In an Age of Deep Tech, The City Summit Bets on Human Connections

Insider Brief

• The sixth annual City Quantum & AI Summit will bring leaders from technology, defense, finance, government and research to London’s Mansion House on Oct. 7.

• The program will examine quantum and AI applications and risks across cybersecurity, finance, life sciences, space and national security.

• The summit will emphasize plain-language discussions, cross-sector networking and governance for technologies developing faster than existing institutions and regulations.

• Images: Paulina Roots Photography

The technologies changing defense, medicine and finance are advancing faster than the institutions expected to manage them. Getting the right people in the same room is a critical step toward optimizing the good that these technologies can do, while minimizing potential adverse effects.

The sixth annual City Quantum & AI Summit is aimed at bringing those people – military leaders, technology executives, researchers, investors and policymakers – to the Mansion House in London on Oct. 7. The one-day event is organized around the theme “Connections in Chaos.”

Karina Robinson, CEO of Redcliffe Advisory and founder of the summit, said the theme reflects a loss of predictability in international affairs, compounded by the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the emerging possibilities of quantum technology.

“The modicum of predictability that existed in world affairs a decade ago has vanished,” said Robinson. “How to cope? Develop personal connections. The Summit’s focus has always been to create networks across countries and across sectors. It is the best source of innovation and, in our age of AI, the last refuge of humanity.”

The summit’s program treats those human connections as practical infrastructure. It brings together industries that face related technological and security challenges but often operate separately. Defense officials will meet quantum and AI executives. Medical researchers will discuss computing with technology specialists. Investors and financial executives will examine how companies can move from research to commercial deployment.

According to Robinson, the objective of the summit is not simply to present new technology, but also help decision-makers understand how quantum and AI could affect their organizations, even if they lack scientific or engineering backgrounds.

Defense Beyond the Battlefield

Defense will open the program, reflecting the growing role of advanced computing in national security.

A panel titled “Safety and Security in Troubled Times” will be chaired by Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, former chief of the Defence Staff. Scheduled participants include Enrique Lizaso, co-founder and CEO of Multiverse Computing; Tony Lowe, CEO of quantum-sensing company Delta.g; Jeanette van Halteren, Managing Consultant at Thales; and Dr Ben Tallis, Head of Policy & Analysis at defense technology company Helsing.

The discussion will extend beyond weapons and conventional military operations to threats against digital infrastructure. Cyberattacks can disrupt communications, financial services, energy networks and public agencies without crossing a physical border.

“Defence is a clear example of the Summit’s theme,” said Robinson. “The panel is entitled Safety and Security in Troubled Times because we aren’t just talking about tanks and drones and territory, but about defending ourselves from cybersecurity attacks which can bring society to a standstill. We also have a Qnote from NATO’s Assistant Secretary General, Jean-Charles Ellerman Kingombe. The death of NATO has been much spoken of lately. It is still alive and kicking, and an indication that organisations to connect countries have value.”

Quantum computing adds urgency to the cybersecurity discussion. Large, sufficiently capable quantum computers could eventually defeat several forms of encryption now used to protect government, corporate and personal information. Governments and businesses are therefore beginning to adopt post-quantum cryptography, a new class of security methods designed to withstand attacks from both conventional and quantum computers.

AI presents a more immediate set of opportunities and risks. Defense organizations are already exploring its use in intelligence analysis, logistics, cybersecurity and planning. The same tools can also make cyberattacks faster and more difficult to detect.

Ellerman Kingombe, NATO’s assistant secretary general for innovation, hybrid and cyber, is scheduled to deliver an address on cyber defense in the quantum and AI era. The appearance continues a longstanding relationship between the summit and NATO.

Credit: Paulina Roots Photography

Connecting Science With Capital

The program will also examine whether financial markets and institutions can provide the patient capital required by quantum and other deep-technology companies.

These businesses often face a difficult path to market. They may need years of research, specialized equipment and highly trained workers before producing meaningful revenue. That model does not always fit the short development cycles associated with conventional software startups.

Dame Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, and Emily Turner, CEO of HSBC Innovation Bank UK, are scheduled to take part in a panel on financing innovation. U.S. venture investors are also expected to participate.

The session will consider how banks, venture firms and public markets can support companies as they progress from scientific research to products and commercial operations. It also places finance within the summit’s wider theme. Scientists may develop the technology, but investors, corporate customers and public institutions determine whether it can reach the market at scale.

Robinson said identifying companies early has helped sustain the summit over six years. Previous programs featured executives from Oxford Quantum Circuits, Nu Quantum and Multiverse Computing when the companies were considerably smaller.

