📍 1 Triton Square, London NW1 3BF
The industry is under pressure to decarbonise, improve efficiency and meet growing demand, all the while maintaining the safety, reliability and connectivity we've come to expect. From AI-powered operations and sustainable fuels to advanced materials, autonomous systems and new aircraft designs, a new generation of innovators is reshaping what flight could look like.
Join founders, engineers, investors and industry leaders exploring the technologies transforming aviation, from the next wave of startups emerging from accelerator programmes to the global companies investing in tomorrow's solutions.
Hear from the entrepreneurs building breakthrough technologies, the organisations helping bring them to market and the partners creating the ecosystem needed to scale innovation.
Whether you're developing cleaner propulsion systems, applying AI to air traffic, rethinking aircraft design or building the infrastructure that will define the future of aviation, this is an evening to discover the ideas taking flight.
Powered by Advanced Research + Invention Agency
Our Thursday Gatherings are for you to make serendipitous connections and make things happen!
There will be meaningful networking opportunities throughout the night, accompanied by a selection of refreshments and activities:
Fun Zone
Get to know your fellow change-makers in a fun, interactive, and exciting way!
Take a quick break from changing the world and recharge by pinning your hometown on our giant map.
Conversation Corner
Looking to connect beyond the name tags?
Drop into our relaxed Conversation Corner, a cosy space where founders, ecosystem builders, and global thinkers come together to share stories, swap lessons, and innovate. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and jump into the discussion
We're excited to welcome a brilliant lineup of startups innovating in aviation!
- Neela Biotech - Redefining how the world produces fuels & chemicals
- Pulsar Fusion - Clean space propulsion systems and services company
- CollMap - Bring maps, layers, field updates, comments, and timelines into one shared geospatial workspace
- PySAF - a faster, lower-capital route to sustainable aviation fuel, designed to integrate with existing refineries and SAF production facilities.
- Amplicon - a UK-based provider of industrial computing, networking, test and measurement solutions, with over 50 years of experience.
If you could hop on a plane and fly anywhere in the world right now, where would you go? Ibiza? Japan? Italy? Or maybe all three! In this workshop, participants will use magazines, printed images and colourful paper to create their own view from an aeroplane window. Mix and match images to build a dream landscape, invent an imaginary destination, or simply see where your creativity takes you. There are no wrong answers, just endless possibilities!
Each participant will create their own A4 collage artwork featuring an imagined view from an aeroplane window.
This workshop will be delivered by Assemblage Collective
Welcome remarks from Venture Café and Partners
Join Rico Chandra, Programme Director at ARIA, for a lightning talk exploring the Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme. Backed by £70 million, this ambitious initiative aims to enable aircraft to operate reliably in the stratosphere, unlocking new possibilities for advanced communications and global connectivity
Hear from the innovators behind ARIA’s Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme in a series of 10-minute lightning talks. Discover how teams including Hyponode, Scalable Laser and VFP Aerospace are tackling the challenges of keeping aircraft operating in the stratosphere for extended periods, helping pave the way for a new generation of high-altitude platforms and advanced communications
Dr Andy Cheadle is Founder and CEO of VFP Aerospace, which builds autonomous systems on fully actuated multirotor platforms, and Principal Investigator on the Enduring Drone Networks project under ARIA's EndAP programme. He was previously Chief Product and Technology Officer at CloudNC, where he took its CAM Assist software from concept to use in more than 1,000 machine shops worldwide, and earlier held engineering leadership roles at McLaren Applied Technologies and BAE Systems. He is a Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society and holds MEng and PhD degrees in computer science from Imperial College London.
Dr. Charles Polk, Co-Founder and CEO of Scalable Laser Limited, traces a critical turning point in his path from a systems engineer in propulsion to a start-up entrepreneur back to his involvement with the Cassini Saturn Mission. While working as an engineer at JPL and pursuing economics as a graduate student at Caltech, he helped redesign how group R&D was conducted for Cassini, honing his expertise in high-risk/high-reward technology development under tight resource constraints.
His current venture at Scalable Laser Limited focuses on creating a power-scalable laser designed to make power beaming practical for a wide range of applications. In fact, beaming power to hybrid-electric airliners served as the founding goal of the company.
Vivian Su is a Taiwanese illustrator based in London, passionate about exploring colour, texture and shape through illustration. Alongside her studio practice, she designs and delivers creative workshops that invite people to experiment with simple materials, explore their creativity and connect with art and each other.
