Chris Pfaff moderated a fireside chat – ‘How AI + Data Shift Businesses Today’ – at Arctic15 2022 in Helsinki on June 7 2022 at Kaapelitehdas. The session featured two dynamic founders who are using AI in their businesses: Ariane C. Gomes from Baseimmune and Marit Rødevand from Strise.

Ariane C. Gomes, Baseimmune (left), listens as Marit Rødevand, Strise, discusses AI and data strategies, as Chris Pfaff, moderator, looks on (right).

Marit Rødevand, from Strise (left), Chris Pfaff, from Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC (center), and Ariane C. Gomes, from Baseimmune (right) prior to the session

Chris Pfaff opened Arctic15 2022 – the first in-person Arctic15 since 2019 – at Kaapelitehdas in Helsinki on June 7, 2022, with a fireside chat that featured Gregory M. Bernstein, from EQT Group, and Simone Ross, from TED Conferences. The session discussed how to source innovative companies for investment, and how to view innovation trends.

Gregory M. Bernstein, EQT Group (left), Simone Ross, TED Conferences (center), and Chris Pfaff, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC (right)

Chris Pfaff listens intently during the ‘Finding the Next Big Thing’ fireside chat

Chris Pfaff (left) greets Jan Ameri (right) with a salutatory fist bump at the opening of Arctic15 2022 at Kaapelitehdas in Helsinki

Gregory M. Bernstein (left), from EQT Group, Simone Ross (center), from TED Conferences, and Chris Pfaff (right) before the ‘Finding the Next Big Thing’ panel at Arctic15 2022

The European media community’s inaugural pre-holiday Meet & Greet event, held on December 17, 2020 on the Deal Room Events platform was a milestone for how networking events in 2021 should look: well-moderated discussion and connections between colleagues – many of whom have never met before – all in a robust virtual platform.

The event, produced by Janet Greco, leveraged Deal Room’s renowned networking features for connecting with individuals who fill out profiles in advance. With a proscribed time limit of 20 minutes per meeting – now conducted by video chat – the Deal Room platform has been successfully implemented by various event producers, most notably Arctic15, the leading Nordic venture investment event. Media Meet & Greet brought together more than 70 individuals – broadcasters, technology vendors, OTT producers, and consultants – who conducted meetings, and attended talks on the ‘Future of Work’ by John Howkins, ‘Navigating Innovation in Lockdown,’ with Vanessa Vigar, and ‘The Rise of Hyperlocal,’ with Andrew Stirling.

Chris Pfaff moderated The Pub, a convivial session that discussed ‘Streaming or Screaming.’ The event was capped with a live appearance from Los Angeles by noted rock composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Carl Restivo (Grammy nominated songwriter for ‘Go All The Way’ from the ‘Twilight’ soundtrack, musical director for Tom Morello, Perry Farrell), who performed three solo guitar numbers that he felt were appropriate: Chuck Berry’s ‘Roll Over Beethoven,’ as the event was on the composer’s 250th birthday; ‘Have a Cigar’ by Pink Floyd, as a statement on the music industry, and ‘So Lonely’ by the Police (as we have all been locked down for nearly a year). Over the span of just a few hours, the event was a hopeful, and enlightening, way to end the year and look forward to further such gatherings that smash time and distance and bring connection to an industry that has undergone seismic shifts in an unprecedented year.

You can check out the next events at: www.broadcastprojects.com/media-meet-greet. You can register for the ‘Barcelona Sunrise’ event – from February 15-25 – at: https://ti.to/media-meet-greet/media-meet-greet-barcelona-sunrise-2021

Executive producer of ‘Media Meet & Greet,’ Janet Greco, welcomes the audience

Chris Pfaff (upper left) moderates the ‘Streaming or Screaming?’ discussion in The Pub, one of the virtual discussion rooms in the Media Meet & Greet session for the European media industry on December 17, 2020. Joining the session were Vanessa Vigar (upper row, 2nd from left); Andrew Stirling (upper row, 2nd from left); Lee Morin (upper row, far right); Trygve Refvem (middle row, far left); Janet Greco (middle row, 2nd from left); Tracy Swedlow (middle row, 2nd from right); Gilberto Flores (middle row, far right); David Short (bottom row, far left); Benjamin Schwarz (bottom row, 2nd from left); Laura Riggs (bottom row, 2nd from right), Uwe Kühhirt, from Fraunhofer (bottom row, far right)

Carl Restivo (bottom) sings live from LA to end the Media Meet & Greet event; Janet Greco (upper left) and Chris Pfaff (upper right) rock out

Jan Ameri, CEO of Arctic15, welcomes the crowd on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm 2020

Peter Vesterbacka kicks off the show on Day 1 with a heady talk

Our good friends at Arctic15 held one of the last events in the venture world before lockdown at the Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm, on February 5th and 6th. The sprawling event space was ideal for making new contacts, and dozens of new investors and start-ups crowded the Deal Room area (a much more commodious and well-lit space than the Cable Factory in Helsinki). This was the first legitimate Arctic15 event in Stockholm, and the likes of Industrifonden, Northzone, Bonnier Ventures, Ericsson Ventures, Luminar Ventures, Creandum and GP Bullhound, among other reputable Swedish investors, welcomed founders and investors alike at their stands facing massive windows overlooking a surprisingly sunny Stockholm sky.

