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| 4,000 chairs ready to be filled (and 5,000 people actually attended!) |
Learning, Connecting, Inventing: Start Software at World Summit AI 2025, Amsterdam
The Start Software team headed to Amsterdam for this year’s World Summit AI — two days of ideas, debate, and discovery. We went to learn, connect and invent, and we came back with new insights, connections, and practical takeaways to improve how our products work for real people. From agentic AI and human-in-the-loop design to transparency and security, the themes map directly onto what we build every day in Alpha Tracker, Alpha Legal, ecoScribe and roadvlog. Our goal is simple: use AI to amplify creativity and productivity while keeping people firmly in control.
Two special people joined our group. Legacy Software Manager Mickey from our partner CTT Group, and Start's remote developer Fatbardh — our first chance to meet Fatbardh in person. Trips like this deepen partnerships and help us align product roadmaps with the challenges our clients are facing right now.
Early Starts, Big Ideas: Why Human Focus Still Wins
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| Jack & Catherine walking into the venue |
There’s something about starting early in a new city — daybreak walks through Amsterdam’s quiet streets before the day’s ideas and conversations begin. The energy built fast as we joined 4,000+ attendees focused on where AI is heading next. For us, “next” isn’t abstract: it means better data quality checks in Alpha Tracker, more secure document workflows in Alpha Legal, and AI-assisted writing that saves ecologists hours in ecoScribe. Early starts, big ideas — and a constant focus on the humans who rely on our software every day.
“It’s All About Time”: Productivity with Guardrails
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| The message was clear - AI should be used to amplify creavity and make the most of our time |
One of the standout keynote messages was time — how AI changes the way we use it, save it, and sometimes waste it. We’re doubling down on features that give time back to users: AlphaValidator (and our newly-previewed AI tools) in Alpha Tracker catches issues before reports go out; Ask Alfie helps users find answers instantly; and FLS-powered scheduling reduces planning friction. In Alpha Legal, digital signatures and client document workflows cut days from onboarding, while ecoScribe speeds up report writing without sacrificing accuracy. Productivity matters — but only with strong guardrails for quality and compliance.
The Vibe: Agentic AI, Security and Human-in-the-Loop
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| Lucas, Melika & Jack at an Agentic AI booth - a theme of the event |
Every booth buzzed with conversation about AI agents and safe autonomy. Our takeaway is pragmatic: agentic workflows shine when they are operator-controlled and auditable. That’s how we approach automation in Alpha Tracker — giving teams tools to triage data, draft outputs and flag anomalies while a human makes the final call. It’s also front-of-mind for Alpha Legal, where trust and traceability are essential. Agentic AI is exciting… and even better when it respects human expertise.
Teamwork and Collaboration with Partners
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| Start Software are an AWS partner - so we borrowed their both for the group photo! |
We made time to connect with partners like AWS, exploring new AI services and how they can bolster resilience, performance and security in our stacks. Cloud choices matter when you’re processing sensitive reports or legal documents at scale; our partnership work helps keep Alpha Tracker and Alpha Legal fast and dependable. Huge thanks to Kim and Adam for support from the UK — teamwork that kept everything running smoothly while we were away.
“Seeing how others weave AI into live business systems — not just labs — pushes our thinking forward. Our challenge now is translating that into wins for our clients.”
— Robin
It’s About Time… and Team Spirit
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| It's about time - and interesting cars! |
A DeLorean time machine made the point with a wink: great tools give you time back. That’s the bar we set for our roadmap — features that shorten cycle times, reduce rework and make expertise travel further. Whether it’s smarter scheduling in Alpha Tracker, friction-free document approvals in Alpha Legal or AI-generated structure in ecoScribe, we measure success by the hours our users get back for higher-value work.
Human in the Loop: Support That Never Sleeps
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| Our 24x7 Support didn't stop just because we were away |
Even while at the conference, real-world teamwork continued. Zac, Dan, and Jack handled a complex client issue live from the UK — proof that support never stops at Start Software. It’s also a live example of human-led, agent-operated: automation drafts, checks and routes; humans decide and sign-off. That balance is built into our product decisions so AI enhances judgement rather than replacing it.
