The Business

Kathleen Fisher, chief executive of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), joins Hannah Prevett for her first major interview since taking charge of the UK's high-risk research agency.Created in 2023, Aria was the invention of Conservative Party adviser Dominic Cummings. Inspired by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) - where Fisher previously worked - ARIA was designed to back ambitious ideas that could transform industries, accelerate AI in business and strengthen the UK economy.In this special recording before a live audience for The Times and Sunday Times Reviving the City event, Fisher discusses what it will take for the UK to create the next generation of world-leading tech companies, whether Britain can produce a trillion-dollar business, and why she believes the country must become more comfortable with risk if it wants to compete on the global stage.The conversation explores the challenges facing UK companies as artificial intelligence reshapes industries, from startups and scale-ups to established FTSE 100 businesses. Fisher explains how AI in business can be used to empower workers rather than replace them, why organisations that fail to adapt risk being left behind, and where Britain has unique advantages in areas such as AI hardware, and quantum technologies.She also shares lessons from her time at DARPA, outlines ARIA's mission to turn scientific breakthroughs into commercial success, and discusses how the UK can capture more of the value created by its world-class research base. Along the way, she weighs in on venture capital, patient investment, the role of pension funds in backing innovation, and the importance of creating an environment where entrepreneurs can learn from failure.For anyone interested in investing, startups, scale-ups, AI in business, the future of the UK economy and the prospects for Britain's next generation of tech companies, this is a conversation with one of the most influential figures shaping the country's innovation agenda. Presenter:- Hannah Prevett, associate business editor of The Sunday TimesGuest: - Kathleen Fisher, chief executive of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)Producer: Hope FedericoExecutive Producer: Miriam HallGet in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com

Labour's Secretary of State for Business, Peter Kyle, joins us in the studio to answer some of the most pressing questions facing the UK economy: how does Britain position itself as a legitimate global destination for business, investment, and innovation? “We have the potential to scale fast, but too often companies are leaving this country when they get to a need for a certain size of investment,” Kyle says on the show. “They're going to go and find that in America with a higher risk threshold, and they're gonna find a boldness and an urgency of getting capital into businesses. We have to have an environment here where that is met.” While Labour may be keen to call itself a pro-growth government, there is no secret that the business community - from the small enterprises to the top chief executives - are deeply unimpressed. We ask how the government's relationship with the business community really going? "There is a fundamental issue at the heart of this whole debate, and that's that until we get solid, sustained, sizeable growth into our economy ... Then no business as a sector is going to be able to move forward at the pace at which I would like."And as the world's most valuable tech giants continue their march toward the public markets, the IPO pipeline is overwhelmingly American. SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI - the names generating the most excitement among investors are filing to list in New York. The NASDAQ continues to offer valuations that the London Stock Exchange simply cannot match. ""I hope that the plus side for Britain when it comes to these big American IPOs is that it will create a sense of excitement about IPO' ing itself because, of course, most of the trend in recent years has gone from private investment into private companies," he says on the show. The London Stock Exchange is now doing a regular drumbeat of IPOs. It's now back in the business."Presenters:- Hannah Prevett, associate business editor of The Sunday Times- Dominc O’Connell, Times columnist and Times Radio business reporterGuest: - Peter Kyle, Business Secretary Producer: Hope FedericoExecutive Producer: Miriam HallPhoto credit: GettyGet in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com

The three largest share listings ever are about to happen. SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are set to sell their shares to the public, and each will be valued at one trillion dollars or more. On this episode of the Business, we ask: How will the markets find the money? Should we be worried about the world stock market being even more dominated by a tiny handful of companies? And will we ever see something like this in the UK?Presenters:- Hannah Prevett, associate business editor of The Sunday Times- Dominic O’Connell, Times columnist and Times Radio business reporterGuests: Maike Currie, VP of personal finance at PensionBee Check Warner, co-founding partner of Ada Ventures Producer: Hope FedericoExecutive Producer: Miriam HallPhoto credit: GettyGet in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com

Nuclear fusion proponents believe their technology will supply power through the grid by the 2030s. These hopes come at a time when private investment in the commercial industry exceeds $10bn globally. Is the industry on the cusp of greatness? What companies are getting in early? Presenter:Dominic O’Connell, columnist at The Times and business correspondent at Times RadioGuests:Warrick Matthews, CEO of Tokamak EnergyDr Melanie Windridge, founder of Fusion Energy Insights, Producer: Hope FedericoExecutive Producer: Miriam HallPhoto credit: Tokamak EnergyGet in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com

SpaceX - which last week confirmed its plans to go public - dominates orbital launches. So what does its monopoly mean for other players in the space tech world? In this bonus episode, part of our recent conversation with Mark Bogett, chief executive of Seraphim Space, we discuss the commercial impacts of SpaceX's market control.Presenter:Dominic O’Connell, columnist at The Times and business correspondent at Times RadioGuest: Mark Boggett, CEO at Seraphim Space Producer: Hope FedericoExecutive Producer: Miriam HallPhoto credit: GettyGet in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com

This episode of the Business is sponsored by PwC. Anxiety about how artificial intelligence will impact companies, employees and careers is reaching a fever pitch. Workers are beginning to ask: will technology wipe out entire sections of the employment base? On this episode of The Business, we consider how organisations can turn that uncertainty and fear into hope and opportunity. How can employees make better use of the tools available to drive productivity? How can technology education better prepare the next generation of workers for the workplaces of the future? Presenters: - Hannah Prevett, associate business editor of The Sunday Times - Dominic O’Connell, Times columnist and Times Radio business reporter  Guests: - Carol Stubbings, PwC Managing partner - Sir Charlie Mayfield, Lead reviewer, Keep Britain Working Producer: Hope Federico Executive Producer: Miriam Hall Photo credit: Getty Get in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com

This week, Elon Musk’s satellite and rocket production company SpaceX confirmed its plan to take the company public. As part of the IPO, according to the securities filing, the company plans to offer retail investors the chance to buy stock. Could it all be a game changer for the space sector? And will this mean a wall of money chasing space-related opportunities? Presenter:Dominic O’Connell, columnist at The Times and business correspondent at Times RadioGuest: Mark Boggett, CEO at Seraphim Space Producer: Hope FedericoExecutive Producer: Miriam HallPhoto credit: GettyGet in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com

The uncertainty dominating British politics in the last half decade has ramped up to a full-blown drama in recent days. As uncertainty hangs over Prime MInister Keir Starmer's premiership and a possible leadership challenge looms, we consider: what does this chaos mean for the British business community?Presenter:Dominic O’Connell, columnist at The Times and business correspondent at Times RadioGuests:Richard Fletcher, business editor, The TimesMehreen Khan, Economics Editor, The Times Producer: Hope FedericoExecutive Producer: Miriam HallPhoto credit: GettyGet in touch: thebusiness@thetimes.com