Building Real AI: From Foundation Models to Scalable Enterprise

AI has moved beyond experimentation – the challenge now is making it work at scale.

As part of the Level39 AI Event Series, Building Real AI brings together founders, operators and AI leaders to explore how organisations turn advanced AI models into real, enterprise-grade impact.

This session dives into the journey from foundation models to production-ready deployment, unpacking the operational, governance and trust challenges that sit between proof-of-concept and scalable success.

Building Real AI: From Foundation Models to Scalable Enterprise details

Date: Wednesday 11th February 2026
Time: 5:30pm – 8:00pm
Location: Level39, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London

About the speakers

Moderator

Monia Ben Nejima – Fractional COO & Growth and Operations Strategist
Monia supports Series A and B founders across fintech and regulated industries to scale execution post-raise. Her work focuses on operational scaling, delivery governance and performance systems, helping leadership teams operationalise AI for real business impact across complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

Speakers

Karen Zhang – Fintech Lead & VC Partnerships, Google Cloud
Karen works with fintech startups, scaleups and VC partners across the UK and Ireland to support cloud and AI adoption within financial services. She brings a global perspective on enabling secure, scalable AI and cloud transformation in regulated environments.

Sanjeev Gandhi – Co-Founder & CEO, Val-iQ AI
Sanjeev brings over 30 years’ experience scaling and transforming organisations across technology, data and operating models. As CEO of Val-iQ.AI, he champions a governance-first approach to AI, informed by leadership roles across high-growth tech companies, investment advisory and enterprise-scale transformation.

Jean-Philippe M.L. Schepens van Thiel – Founder & CEO, AxonJay.ai
Jean-Philippe is a deep-tech founder with three successful exits and a background spanning economics, statistics and enterprise software. He has built and scaled data-driven platforms across global markets, with a strong focus on applied AI and complex systems.

Liviu-Marian Negrila – Director, The Agile Software Team
Liviu-Marian leads AI-powered software and digital transformation initiatives, helping organisations build scalable, high-performance engineering teams. He specialises in applying AI to modern software delivery, bridging technical execution with long-term transformation goals.

About Building Real AI: From Foundation Models to Scalable Enterprise

This event focuses on the realities of deploying AI beyond experimentation. Through expert-led discussion and real-world examples, the panel will explore how organisations embed AI into core operations while managing risk, regulation and long-term value.

Drawing on experience from fintech, cloud, deep tech and enterprise software, the discussion offers a cross-sector perspective on what it truly takes to scale AI responsibly.

Who should attend:

• Founders building AI-powered products
• Enterprise leaders exploring or scaling AI adoption
• Technologists, data leaders and operators
• Anyone interested in how AI moves from theory to impact

Key takeaways from Building Real AI: From Foundation Models to Scalable Enterprise

• Why domain-specific AI models matter and where generic models fall short
• Practical strategies for moving from pilots to production
• How to scale AI without losing momentum or trust
• Governance, compliance and responsible AI at enterprise scale
• Real-world lessons from applied AI delivery