Scott Weavers-Wright OBE, Co-Founder & General Partner at Haatch, sits down with Mark Bennett, Partner at Haatch and VP of Knowledge & Information Partnerships (EMEA) at Google.

Scott: Mark, you and I have worked together for a number of years now, but for those who don't know your background, give us the potted history. How did you end up where you are today?

Mark: I've had a career that has cut across media, entertainment, retail, and technology. I spent time at Microsoft in business development across mobile experiences in EMEA, then ran Global Media Vault as Managing Director, building out white-label entertainment services for retailers and mobile operators. That business was acquired by Sainsbury's, where I led their digital and cross-channel strategy. From there I moved to Tesco as Managing Director of Blinkbox Music, where we built a team of over 100 and launched what became one of the UK's most popular streaming services. I joined Google over eleven years ago and have held VP roles across Android Partnerships globally, Platforms and Devices, and now Knowledge and Information Partnerships across EMEA, covering search, ads, commerce, geo (maps), and Gemini. It's a front-row seat to the biggest shifts in global technology, and I get to see where the market is heading every single day.

Scott: One thing I'm always proud to tell our investors is that the Haatch partners are all in. Off the top of my head, between us we've personally invested well north of £5m alongside our investors. Why do you decide to consistently invest year on year?

Mark: I've now invested over £2m across Haatch funds, and I plan to invest in every SEIS and EIS fund going forward. That should tell you everything about my conviction. When I look at the deal flow, the rigour of the process, and the calibre of the founders we back, it would be irrational not to keep investing. I see thousands of businesses and technology trends through my work at Google, and the quality of what comes through Haatch consistently stands up against anything I see globally. But beyond the opportunity set, it comes down to alignment. Every partner at Haatch has meaningful personal capital at risk alongside our LPs. That's not a marketing line, it's a structural commitment. When I write a cheque, I know Scott, Fred, and the rest of the team have done the same. We eat our own cooking, and that discipline keeps us honest, hungry, and laser-focused on returns.

Scott: You sit at the intersection of Google and early-stage venture in a way that very few people in the UK do. How does your role at Google shape the way you think about the companies we invest in?

Mark: It gives me a great perspective of what is happening in technology across a wide range of enterprise sectors, and that helps me understand the problems (and opportunities) the founders we meet are passionate about solving , When we evaluate a Haatch deal, the team and I stress-test the thesis of the founders, and increasingly that is against the backdrop of AI and agentic technology developments that are coming to market at an increasing pace. 

Scott: We talk a lot internally about being restless, about never standing still. What does that mean to you as a partner?

Mark: It means we're not a fund that writes cheques and waits. Every single one of us is operationally wired. I ran several businesses, scaled teams, launched products. So did you, so did Fred. That operator mentality means we're in the trenches with our founders, making introductions, challenging assumptions, opening doors. Restlessness, to me, is about never being satisfied with the portfolio as it stands. Always asking what's next, where the white space is, and whether we're moving fast enough. The early-stage market doesn't reward complacency. It rewards the teams that are two steps ahead, and that's exactly where we intend to stay.

Scott: Looking ahead, AI is obviously reshaping everything. From your vantage point at Google, what are the trends founders and investors should be paying closest attention to over the next 12 to 24 months?

Mark: As we move through 2026, the "AI honeymoon" phase has transitioned into a period of rigorous implementation. Founders and investors are shifting their focus from raw model capabilities to measurable ROI and operational reliability. All businesses are being impacted by AI and having to adapt, and that is creating an incredible opportunity for start-ups.
There are a few key trends. First is the rise of agentic AI - moving beyond chatbots to "Agentic AI"—autonomous systems that can plan, execute multi-step tasks, and collaborate as "digital co-workers". For Founders success lies in "orchestration"—building platforms that manage multiple specialized agents to handle end-to-end business processes like performance marketing or legal research. And for our investors it means Haatch is looking for startups that go beyond generic automation to redesigning entire workflows. 
There is also a shift from "Hype" to clear ROI. Businesses (and investors) want proof of profitability and clear P&L impact. At the same time generic models are being replaced by domain-specific language models tailored for high-stakes industries like healthcare, finance, and logistics.
Another major trend, which is outside B2B Saas right now, is the convergence of AI and robotics - this areas will see a lot of innovation in the coming years as AI breaks out of the screen and into the physical world.

Scott: Final question. If you could give one piece of advice to a pre-seed B2B SaaS founder building right now, what would it be?

Mark: Stop building "AI-assisted" software and start building "Agentic" outcomes.In the current market, simply adding a copilot or a chat interface is no longer a differentiator—it is considered "table stakes" that customers expect for free. To secure pre-seed funding and achieve rapid traction, you must shift your focus from helping humans do work to deploying autonomous agents that execute the work itself.


Mark Bennett is a Partner at Haatch and Vice President of Knowledge & Information Partnerships, EMEA at Google. Scott Weavers-Wright OBE is Co-Founder & General Partner at Haatch. Haatch has invested in 150+ companies valued in excess of £1bn, creating over 3,000 jobs for the UK economy.