bristol

with Yu'ang Qiao (Speaker, GDG Bristol)

The inaugural speaker event for GDG Bristol — Yu'ang Qiao walks through Google's On-Device AI Stack for developers looking to build privacy-first ML directly onto phones and edge devices. Held at Design West on Narrow Quay (one of Bristol's most distinctive architectural venues). A new developer community worth getting in on early.

First workshop in a six-part NatWest Accelerator Funding Accelerator series for Bristol founders. A practical session on aligning growth goals with the right funding strategy — clarifying objectives, understanding funding options, avoiding misaligned capital and building a concrete roadmap. Includes a Growth Lab follow-on session afterwards.

Monthly gathering of Bristol's AI ethics community. News roundup, keynote and Q&A on the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence — from bias and fairness to governance and societal impact. Hosted at Torchbox, a Bristol-based B Corp digital agency.

Monthly drinks and networking for Bristol’s freelance creative and digital community, hosted by Bristol Creative Industries. Free for BCI members; £5 + VAT for non-members. One of the best recurring rooms for digital freelancers, designers, developers, and agency folk.

CodeHub Bristol's twice-monthly hack night — bring a personal project or new idea and code alongside Bristol's developer community at DeskLodge House. All levels welcome; pizza and conversation.

An intimate 15-seat brunch for Bristol's creative founders and digital doers at Boston Tea Party in Clifton. Focus: creative ideas — what's working, what's stuck, what the group can help unstick. Hosted by Helena Traill of nooh Studio with ongoing WhatsApp community access included.

A free lunch-and-learn at Engine Shed for founders and innovators navigating intellectual property. Patent Attorneys Oliver Leason and Michael Blake cover how to protect, manage, and commercialise your IP — practical and actionable for any tech startup or scale-up.

with Mike Ahyow (Partner (Commercial), RWK Goodman)

SETsquared lunchtime briefing for AI founders and scale-ups. Mike Ahyow (Partner at RWK Goodman, 15 years advising tech businesses) walks through the legal, regulatory and strategic priorities that investors, funders and enterprise customers actually care about when assessing AI companies — and the risks that derail otherwise promising rounds. Online but hosted by SETsquared Bristol, one of the UK's top university accelerators.

Bristol’s leading AI networking meetup returns to Origin Workspace. Three talks cover building with LLMs, AI productivity tools, and AI’s broader societal impact — followed by pizza, drinks, and genuine networking with the city’s AI community. One of the best AI rooms in Bristol, and reliably a full house.

Monthly relaxed co-working jam night for Bristol's indie game and app developers at Replay, a board-game bar on Cheltenham Road. Three hours of pure jam time on personal projects with the community alongside — bring your own laptop.

Drake Music launches DMLab Bristol — a new workshop series bringing musicians and makers together to prototype accessible, DIY instruments for people who face barriers to music-making. Held at Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio, one of Bristol's key creative technology spaces. A distinctive niche for engineers, designers and accessibility technologists.

with Artemis Bear (Researcher, TBC)

Researcher Artemis Bear presents a lunchtime talk on why society should move away from major tech corporations and what realistic alternatives might look like. In-person at Pervasive Media Studio at Watershed, with a simultaneous YouTube livestream. A rare critical-lens event for Bristol's tech community.

The flagship Bristol ecosystem event of the week. A curated after-hours gathering for founders, operators and active investors from across the South West, held immediately after the Britain's Got Startups Southern Showcase. Co-produced by Novabook, Britain's Got Startups and techSPARK — 'no panels, no pitches,' just warm introductions in a high-quality room. Three ticket categories (Founder, Investor, Startup Ecosystem) all require organiser approval.

with Carl Sargunar (Speaker, Independent)

Bristol's Umbraco community meet. This month Carl Sargunar brings his 'DDoS My Desk' talk — building a live load-balanced mini-cluster on stage and stress-testing it in real time. Hosted at Gibe Digital in Paintworks, with food and drink. A specific developer niche but a reliable, well-run room with named speakers.

Drop-in clinic at the NatWest Accelerator with Daisy Eckett of the West of England Growth Hub — fully funded regional business support covering planning, finance, marketing, mentor-matching and access to grants. Informal conversation over a cup of tea rather than a pitch-deck session; genuine founder value if you qualify for Growth Hub support.

In-person return of CodeHub Bristol's Python Code Dojo. Teams of 2–4 pair on a community-chosen exercise with more experienced developers supporting newer ones. A friendly, low-pressure way to keep Python skills sharp with the Bristol developer community.

Bristol's Databricks community meet — the first outing of this group at iO Associates in central Bristol. Practical Databricks chat, networking, drinks and pizza for data engineers, analysts, scientists and platform folk. 39 already RSVP'd against a 60-cap venue at time of curation — likely to fill.

Engine Shed's Bristol Innovations series tackles AI's dual role in cybersecurity — the same technology enabling sophisticated attacks is also the most powerful tool for defending against them. An evening of expert talks, panel discussion and networking at Bristol's flagship tech hub.

SETsquared Bristol's flagship networking evening — a gathering of the Bristol tech ecosystem celebrating startup culture, new investments, and the people building the next generation of tech companies in the South West. Open to founders, investors, operators and supporters.

Monthly free meet-up at KWMC for creatives, artists and technologists interested in using technology for social good and community projects. A welcoming, cross-disciplinary space particularly strong for those working at the intersection of technology and community impact.

Monthly morning meet-up at Runway East's Bristol Bridge location for founders, freelancers, and early-stage operators. A friendly, relaxed way to plug into Bristol's founder community over coffee at one of the city's leading startup coworking spaces.