The setting – the Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London – adds another connection between old and new forms of commerce. It has long served as a center for business and civic events.

“The Mansion House is a palace with glittering chandeliers and vast columns,” said Robinson. “Over the centuries it has been a centre of commerce and deal-making. It provides a unique and contrasting backdrop to frontier technology.”

The summit will open with remarks from Alderman Bronek Masojada, who is expected to become Lord Mayor, followed by Robinson.

From Life Sciences to Space

Robinson pointed to life sciences and space as two areas where the summit will emphasize the constructive uses of AI and quantum technology.

“I am hugely looking forward to the Space panel, in association with Farnborough International Airshow,” said Robinson. “Their CEO, Gareth Rogers, will chair it. There will certainly be positive news from the panellists about their advances. The other panel that will focus on positive disruption is the Life Sciences one. Here the intersection of Quantum and AI will figure prominently.”

The life sciences panel will include Dr. Lara Jehi, chief research information officer at Cleveland Clinic; Sergii Strelchuk, Lead Researcher on quantum at Wellcome Sanger Institute; and Anthony Rowe, vice president of Onyx Research at GSK.

AI is already used to analyze medical information, identify patterns in biological data and assist researchers searching for drug candidates. Future quantum computers could add new tools for simulating molecules and chemical reactions, although the systems available today remain limited.

Ashley Fieglein Johnson, president and chief financial officer of Planet; Will Whitehorn, chair of Seraphim Space Investment Trust; and Phil Cooper, commercial lead for aerospace, satellite and defense at Amazon Web Services, are scheduled to participate in the space panel. 

It will be chaired by Gareth Rogers, CEO of Farnborough International Airshow, one of the biggest trade shows in the world, which brings together defence and aerospace every two years.

The discussion is expected to examine the growing connections among satellites, cloud computing and AI. Spacecraft generate large amounts of information that must be processed, transmitted and converted into useful observations for businesses and governments.

Another featured session, called “Entangled Exchange,” will bring together Gerald Mullally, CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits, and Nic Harrigan, quantum manager at Nvidia. The conversation will explore the relationship between quantum computing and AI.

AI is increasingly being used to design, calibrate and operate quantum hardware. Researchers are also investigating whether future quantum systems could assist with selected AI, simulation and optimization tasks. The two technologies are therefore developing as parts of a broader computing system rather than as isolated fields.

Plain English for Complex Technology

Making those subjects accessible remains a central part of the summit’s approach, Robinson said. Its intended audience includes board members, investors, bankers and defense executives who need to understand the business and strategic implications without receiving a technical lecture.

“‘No lingo, no jargon, plain English only,’ is our strap line,” said Robinson. “We set up the Summit to engage the non-technological, non-scientific public in the exciting – and at times scary – developments in Quantum & AI. Board members, non-tecchie investors, bankers and defence executives all appreciate the event as a way to understand at a macro level technologies that are relevant to their organisations or could be interesting investment opportunities. Words like entanglement, superposition or inference are prohibited on pain of death!”

The program will include a special reception with Sir Peter Knight, an influential figure in the development of the United Kingdom’s quantum research program. Robinson said the reception will recognize his contribution to the country’s position in quantum science.

Governance and ethics will also form part of the event. An invitation-only dinner sponsored by Clifford Chance will feature a discussion between Roman Orús, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Multiverse Computing and a member of the United Nations Independent Scientific Panel on AI, and Thore Graepel, a machine-learning professor at University College London and former distinguished research scientist at Google DeepMind.

Jonathan Kewley, chair of Clifford Chance’s global tech group, will moderate this conversation, examining how institutions can develop ethical and governance systems for technologies whose capabilities are evolving more quickly than many existing rules.

“One of our past sponsors said the Summit combined ‘a super power-networking platform and a vital source of information exchange on the mega-trends of our time’. We are well set to repeat the winning formula this year!” said Robinson. 

To register, please click here.

Q&A: The Race for Growth — Five Years of The City Quantum & AI Summit

Editor’s Note: Over the last five years, The City Quantum and AI Summit, which takes place in the Mansion House in the heart of the City of London, has earned a reputation as a quantum conference that not only keeps its finger on the pulse of the rapidly emerging quantum technology landscape, but also one that provides an accessible forum for the field’s diverse community. Celebrating the UN’s International Year of Quantum, the Fifth Anniversary Summit will take place on October 8, 2025. Here, we chat with Karina Robinson, CEO of Radcliffe Advisory and the founder of this summit, to learn a little bit more about the upcoming 2025 The City Quantum and AI Summit, as well as add context to the fifth anniversary of one of quantum’s marquee events..

