Applied AI

Applied AI is back on Monday 21 September - and this time we're joined by Anthropic.
About this Event

We're delighted to welcome special guest and long-time friend of Parallax, Ian Massingham, who is Head of Applied AI at Anthropic. Ian sits down with James Hall, Co-Founder of Parallax, for a fireside chat on where enterprise AI is heading, straight from leaders who are helping engineering teams build production AI products on Claude.

Alongside the fireside chat, Sam Sutherland, Principal Consultant at Parallax, shares his experience of leading live AI projects, with a focus on what it takes to move from experimentation to production.

Oliver Chesher returns to host. Doors open 5:30pm, event starts at 6:15pm, all ticket proceeds go to UTC Leeds.

Date: Monday 21 September

Doors Open: 5:30pm

Event Starts: 6:15pm

Working Agenda

Death of the PoC: Stop Proving AI Can Work—Prove It Creates Value

Talk by Sam Sutherland, Principal Consultant @ Parallax
With a background that spans enterprise systems, product innovation, and emerging technologies, Sam has a wealth of experience to draw upon.

Sam’s track record includes delivering AI systems that require 100% accuracy in generated content, including those used in regulated industries where errors carry legal or financial consequences. It’s this blend of reliability, foresight, and practical ingenuity that makes Sam a trusted expert in high-stakes, high-reliability environments.

AI has made it easier than ever to turn an idea into a working prototype, but proving something can work is no longer enough. Sam's talk will explore the shift from proof of concept to proof of value: building prototypes that integrate with real business systems, operate in real-world conditions, and can be battle-tested on the path to production.

Fireside Chat with Anthropic

James Hall, Co-Founder at Parallax, in conversation with Ian Massingham, Head of Applied AI

Ian leads Applied AI for startups across EMEA at Anthropic, where he and his team help founders & startup engineering teams build production AI products on Claude. He brings two decades of experience spanning engineering, developer relations, and go-to-market leadership.

Previously, Ian was an early team member at Griptape, a startup focused on generative AI in visual effects, and served as Chief Marketing Officer at Aiven, the Finnish open-source data infrastructure unicorn. Prior to that, Ian spent several years at Amazon Web Services leading developer relations and solutions architecture, helping hundreds of thousands of developers adopt cloud and AI technologies.

Today he works closely with Europe's fastest-growing AI-native startups, advising technical leaders on how to move from prototype to scaled deployment. Ian is a frequent speaker on applied AI, developer ecosystems, and what it takes to build durable companies on frontier models.

James is a co-founder and Technology Director at Parallax, and has led the design and delivery of production workloads using large language models (LLMs) even before the release of ChatGPT, with a particular focus on automated evaluation of agentic systems, benchmarking accuracy and performance, and the integration of LLMs into real-world decision support tools.

James has been named in the BIMA 100, recognising him as one of the UK’s most influential digital leaders. Outside of Parallax, James serves as an external advisor to the University of Huddersfield, supporting their AI research into textile recycling, a project that intersects industrial IoT, computer vision, and sustainable tech.

Together - Ian and James will explore the current state of applied AI, and what leaders should be focusing on as AI capabilities continue to evolve.

To top it all off? The evening will be hosted by none other than Oliver Chesher who returns as our best-in-class compere.

Who should attend?

This event is for senior decision-makers leading AI, technology and transformation initiatives.

It will be particularly relevant for those responsible for technology investment, operational efficiency, product innovation or exploring practical applications of AI within their organisation.

Tickets

Tickets are £4, with 100% of proceeds donated to support UTC Leeds and its mission to inspire and develop the next generation of technology talent. Your ticket will help fund initiatives that create meaningful opportunities for students through equipment, industry engagement and educational support.

About Applied AI

Applied AI is a community for business and technology leaders who want practical conversations about AI. We focus on real applications, honest experiences and meaningful discussion, bringing together people who are building, adopting and leading AI across a range of industries.

We look forward to welcoming you on 21st September!

Agenda

🕑: 05:30 PM - 06:15 PM
Doors & Refreshments
🕑: 06:15 PM - 06:25 PM
Opening Speech - Oliver Chesher @ Galibier PR
🕑: 06:25 PM - 06:50 PM
Death of the PoC - Sam Sutherland @ Parallax
🕑: 06:50 PM - 07:05 PM
Break & Refreshments
🕑: 07:05 PM - 07:45 PM
Fireside Chat - James Hall & Ian Massingham
🕑: 07:45 PM - 08:30 PM
Networking and Close