In less than a decade of existence, London Tech Week has vaulted into the upper echelon of tech conferences worldwide, hosting tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, experts and investors from around the globe each year.

And after a two-year hiatus, Pittsburgh—one of the most exciting tech hubs in the U.S.—will once again have a direct link to the popular event this summer.

British Airways’ nonstop flight between Pittsburgh International Airport and London Heathrow returns on June 3 after a pandemic-related pause, just in time for the tech conference, which kicks off on June 13.

“We could not be more excited for this vital tech and business route to come back to the Pittsburgh region,” said Audrey Russo, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council. “Seamless connections to important international events like Tech Week, along with ease of access to customers, partners and investors in the UK and EU, is a necessity if our tech ecosystem is to grow and compete.”

Inspired by a national plan to make the East End of London a “tech city” to rival Silicon Valley as a global technology center, London Tech Week launched in 2014 with more than 200 events and more than 30,000 attendees.

After pivoting to a virtual event in 2020, the conference welcomed participants back in person last year to hear from luminaries like former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, CEO of Channel 4 Alex Mahon and CEO of IBM UK & Ireland Sreeram Visvanathan.

Thousands of tech firms from around the world are represented at London Tech Week. (Photo courtesy of London Tech Week)

While a full roster of speakers for this summer’s conference has yet to be announced, attendees can be sure it will be an insightful and invigorating week, said Tom Cuthell, senior director for London Tech Week.

“Tech solutions, digital transformation and innovation really do have the power to tackle many of the world’s most critical challenges,” he recently told tech news site TechRound.

“We and our community are very passionate about the potential of tech solutions to change the world for the better and we hope that London Tech Week will continue to accelerate that process.”

Pittsburgh’s burgeoning reputation in the tech world over the last few years is due in large part to its status as the global center of autonomous vehicle development, fueled by the world-leading artificial intelligence, robotics and engineering expertise found at institutions like Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

However, the city is also home to success stories in other segments of the industry, including language-learning app Duolingo, lunar exploration company Astrobotic and gene therapy firm Krystal Biotech, which has a manufacturing facility on the airport campus.

And just across the airfield from Krystal is Neighborhood 91, the world’s first development to both condense and connect all components of the advanced manufacturing/3D printing supply chain into one powerful production ecosystem.