Pitch decks and picture books
Thoughts on AI, commerce, and where the UK could fit in - after a few months of building something (and someone) new.
Nothing quite focuses the mind on the future like having a child. Last year I gave birth to my first baby and stepped into a completely new chapter of my life. Unsurprisingly, it’s brought with it a huge amount of change: uncapped joy, sleepless nights, as well as a fresh perspective on my work.
I’ve never been more conscious of how I spend my time, and I feel lucky that in my role as a VC I get to spend most of it partnering with incredibly ambitious people who give me glimpses into the future.
As I step back into the day job, some of the (wildly unrelated) themes I’ve been thinking about:
💻 The next phase of the future of work
The reality is that no one truly knows what ‘work’ will look like in 10 years’ time. What we do know, however, is that the boundaries of what can be automated or synthesised by machines are expanding at an extraordinary pace. While RPA has long addressed highly repetitive tasks, we’re now seeing automation encroach into domains that demand nuance, context, memory, and even emotional intelligence, qualities we’ve traditionally viewed as uniquely ‘human’. What was once robotic is now agentic (whatever happened to copilots?). The initial building blocks of a company - your first engineer, salesperson, designer - can now be plugged in as an AI-based tool. The infrastructure for this technology is currently being formed and the implications are vast, making it a hugely interesting time to figure out what kind of systems and tools will be most effective when it comes to human-agent collaboration.
On the other end of the spectrum, frontline industries are in many ways seeing the reverse. Eighteen months ago, we wrote about the growing talent shortages in critical industries and the opportunities they presented. That pressure hasn’t eased - in fact, it’s intensifying. Rising demand for semiconductors, energy, and manufacturing capacity is straining industrial capabilities, highlighting a persistent mismatch between the skills we need and the ones we train for. Bridging these gaps will require significant effort, but we’re also entering a moment where technology can play a transformative role - both on a longer-term horizon with innovations in robotics, as well as AI-enabled software that can boost the productivity of the workers already on the ground.
🛍️ Rewriting the architecture of Commerce
As someone who almost exclusively researches, browses and purchases online I might be forgiven for thinking the shift to ecommerce is complete. However globally only ~20% of commerce is conducted online and while some categories will retain a greater portion of offline spend than others, there’s still a very long way to go before this wave is done. There are still multiple points of friction to solve, not least cross-border trade as almost every brand eventually caters to a global audience. Even without the threat of tariffs and trade wars, there’s a lot of complexity to be solved around things like operations, payments and taxes.
AI will also make its mark in commerce as businesses adapt to new ways of serving consumers. Think agent-like digital personal shoppers with an intimate understanding of your circumstances and preferences, whether you’re buying a new t-shirt or planning your next holiday (goodbye endless scrolling across 30 tabs and checkouts). AI-powered search and curation that’s an order of magnitude more precise and relevant (hey AI, help me find a dupe of Michelle Monaghan’s sparkly dress from the latest season of White Lotus). It’s easy to assume that the incumbents, sat on their reams of historical data, will hold all the cards. But technical inertia is real and this next phase will demand a broad overhaul of the infrastructure that powers ecommerce today, leaving the door open for new, AI-native tools and platforms.
🇬🇧 The opportunity for the UK
My family made the UK their home over 50 years ago. I have no idea where my son will end up spending his life, but for better or worse, this place means a lot to me. It’s easy to get swept up in doom-and-gloom headlines, but the country still has a huge amount going for it. London remains one of the greatest cities on earth, and we’re home to world-class institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, and (s/o to my alma mater) Imperial College, which produce amazing technical talent across AI, robotics, energy, and other domains critical to our collective future. The likes of Entrepreneur First, born in London, helped normalise the path from graduate to founder and raised the bar on UK and European ambition. Entrepreneurship is one of the most effective ways to drive meaningful change in a given sector, and when it comes to talent, a key ingredient, we have a genuine advantage.
But innovation is typically a marriage between talent and capital, and we should be much bolder about removing the constraints on both.
In short, we need to make the UK the most attractive place to learn, innovate, and build companies. This isn’t just a self-serving observation from a VC; the current geopolitical climate demands greater self-reliance across every dimension, and the courage to make decisions that might not appear popular at first glance but will pay dividends on a national level in the long term. We’re already seeing this mindset take root across the continent, and I believe it would serve us well too. There are difficult strategic choices ahead, but I’m encouraged by the increased dialogue between policymakers, industry leaders and the broader tech community. I’m confident we can create the conditions for transformational companies to be founded and scaled right here.
There’s so much more I’d like to unpack on these topics; I’m excited to delve deeper and continue sharing my thinking over the coming months. If you’re working on or thinking about any of these themes, I’d love to connect.
And finally, as I shut the laptop and swap the pitch decks for picture books; a huge thank you to my friends and colleagues at Northzone, who truly walk the walk when it comes to supporting people through the realities of building both a career and a family.