Networking & New Perspectives (Global Clients, Real Problems)
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| Melika networking with an AI translation business - we service clients worldwide |
Melika spent much of the summit forging new connections — from data scientists and founders to researchers focused on AI ethics. Those conversations feed directly into our backlog: better multilingual experiences for Alpha Tracker users, clearer client communications in Alpha Legal, and faster knowledge discovery across reports. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing are how we turn emerging tech into dependable features.
Digital Twins: Safer Decisions Through Simulation
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| We have been creating and using Digital Twin for nearly two years! |
A compelling session from H&M’s AI Director showed how digital twins de-risk decisions by simulating outcomes first. We’ve been experimenting with similar ideas for nearly two years, using synthetic scenarios to test scheduling, workflow and data-quality impacts before they reach users. It’s the same philosophy behind our “start small, learn fast” approach: pilot with clear objectives, measure the outcomes, then scale into Alpha Tracker and beyond.
AI First — Thinking with AI from the Start
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| "AI First" - Robin wishes he had the copyright! |
Across many talks, one phrase kept returning — “AI First”. For us, it means thinking with AI from the outset, not bolting it on at the end. In practice that looks like: designing data models that support explainability; building features that are auditable; and ensuring that agents work within clear human limits. Begin with purpose, start small, measure outcomes and scale thoughtfully — it’s how we ship reliable AI into production systems.
Our Products: AI in Action for Real Clients
We’re already applying conference lessons across the suite:
- Alpha Tracker – home to features such as AlphaValidator, Ask Alfie, and FLS-powered scheduling, helping consultants produce higher-quality reports, faster.
- Alpha Legal (and Alpha Portal & Legacy Portal)– secure digital signatures and client document portal, streamlining onboarding and compliance for will writers, estate planners and solicitors.
- ecoScribe – AI-assisted ecological report writing that accelerates drafting while maintaining clarity and consistency.
- roadvlog – simplifying data capture and evidence gathering for litter campaigns such as Clean Up Britain.
“Every new idea has to pass a simple test: does it help people — or just intrigue engineers?”
— Dan
Reflections by the Water (and Why Context Matters)
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| The Norwegian Dawn drifting by |
The venue, set on Amsterdam’s main waterway, offered the perfect metaphor: constant movement and connection. Between sessions, ships and ferries drifted past while we compared notes on data governance, model transparency and client workflows. Context is everything — the right feature at the right time in a user’s day beats any flashy demo. That’s the standard we bring back to our product teams.
Time to Relax (and Compete!)
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| Zac was seriously fast! |
Even innovators need downtime. We made time to unwind with an F1 simulator — and yes, Zac held his place on the leaderboard all conference long. Healthy competition aside, these moments are where ideas settle and plans form: what do we prototype next; which client pain point do we remove first; how do we keep shipping value quickly and safely?
Team Passes & Tangible Takeaways
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| Most of the Start Software team were at the event |
Badges collected, brains buzzing. Each pass represents a thread we’ll pull on over the coming months: more transparent AI in Alpha Tracker, streamlined client journeys in Alpha Legal, and continued investment in report automation via ecoScribe. If you’d like to see these features in action, get in touch — we love showing the “art of the possible.”
Other Themes
Women in AI was a theme, for sure, and many (most?) of the speakers and keynote presenters were female. The whole summit opened with a powerful video about ending violence against girls - a passion-project for the Founder of Inspired Minds (the Summit organisers), Sarah Porter.
The damage that AI is doing to our planet (and minds) was another theme. In fact, the most powerful presentation, expertly delivered, was from Karen Hao. Karen has written a book - Empire of AI - equating the development of AI to the empires of old. AI has concentrated power into the hands of a few individuals worldside, it relies on exploiting labour, and it is using huge amounts of the world's natural resources. For anyone interested in history, this will be a familar story - it is basically how the British Empire came to dominate the world.
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| Karen Hao's "Empire of AI" book - a troubling read |
The presentation was so good that Robin has bought the book for all at Start to read.
