How BioAI is taking hold in the North: A conversation with Geoff Davison
For Northern life sciences companies, the AI conversation is changing. The question is no longer whether the technology matters, but where it can deliver measurable commercial value and whether smaller businesses have the capital, data and skills to put it to work.
Few have a better view of that shift than Geoff Davison, CEO and Founder of Bionow, whose network spans more than 300 life sciences organisations across the North of the UK and beyond. Following Bionow’s BioAI 2026 summit, he talks about the move from experimentation to adoption, what investors really want from AI-enabled companies and whether the technology can help close the UK’s long-standing regional life sciences divide or risk widening it.
You launched the BioAI Summit, held at northern innovation hub Alderley Park, in 2025. What did companies tell you that convinced you the North needed its own AI forum for life sciences?
Companies repeatedly told us that AI had moved beyond future discussion and become a current business challenge. Organisations asked how they could apply AI to their development programs, data management, diagnostics platforms and manufacturing processes, but many felt a gap between the hype and practical implementation.
The North has an incredibly strong life sciences base, with world-class research, innovative SMEs and growing health data assets, yet there wasn't a dedicated local forum bringing together AI specialists, investors, industry leaders and researchers to focus specifically on the needs of our regional ecosystem. We launched the BioAI Summit to create that space. The aim was always to move the conversation from theory to real-world adoption, collaboration and commercial outcomes.