Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top London based Partner operating in the Machine Learning space. If you think a Partner is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Verity Harding
Global Head of Policy & Partnerships (currently on secondment) of DeepMind
Verity Harding is Co-Lead of DeepMind Ethics Society, a research unit established to explore the real-world impacts of artificial intelligence. The unit has a dual aim: to help technologists put ethics into practice, and to help society anticipate and direct the impact of AI so that it works for the benefit of all. Prior to this Verity was Head of Security Policy for Google in Europe, and previously the Special Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Sir Nick Clegg MP, with responsibility for Home Affairs and Justice. She is a graduate of Pembroke College, Oxford University, and was a Michael Von Clemm Fellow at Harvard University. In her spare time, Verity sits on the Board of the Friends of the Royal Academy of Arts.
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About DeepMind, Partnership on AI: DeepMind aims to research and build safe artificial intelligence system to solve intelligence, to advance science and humanity.
Alex Barton
Developer Partnerships of Facebook AI
Alex Barton is the Developer Partnerships of Facebook.
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About Facebook AI, Mush: Facebook AI offers technology and engineering services like theory, algorithms, applications, software and hardware infrastructure.
Jonathan Gane
Business Development and Partnerships of ABAKA Holdings
Jonathan Gane, Business Development & Partnerships Director, was previously Managing Director at TP ICAP Institutional Services division covering strategy, acquisitions and origination. Prior to this he was CEO and co-CIO of the fund of hedge funds, Fort Rock Asset Management, investing in quantitatively driven hedge funds that included systematic trading, AI and machine learning strategies. He spent 15 years with Societe Generale in London and New York where he was Managing Director, Global Head of Origination & Structuring for the Newedge Alternatives division covering hedge funds and institutional investors.
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About ABAKA Holdings: ABAKA is the Enterprise platform powered by Artificial Intelligence enabling institutions to build digital retirement solutions
Ammad Ahmad
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Atheneum
Ammad has a comprehensive understanding of the key levers that drive better business performance given his experience in implementing industry specific best practices across various Fortune 100 companies. Prior to founding Atheneum, he spent 13 years in the United States, with significant experience at Kaiser Associates, and the Advisory Board Company. Ammad is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and has a Masters from the WHU School of Management together with the Bucerius Law School in Germany.
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About Atheneum: Atheneum is a knowledge sharing platform that offers corporations access to up-to-date market insights for better business decisions.
Ekaterina Almasque
General Partner of OpenOcean
Ekaterina (Katya) Almasque is a Venture Partner at OpenOcean and she leads the London Team and Operations. Before joining OpenOcean, Katya was a Managing Director of the Samsung Catalyst Fund in Europe, Samsung’s Electronics $500M venture capital multistage investment fund focused on core technology areas including robotics, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, digital health, data infrastructure and device level technologies. She led investments across Europe in leading companies such as GraphCore, Mapillary, AIMotive, Sentiance and Quobyte, as well as several venture funds. For over ten years prior to that, Katya was part of several corporate and independent venture capital funds in Silicon Valley and Europe, including EMC and Siemens Venture Capital. Additionally she was a founding partner of a global private equity advisory firm specializing in high-tech growth companies with $1B+ markets in the technology and environmental sectors, where she led investments in the US, Brazil, and Europe.
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About Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), OpenOcean, Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center: OpenOcean is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in B2B software across Europe.
Abdalla Kablan
Managing Partner of Wyzer
Abdalla Kablan is a serial entrepreneur, and award winning fintech expert. He specialises in the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the design of complex financial systems. Throughout his career he founded a number of startups and companies specializing in deep learning, professional match making, and Fintech. Furthermore, Kablans is an Alumni of Microsoft Ventures, UK and worked on projects, which were featured at the World Economic Forum 2017 in Davos. Kablan is also an academic at the University of Malta where he lectures and researches topics related to computational intelligence, financial engineering, and financial data science. During his PhD studies between 2007-2011 Dr Kablan researched the cryptographic block algorithms behind bitcoin (now known as blockchain), and is a renowned expert in the field of distributed ledgers. Furthermore Dr Kablan advices governments on matters related to strategic development and utilisation of technology, Fintech, and Blockchain/DLT technologies.
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About Caledo, University of Malta, Wyzer: Wyzer assists organizations in fin-tech, AI, and blockchain.
Eli Koen
Partner of Vela Partners
Eli Koen is Tech Investor at Vela Partners. Previously, Eli was the co-head of Emerging Europe Equities at Fortis in London, where he co-managed the Fortis Emerging Europe Equity fund, and managed the Fortis Turkish Equity fund. Prior to fund management, he was a research analyst for emerging markets at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers in London. Eli brings crucial expertise to Vela Partners in analysis and valuation. He holds a graduate degree in international economics and finance from Brandeis University, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Boğaziçi University.
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About Union Bancaire Privee, Vela Partners: AI-enabled venture investor.
Dr Rana Ghosh-Roy
IBM Partner, Business Analytics of illumr
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About : illumr helps organizations to better understand and predict patterns of behavior that affect them.
Christopher Kellner
Global VP Sales & Partnerships of DigitalGenius
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About DigitalGenius, Pavilion: DigitalGenius is an AI platform that puts customer support on autopilot by automating repetitive processes and delighting customers.
Elodie Draperi
Partnerships Director of GiveVision
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About GiveVision: GiveVision is a high tech low vision aids enhancing the remaining sight of partially sighted people.
Doug Ayres
Founding Partner of Policy Radar
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About Policy Radar: Discover & analyse the opinions of UK members of parliament across News, Social Media & Hansard
Simon Hobbs
Founding Partner of Policy Radar
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About Policy Radar: Discover & analyse the opinions of UK members of parliament across News, Social Media & Hansard