📍 1 Triton Square, London NW1 3BF
The industry is under pressure to decarbonise, improve efficiency and meet growing demand, all the while maintaining the safety, reliability and connectivity we've come to expect. From AI-powered operations and sustainable fuels to advanced materials, autonomous systems and new aircraft designs, a new generation of innovators is reshaping what flight could look like.
Join founders, engineers, investors and industry leaders exploring the technologies transforming aviation, from the next wave of startups emerging from accelerator programmes to the global companies investing in tomorrow's solutions.
Hear from the entrepreneurs building breakthrough technologies, the organisations helping bring them to market and the partners creating the ecosystem needed to scale innovation.
Whether you're developing cleaner propulsion systems, applying AI to air traffic, rethinking aircraft design or building the infrastructure that will define the future of aviation, this is an evening to discover the ideas taking flight.
Powered by Advanced Research + Invention Agency
Our Thursday Gatherings are for you to make serendipitous connections and make things happen!
There will be meaningful networking opportunities throughout the night, accompanied by a selection of refreshments and activities:
Fun Zone
Get to know your fellow change-makers in a fun, interactive, and exciting way!
Take a quick break from changing the world and recharge by pinning your hometown on our giant map.
Conversation Corner
Looking to connect beyond the name tags?
Drop into our relaxed Conversation Corner, a cosy space where founders, ecosystem builders, and global thinkers come together to share stories, swap lessons, and innovate. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and jump into the discussion
We're excited to welcome a brilliant lineup of startups innovating in aviation!
- Neela Biotech - Redefining how the world produces fuels & chemicals
- Pulsar Fusion - Clean space propulsion systems and services company
- CollMap - Bring maps, layers, field updates, comments, and timelines into one shared geospatial workspace
- PySAF - a faster, lower-capital route to sustainable aviation fuel, designed to integrate with existing refineries and SAF production facilities.
- Amplicon - a UK-based provider of industrial computing, networking, test and measurement solutions, with over 50 years of experience.
If you could hop on a plane and fly anywhere in the world right now, where would you go? Ibiza? Japan? Italy? Or maybe all three! In this workshop, participants will use magazines, printed images and colourful paper to create their own view from an aeroplane window. Mix and match images to build a dream landscape, invent an imaginary destination, or simply see where your creativity takes you. There are no wrong answers, just endless possibilities!
Each participant will create their own A4 collage artwork featuring an imagined view from an aeroplane window.
This workshop will be delivered by Assemblage Collective
Welcome remarks from Venture Café and Partners
Join Rico Chandra, Programme Director at ARIA, for a lightning talk exploring the Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme. Backed by £70 million, this ambitious initiative aims to enable aircraft to operate reliably in the stratosphere, unlocking new possibilities for advanced communications and global connectivity
Hear from the innovators behind ARIA’s Enduring Atmospheric Platforms programme in a series of 10-minute lightning talks. Discover how teams including Hyponode, Scalable Laser and VFP Aerospace are tackling the challenges of keeping aircraft operating in the stratosphere for extended periods, helping pave the way for a new generation of high-altitude platforms and advanced communications
Dr Andy Cheadle is Founder and CEO of VFP Aerospace, which builds autonomous systems on fully actuated multirotor platforms, and Principal Investigator on the Enduring Drone Networks project under ARIA's EndAP programme. He was previously Chief Product and Technology Officer at CloudNC, where he took its CAM Assist software from concept to use in more than 1,000 machine shops worldwide, and earlier held engineering leadership roles at McLaren Applied Technologies and BAE Systems. He is a Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society and holds MEng and PhD degrees in computer science from Imperial College London.
Dr. Charles Polk, Co-Founder and CEO of Scalable Laser Limited, traces a critical turning point in his path from a systems engineer in propulsion to a start-up entrepreneur back to his involvement with the Cassini Saturn Mission. While working as an engineer at JPL and pursuing economics as a graduate student at Caltech, he helped redesign how group R&D was conducted for Cassini, honing his expertise in high-risk/high-reward technology development under tight resource constraints.
His current venture at Scalable Laser Limited focuses on creating a power-scalable laser designed to make power beaming practical for a wide range of applications. In fact, beaming power to hybrid-electric airliners served as the founding goal of the company.
Vivian Su is a Taiwanese illustrator based in London, passionate about exploring colour, texture and shape through illustration. Alongside her studio practice, she designs and delivers creative workshops that invite people to experiment with simple materials, explore their creativity and connect with art and each other.