With a large US client base, our team are no strangers to spending time stateside, but our trip to Austin earlier this month was a real eye opener.

Selected by the Department of Business and Trade as one of 14 companies representing the UK tech industry, Delineate had the honour of attending the world renowned South by Southwest conference – or SxSW as it’s more commonly known.

Touching down in Texas we had high expectations, after all Austin is a hotbed for AI, SaaS, venture capital and entrepreneurship, and home to global technology leaders such as Dell, Oracle and Indeed. What unfolded was a four-day whirlwind of immersive experiences, inspiring conversations and endless networking, opening our eyes to new opportunities and the art of the possible.

Our base for the trip was UK House, one of the many stations at SxSW, where we were represented alongside other British companies ‘seeing things differently'. It shone a light on the UK’s position as a global powerhouse in creative industries, technology and AI. With the UK being home to the third highest number of AI companies (behind the US and China) and more ‘unicorn’ companies than France and Germany combined, from healthcare to climate solutions, it’s clear the UK is solving global challenges and leading in AI regulation.

That opportunity was amplified during our first ‘Scaling Stateside’ roundtable, which provided a conversational focus on the US opportunity for UK innovation. Given our expanding US presence and client list, we felt at home, and equally buoyed by the future prospect of accelerating our growth ambitions over the pond. The debate included some amazing speakers including Assaf Ronen, who lead the development of Alexa, Billy Spears, a founding member of the US Department of Homeland Security, and Anthony Rose, the brains behind BBC iPlayer, who now had a scaling UK to US legal startup.

The spirit of entrepreneurship was on show during our visit to the Capital Factory, a place where thousands of entrepreneurs, programmers and designers gather day and night, in-person and online for meetups, classes and co-working. This was true knowledge sharing, with a strong sense of collaboration. While this is something that we see in the UK, and we’re accustomed to, the scale on which the Capital Factory operates really was something else, and something to aspire to!

The highlight of our time at SxSW and UK House was the AI showcase event: 14 companies putting the UK firmly on the map when it comes to AI innovation. The sense of urgency and speed of transformation in the AI space was apparent. We felt at home sharing our tech innovation and the opportunity to harness AI for brand success.

Throughout the four days, there were a multitude of sessions in the AI track and what we thought we knew about AI as we flew across the Atlantic was expanded beyond recognition. Whether considering AI and the productivity paradox, training AI to be ethical, emotional machines or global AI governance, every angle was covered with thought provoking zealous.  Conversations with the head of AI policy from Meta and the chief of staff at ARM really opened our eyes to the future, and just how fast things are evolving.

Given the preceding days, it was apt that the conference concluded with a panel focusing the final lens on the future of AI: who wins, who loses and how do we shape it.

While we made the most of the opportunities to network, the event itself was set against a backdrop of fantastic music and food. It would have been rude not to have sampled the Texan BBQ and ‘TexMex’, while enjoying some of the best of the British music scene!

Through a curated programme of events, demonstrations, music and networking opportunities, the UK-US collaboration was brought to life through UK innovation.  SxSW provided us with unprecedented opportunities for conversation, collaboration, and cultural exchange at one of the world’s most influential creative and tech festivals, celebrating the strength of UK-US partnerships.

Texas, it’s been a pleasure. SxSW – we will be back, and we hope to see even more UK tech companies making the trip stateside in the future.

James Turner is founder and chief executive at Delineate