Outside, and inside, the Münchenbryggeriet

Chris Pfaff chaired the Media Revolution track on Day 1, which included a fireside chat with Arctic15 CEO Jan Ameri and the legendary Tommy Palm (Candy Crush Saga, King Digital Entertainment, Resolution Games), a panel moderated by Pfaff, with Harri Manninen, Finnish gaming legend and founding partner of Play Ventures, and Joakim Dal, partner at GP Bullhound. The panel, ‘How Gaming Will Dominate the Entertainment Industry in the 2020s,’ can be heard at:

https://bit.ly/3gXFKL4

Chris Pfaff introduces the Media Revolution Track at Arctic15 Stockholm 2020

Tommy Palm (left) discusses gaming with Jan Ameri

Harri Manninen (left), from Play Ventures, Joakim Dal (center), from GP Bullhound, and Chris Pfaff (right), from Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC, discuss ‘How Gaming Will Dominate the Entertainment Industry in the 2020s’

Other sessions on the track included a showcase demo of Playpilot by founder/CEO David Mühle; a keynote – ‘Scale 10X like a Mobile Game Company’ – by Sonja Ängeslevä, product lead for Zynga; a fireside chat with Epidemic Sound founder/CEO Oscar Höglund and Staffan Helgesson, general partner at Creandum, and a rousing fireside chat to finish, with Jan Ameri and Yamba founder/CEO John Zerihoun.

David Mühle, founder/CEO of Playpilot, demonstrates the service on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm

Sonja Ängeslevä, product lead for Zynga, gives a keynote – ‘Scale 10X Like a Mobile Game Company’ – on Day 1 or Arctic15 Stockholm 2020

Pfaff moderated a panel on Day2, ‘Journeys of AI & ML startups in the Nordics’ with Anna Holmquist, founder/CEO of Gazzine; Arash Pendari, founder/creative director of Vionlabs; Jonna Ekman, marketing director at Storykit, and Jonathan Selbie, CEO at Univrses.

Anna Holmquist, from Gazzine (with microphone), discusses her journey to AI

Arash Pendari (with microphone) discusses Vionlabs’ work with leading operators

Jonna Ekman (with microphone) explains Storykit’s value proposition

The panel, left to right: Jonna Ekman, Anna Holmquist, Chris Pfaff, Arash Pendari, Jonathan Selbie

Jonna Ekman (far left), from Storykit; Anna Holmquist, from Gazzine (second from left), Arash Pendari (center), from Vionlabs, Jonathan Selbie, from Univrses (2nd from right), and Chris Pfaff (far right), from Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC

With a reception at Stockholm City Hall, and a grand tour of the historic building on Night 1 and a fabulous dinner at Stockholm Fisk, hosted by Epistemic VC and Northzone on Night 2, Arctic15 closed out another strong event in high fashion.

The scene at Stockholm City Hall, with (left to right) Chris Pfaff, Jordan Shapiro, VP, IonQ; Jari Mieskonen, managing partner, Conor Venture Partners; Henrik Keinonen, head of partnerships, gaming/XR/blockchain, from NewCoHelsinki/City of Helsinki, and Jan Ameri, CEO of Arctic15

Jan Ameri (standing) addresses the crowd at Stockholm Fisk

Chris Pfaff and Peter Vesterbacka discuss the “FinEst Bay” concept of connecting Helsinki and Tallinn via tunnel

Chris Pfaff, Arash Pendari, and Tomas Bennich on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm 2020

At Arctic 15 in Helsinki, I conducted a fireside chat on the ethics of AI with Pia Erkenheimo, founder and chief orchestrator of iloom.io (http://www.iloom.io), on Thursday, June 6th, from 1:20-1:45 pm on theAccenture AI Track at Arctic 15, at the Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas, Tallberginkatu 1) in Helsinki.

iloom.io uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to analyze authentic text and language that employees and customers use to deliver narrative understanding beyond words. In addition to her role with iloom.io, Pia is also chairman of Solved – the clean tech company; serves on various company boards, is an AI researcher at the Aalto School of Science and Technology, and serves as an innovation expert and evaluator for the European Commission.

The conversation discussed the recent geopolitical issues with social media and targeted messaging and advertising, and how AI tools can spot and manage manipulation of public conversations. Pia’s work on the venture and non-government agency (NGO) sides lent great credence to the overall topic, and she hinted at further coming work on her behalf to help stem the tide of AI run amok in the public sphere.

Chris Pfaff and Pia Erkenheimo discuss the ethics of AI at Arctic 15 on June 6, 2019 at the Cable Factory, Helsinki

Chris Pfaff and Pia Erkenheimo discuss conversational topics prior to their fireside chat on the ethics of AI at Arctic15, on June 6, 2019

Chris Pfaff and Pia Erkenheimo enjoy radiant sunshine outside the Cable Factory in Helsinki, prior to their fireside chat on the ethics of AI at Arctic15, June 6, 2019