This year’s Summit is themed “Race for Growth.” What does growth mean in the context of quantum and AI, and why is now the moment to focus on it?

Our democracies are under threat from external sabotage, misinformation and governmental inability to deliver. The only way to avoid falling into the lure of the populists is for our economies to grow. Harnessing Quantum and AI is a way of achieving productivity gains and revenue increases. 

To celebrate its Fifth Anniversary, the Summit is publishing Race for Growth, a report with contributions from CEOs, Chairs, and other board members on how to boost our economies through Deep Tech and international collaboration. 

The speaker lineup this year includes more CEOs from financial and professional services than ever before. What message does that send about where quantum and AI are heading? 

Board members of financial and professional services are aware that, generally, they lack enough knowledge of how Quantum and AI will disrupt their companies and sectors. That awareness has been growing over the last few years. By insisting on the Summit’s principle of ‘no lingo, no jargon, plain language only,’ top executives are comfortable talking and learning publicly about Deep Tech’s impact.

Geopolitical shifts have reshaped the global landscape. How do international tensions and alliances affect the collaboration — or competition — in deep tech sectors like AI and quantum? And how does the Summit expect to navigate these new waters? 

The City Quantum & AI Summit will walk through the complex, evolving geopolitical maze with a light step! We have companies from the US, Europe, the UK and Taiwan present. The Trump presidency has upended traditional alliances, but collaboration is still a pre-requisite. We are especially focused on the UK and the EU working together more closely, with the US and democracies like Australia and Japan involved.

Defence and finance are rarely seen on the same stage, but you’ve made that blend a defining feature of the Summit. What’s the logic behind that mix? 

There are two reasons for the unique mix.  From the moment Ukraine was invaded by Russia three years ago it became obvious that, firstly, we needed to fight for our democracies rather than take them for granted, and secondly, that defence spending would accelerate exponentially. This was a great, albeit tragic, opportunity to advance the science. The results will be dual-use applications – from logistics to navigation – on a par with what came out of the Apollo Space Mission. 

Additionally, finance is a pre-requisite for firms on the edge of innovation, while financiers need to be exposed to investing opportunities. 

The Summit was built on three founding principles: no jargon, gender-balanced panels, and accessibility. In an era of accelerating complexity, are those principles more relevant than ever?

In this day and age it is indispensable to be understood by those outside your group. Gender-balanced panels are even more crucial today than they were five years ago, when the Summit began. The backlash against the excesses of woke politics is being used as an excuse to undermine basic Diversity & Inclusion and that needs to be combatted. Lastly, the Summit is streamed for free and all panels are then posted on social media. 

How does the historic setting — the Mansion House and the presence of the 696th Lord Mayor — shape the tone and ambition of the Summit? 

It is great fun to host a conference on breakthrough Quantum & AI in a historic palace with gold table-settings and chandeliers-a-plenty, rather than the usual soulless conference centre! On a more serious note, the Mansion House’s convening power is legendary, and key to attracting senior leaders from a wide variety of sectors who are open to solving the world’s problems. The halls of the Mansion House represent the historic location where top financiers have met for generations to finance world trade and innovation, and is the perfect setting to combine both them and the future leaders of technology and science under one roof.

What role do you see for the UK, and The City in particular, in driving international leadership in deep tech over the next five years?

The City of London has been at the forefront of financing progress for centuries. This Summit keeps the flame alive!

Finally, with tech leaders, financial giants, and defence strategists all under one roof, what would you like attendees to walk away thinking, feeling, or doing differently?

The outcome is all about cross-sectoral collaboration and cross-national collaboration, both in finance and defense. I hope all of us joining together at the Summit, be it in person or online, are able to see the growth potential of connecting with people in all fields.

What have you been most proud of about previous iterations of the Summit?

I am most proud of bringing together such diverse sectors. And when people tell you they found a job, an investing opportunity, or funding for their company at the Summit, I couldn’t be happier!

Current City Quantum Agenda

Speech at the Mansion House

Immigration is key to attract global talent

This is an abridged version of a speech given to a Mansion House packed to the rafters with 350 members of the International Bankers and their friends.

My year as Master (Chair) runs till October 2020. 

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Welcome all to the Annual Banquet of the WCIB and welcome to the Mansion House, the Heart of the City.

