACKED, we give our portfolio an unfair advantage. It’s not just capital — it’s community, amplification, and a platform to help founders grow their story in the world.”

LONDON BIO'S MISSION, TWO YEARS IN

From day one, the mission has been clear: to cultivate a space where the best minds in AI and life sciences collide - and where the next generation of builders can emerge.

Where new companies form after first meetings at LONDON BIO; postdocs decide to take the leap into founding; operators meet the teams they would later join; and investors discover founders they wouldn’t have otherwise encountered.

These are the outcomes that matter most.

This year as a recap, we welcomed over 340 guests and these incredible speakers:

• Laurence Reid PhD, Biotech entrepreneur
• Omar Abudayyeh, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School
• Jonathan Gootenberg, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School
• Christoph Lengauer, CSO and Co-Founder fo Curie.Bio
• Annalisa Jenkins, Honorary Professor Medicine St Mary University
• David Roblin, CEO of Relation Therapeutics
• Sarah Teichmann, Professor of Stem Cell Medicine, Clinical School, University of Cambridge
• Jonathan Symonds CBE, Chair of GSK
• Chris Gibson, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Recursion.

WHAT COMES NEXT

Our ambition for next year is simple: attract Europe’s most ambitious biotech and techbio founders to join the LONDON BIO community, to support their journey through connections with investors, pharma, and academics. We’re excited to continue convening spaces and opportunities for where the next breakthrough stories take flight.

Huge thanks to everyone who has joined us so far, and to our partners Amazon Web Services (AWS) who have been our foundational partner since day 1 because of their understanding of innovation ecosystems, HLX Life Sciences who know what it takes to connect exceptional talent, and Cooley LLP whose legal service make breakthroughs happen.

Here’s to the builders, the scientists, the operators and investors — and to the next chapter of AI x biology in Europe.

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