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Join us and fellow Corum members for a discussion on where UK PLC should position itself at the forefront of science, technology and innovation in an era dominated by AI, major US investment and the world's largest IPO. On Wednesday 12th August from 10am–1.30pm, we'll bring together a small group of senior executives for an informal, open discussion followed by lunch.

In the year of the largest IPO in history (SpaceX) with more on the horizon from major AI labs which only the world's largest economy could underwrite, where should UK PLC position itself to be at the frontier of science, technology, and innovation in the years to come?

Large Language Models have been the dominant AI paradigm for a while now, from consumer chat to more extensive agentic variants. Although the technology will evolve and ever-changing flavours will be around for the long term, cracks are starting to show against some of the original marketing promise, above all around the eye-watering costs and who ultimately pays for them. We've seen this pattern before in tech cycles. What's new is the scale: US and increasingly Chinese giants are becoming ever more dominant, raising the question of where and how UK companies can stay competitive and turn that into real productivity and GDP growth.

AI was never just about language models. There’s also a massive technological and business innovation space there to explore, many which the UK has strong track records within. From life sciences and biotech to quantum and motorsport engineering. The UK has so many success stories. The question for this session is:

What will make us stand out over the next decade?

Our company will open by sharing one area we're pursuing and why we’ve taken that direction. We’d welcome the group's own views and experience within the technological, business, and economic landscape and would be interested to debate and discuss the following questions:

• Where's the technology landscape heading, and is LLM/agentic dominance crowding out investment in other STEM areas that could deliver better returns?
• What are you working on, or considering, that could have real economic impact, if you’re comfortable sharing?
• Where should UK PLC double down, and where should we defocus?
• Is UK/European collaboration keeping pace with US and Chinese scale — and how do smaller players get heard?
• What's actually holding us back — legislation, funding, talent?
• Practically, how do we turn the current AI wave to our advantage rather than chasing it? (Think .com boom: every pet/tool/garden/X company suddenly needed to be a "Pets.com," but the real internet changes played out over a much longer horizon.)

About Robert Pilkington

Rob was one of the founders of the Ebbon-Group business. Rob originally trained as a Computer Scientist and has been a pioneer of several product ranges, learning from both the successes and failures as the Ebbon business has grown over the years.

His primary focus today is on longer-term initiatives and multi-national opportunities to grow the group. He is passionate about ensuring common values, along with opportunities for emerging and diverse talent, working with the group’s supportive shareholders.

Alongside co-leading a tech company, he has studied the development and math of A.I. for several years. This led to Rob speaking about A.I. at prominent events within the sector. The group has an innovative A.I. startup-division specialising in autonomous robotic products, particularly focussed on solving practical real-world problems.

About Ebbon Group

Ebbon Group is a leading UK technology company providing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and autonomous systems to the automotive and transport sectors.

Founded in the early 2000s, the business has evolved from developing bespoke enterprise software for major automotive manufacturers into a specialist technology group delivering innovative digital solutions that improve efficiency, sustainability and safety across the industry.

Today, Ebbon Group comprises three specialist businesses, each focused on helping customers embrace digital transformation through intelligent software and advanced autonomous technologies. Its vision is simple: driving together towards a more efficient, sustainable and safer future.

The Group's culture is built on four core values—respect one another, leave a legacy, always learning and be fearless—which underpin its commitment to innovation, collaboration and long-term customer success.

Lunch and Refreshments will be provided.

Format:

10:00 Discussion with Robert Pilkington

12:00 Lunch

13:30 Finish

Limited to 10 guests

Parking: Limited parking available on-site.