The Mansion House reminds me of the Villa Farnesina in Rome, built for Agostino Chigi, a banker who was treasurer to the Papal States in 1510 and a patron of great artists. He entertained his clients – Popes, Ambassadors, men of power – in such style that he was known as ‘the Magnificent’.  

I should hope we have entertained you in such style today, that you too will say the International Bankers are Magnificent!

At one banquet, in an extravagant gesture, the silver dishes were thrown into the Tiber River after use. I therefore ask you to pick up any silver left on your tables and we shall throw it into the Thames. Or perhaps not!

Rumour has it that il Magnifico’s servants had placed invisible nets in the river, and thus recovered the silver.

Banking, and financial services in general, is about covering your risk. As he did.

The City faces many risks. Today, I want to concentrate on one risk only. Arguably the most crucial one. The war for talent.

Mark Hoban, a former City Minister - who is present tonight - chairs the Financial Services Skills Taskforce, which published a damning report last month on the City’s talent recruitment and retention. I quote: “There is no doubt that the financial services sector is facing an existential skills crisis.”

The demand for talent already exceeds supply and this trend is set to become more acute. Additionally, “The lack of gender and ethnic diversity is both a social issue and a skills issue. Talent that the industry needs is not being utilised.”

This is the reason why Professor Grace Lordan from the London School of Economics – also here tonight - and I are co-founding The Inclusion Institute at the LSE. The Institute arose out of a report commissioned by the International Bankers. In partnership with City companies, the Institute will use behavioural science and data to lead to more diverse talent recruitment and retention, to dynamism and creativity, and to changing culture for future success.

Cognitive diversity is necessary to deliver better company returns in a transformed digital marketplace. How does this innovation happen? It is most likely to occur when you mix gender, generation, ethnicity, sexual orientation and nationality, on your boards and in your teams. And ensure they feel accepted, or included, and thus able to speak up.

The City is working hard on its D&I. Yet it is already a world leader in one form of diversity. Nationality. We have a wider mix and more nationalities in the City than in any other major financial centre. 40% - that is four zero – of City workers are foreign-born – and they are fully included.

What other country would have a Canadian leading its central bank, a Frenchman till recently leading its stock exchange, and an American woman, leading one of its main financial derivative companies, IG? Plus, at a much lower level, voting in another foreigner – me - as Master of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers. I am grateful!

But the City’s USP is under threat. The government’s recently announced, hard core policy on immigration is undermining the City’s search for talent. They should care, because we bring in over 10% of tax revenues.

We would not have the strongest Fintech sector in the world, without the Open Door, Open City policy of earlier governments. We wouldn’t be leaders in Green Finance without that Open Door, Open City policy. Note that the UK Green Bond market is already worth $44 billion. There is so much more that we in the City need to do to help finance the environmental transition for our planet’s survival.

For that, we need the best talent in the world.

There are at least three things wrong with the new system.

In the first place, an immigration policy that gives way too much importance to higher education, such as PhDs, cannot be right. Skills are of as much importance as a university degree in our disrupted world. The Russian founder of Revolut, a City-born start-up which was just given a valuation of $5.5 billion dollars, doesn’t have a PhD. Let alone the Richard Branson’s of this world. Or even the Mark Zuckerberg’s.

Secondly, an immigration policy that harks back to an era of central planning cannot be right. Five-year plans surely went out with Stalin?!. Yet a Tory government believes in the future it will be able to figure out where the skills shortages are in the economy and make short term changes to policy to fill them. That’s in a world where we don’t even know what many of the jobs of tomorrow will look like.

And finally, an immigration policy which will only allow large, well-capitalised firms to import foreign workers, is not right. The cost and bureaucracy of work permits is such that SMEs, start ups and the like won’t be able to afford them – and they are the accelerator in the economy.

Let my last quote be from Catherine McGuinness, the CEO of the City: “We need an immigration system that works for the whole of the financial services ecosystem. This includes those supporting industries which keep the City ticking and we look forward to engaging with the Government on this particular issue.”

I am not sure she meant that last line…

The City understands that this government has an obligation to those who voted it in, a number of whom believe that immigration – rather than globalisation and automation - is to blame for inequality and the precariousness of modern jobs. But Boris Johnson’s government has a duty to destroy myths about immigration and a duty to care for the City, let alone the whole economy. Our tax revenues and our inventiveness will help in financing a better future for all.

The City is a British jewel, a European jewel, and a world jewel – in fact, it is a public good and I would ask that you join with me, in any way you can, in pressing this government to change its policy, and return to an Open Door, Open City.