Five Years at Founders Forum: Bringing Tomorrow's Tech Into the Room

Often described as "the Davos of tech," Founders Forum has spent two decades earning its reputation as one of the most exclusive gatherings in the world. Invite-only. Off the record. The kind of room where the founders, investors, CEOs and policymakers shaping what comes next gather on the lawns of Soho Farmhouse to swap ideas long before they reach the rest of us.

This June, as part of Founders Forum Global and London Tech Week, Smartech returned for our fifth consecutive year — and once again, we didn't come empty-handed.

More than a tech expo

There's a real difference between hearing about new technology and actually experiencing it. That distinction is the entire premise of the Founders Forum Tech Hub, and it's exactly what we set out to deliver at our booth. Our goal each year is simple: let the people defining the future of business get their hands on the innovations that will shape it — not as slides or specs, but as something they can wear, feel, and hear.

This year, our showcase brought together five partners pushing the boundaries of what consumer and enterprise technology can do.

What we showcased

Viture — XR glasses that drop a full-sized screen into view, anywhere. A glimpse of a future where your display travels with you rather than tethering you to a desk.

Hypershell — a wearable exoskeleton that gives every stride a second engine, extending human strength and endurance in a form factor you can actually live with. (A personal highlight: watching the CEO of On put it through its paces at our booth.)

Sonos — sound the way it was meant to be experienced, and a reminder that great audio engineering remains one of technology's most immediate, emotional pleasures.

Brainpatch — neurotech designed to tune how you focus, calm, and perform, bringing the frontier of human-computer interaction to the wearable level.

HYPERVSN — 3D holographic displays that bring people, products and ideas to life mid-air, turning a booth into a genuine spectacle.

Set against a Tech Hub that this year featured everything from autonomous security robots to palm-sized DNA sequencers, our lineup held its own — and it was a privilege to see these innovations resonate with the leaders in the room.

A thank you to the people who made it happen

Showing up to a room like this is one thing. Delivering an experience worthy of it is another, and that comes down to people.

Our deepest thanks to Brent Hoberman and the entire Founders Forum team for the continued partnership and the invitation back, year after year. Founders Forum's commitment to curating not just conversation but genuine, hands-on discovery is what makes it the singular event it is, and we're grateful to play a part in it.

And to Hicham Fikry, Ben Timan and Anis Tales — thank you for the work on the ground that turned a concept into a booth people couldn't walk past. None of it happens without you.

The mission hasn't changed

Five years in, our purpose at Founders Forum remains exactly what it was at year one: to get tomorrow's technology into the room before the rest of the world catches on. As an experiential destination, that's what we do every day — and there's no better proving ground for it than a room full of the people building the future.

Here's to the next five years.

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tm:rw is an experiential technology retail destination connecting the world's most forward-thinking brands with the people who shape what's next.