Ian Hogarth
British tech entrepreneur and AI-policy figure; co-founded concert-discovery startup Songkick (2007) and VC firm fund:plural (2022); chairs the UK's AI Safety Institute (formerly the Frontier AI Taskforce).
Ian Hogarth is a British technology entrepreneur, angel investor, and AI-policy figure based in London who studied information engineering, later focusing on machine learning, at Cambridge. In 2007 he co-founded Songkick with Michelle You and Pete Smith via Y Combinator; Songkick sued Live Nation/Ticketmaster for antitrust and trade-secret violations, settling for roughly $110M in 2018, sold its consumer app to Warner Music Group in 2017, and wound down ticketing. Since 2014 he has angel-invested in 50+ machine-learning startups, including early bets on Anthropic and Helsing, and since 2018 has co-authored the annual State of AI Report with Nathan Benaich. He became a Visiting Professor of Practice at UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose in 2019. In June 2023 the UK government appointed him Chair of its Frontier AI Taskforce (initially the Foundation Model Taskforce), which became the UK AI Safety Institute that November - a role he still holds, reporting to the Prime Minister and Technology Secretary. His 2023 Financial Times essay 'We must slow down the race to god-like AI' drew wide attention to AI-safety concerns. He was named CBE in 2024 for services to AI, and in 2022 co-founded VC firm Plural with Sten Tamkivi, Khaled Helioui, and Taavet Hinrikus.
Overview
- Role
- Co-Founder, Plural; Chair, UK AI Safety Institute
- Based in
- London, United Kingdom
- Prior experience
- Songkick (Co-Founder; 2007-2017); UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (Visiting Professor of Practice; since 2019); State of AI Report (Co-Author; 2018-2023)
- uk.linkedin.com/in/ianhogarth
- X / Twitter
- x.com/soundboy
- Website
- www.ianhogarth.com
Companies0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- Who is Ian Hogarth?
- Ian Hogarth is a British technology entrepreneur, angel investor, and AI-policy figure based in London who studied information engineering, later focusing on machine learning, at Cambridge. In 2007 he co-founded Songkick with Michelle You and Pete Smith via Y Combinator; Songkick sued Live Nation/Ticketmaster for antitrust and trade-secret violations, settling for roughly $110M in 2018, sold its consumer app to Warner Music Group in 2017, and wound down ticketing. Since 2014 he has angel-invested in 50+ machine-learning startups, including early bets on Anthropic and Helsing, and since 2018 has co-authored the annual State of AI Report with Nathan Benaich. He became a Visiting Professor of Practice at UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose in 2019. In June 2023 the UK government appointed him Chair of its Frontier AI Taskforce (initially the Foundation Model Taskforce), which became the UK AI Safety Institute that November - a role he still holds, reporting to the Prime Minister and Technology Secretary. His 2023 Financial Times essay 'We must slow down the race to god-like AI' drew wide attention to AI-safety concerns. He was named CBE in 2024 for services to AI, and in 2022 co-founded VC firm Plural with Sten Tamkivi, Khaled Helioui, and Taavet Hinrikus.
- What is Ian Hogarth's role?
- Ian Hogarth is Co-Founder, Plural; Chair, UK AI Safety Institute, based in London, United Kingdom.
- Where did Ian Hogarth work before?
- Ian Hogarth's prior roles include Songkick (Co-Founder; 2007-2017); UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (Visiting Professor of Practice; since 2019); State of AI Report (Co-Author; 2018-2023).
Tags
Sources & citations6
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Ian Hogarth co-founded Songkick in 2007 with Michelle You and Pete Smith through Y Combinator.
Wikipedia: Ian HogarthReported2026-08-11 - 2
Live Nation Entertainment settled Songkick's antitrust/trade-secret lawsuit for roughly $110 million shortly before the scheduled November 2018 trial.
Music Week: Live Nation settles lawsuit with SongkickReported2018-01-01 - 3
Ian Hogarth was appointed Chair of the UK Government's Frontier AI Taskforce (initially the Foundation Model Taskforce), announced 18 June 2023.
UKTN (UK Tech News): Tech entrepreneur Ian Hogarth to chair AI taskforceReported2023-06-19 - 4
PM Rishi Sunak announced the Frontier AI Taskforce evolved into the AI Safety Institute at the Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit on 2 November 2023, with Ian Hogarth continuing as chair.
CSO Online: UK Prime Minister announces world's first AI Safety InstituteReported2023-11-02 - 5
Ian Hogarth wrote the Financial Times op-ed 'We must slow down the race to God-like AI,' warning that god-like AI could be a force beyond our control or understanding.
Financial Times: We must slow down the race to God-like AIVerified2023-04-12 - 6
Four operator-founders (Hogarth, Tamkivi, Helioui, Hinrikus) launched Plural, a €250m fund, in June 2022.
Businesswire: Founders launch Plural, a €250m fund for fellow 'Unemployables' building Europe's next generation of tech companiesVerified2022-06-28