GIANT Health Events

What GIANT Health Events does

GIANT Health Events Ltd. is a UK-based private events and community platform company that organises the annual GIANT Health Event, a 2-day in-person healthcare innovation festival held at the Business Design Centre in London. The company was founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Barry Shrier and is chaired by Professor Shafi Ahmed; it operates from Health Foundry, 1 Royal Street, London. Its core product is not a software platform but a recurring physical festival comprising four concurrent conferences — the NHS National Procurement Show, the Innovating NHS Systems Congress, the Future Hospital Show, and the NHS National AI Conference — complemented by the Beanstalks startup pitching competition. Supporting media properties include GIANT's Healthy Innovators Live TV (weekly panel programme), the GIANT Thinking podcast, and the 5000 Women campaign.

The company monetises primarily through paid sponsorship and exhibition packages sold to health-tech startups, life sciences firms, regulatory consultancies, legal/IP firms, and solution providers, alongside paid ticket tiers for commercial attendees. NHS doctors, nurses, hospital personnel, and community health providers attend free of charge, and private-sector healthcare professionals can claim complimentary tickets — a freemium pricing structure that maximises NHS attendance (the demand-side scale the platform sells to sponsors). No proprietary technology stack, software product, or API is described in the source material.

The company reports a self-described community of over 345,000 NHS leaders, clinicians, and innovators, and the Financial Times has characterised it as 'The UK's largest, most valuable NHS healthcare innovation and technology events.' GIANT serves four primary customer segments: NHS clinicians and managers (free attendees), health-tech startups and scaleups (sponsors/exhibitors seeking NHS access), investors (deal-flow sourcing), and policymakers (NHS England, Department of Health). It has 101-250 employees, no disclosed external funding, and operates as a founder-led private limited company.

Name

GIANT Health Events

Legal name

GIANT HEALTH EVENTS Ltd.

Website

https://giant.health

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

GIANT Health Events operates the UK's largest annual healthcare innovation festival in London, convening over 345,000 NHS leaders, clinicians, health-tech startups, and investors through a 2-day multi-conference event, year-round media properties, and a startup pitching competition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Innovation Events

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical, Scientific & Healthcare Congress Organizers (THAHACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare, Medical Devices & Pharma Shows Organizers (THAHABAH), Healthcare & Medical Congresses (MPAGAGAF), Medical & Health Sciences Congresses (THAHAJAA)

Keywords

• Healthcare innovation events
• Health-tech conferences
• NHS networking festivals
• Medical technology exhibitions
• Startup pitch competitions

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Ticket sales (paid tiers): Commercial/private sector attendees purchase tickets to attend the event. NHS doctors, nurses, and hospital personnel receive free admission. Private sector healthcare professionals can also obtain free tickets via redemption on the website.
2. Exhibition and sponsorship packages: Companies and organisations pay to exhibit at the event or sponsor the festival. Wide range of sponsorship tiers and exhibition packages. Sponsors include NHS trusts, digital health companies, life sciences firms, legal/IP firms, regulatory consultancies, and healthcare solution providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GIANT Health Events operates an annual 2-day in-person healthcare innovation festival at The Business Design Centre, London, featuring six concurrent conferences/exhibitions (including The NHS National Procurement Show, The Innovating NHS Systems Congress, The Future Hospital Show, and The NHS National AI Conference), a startup pitch competition (Beanstalks), and structured networking across NHS leaders, clinicians, health-tech startups, and investors. Adjacent year-round offerings include the Healthy Innovators Live TV programme and the GIANT Thinking podcast. Revenue is driven by paid sponsorship/exhibition packages and paid ticket tiers, with free admission for NHS personnel.

Product overview

GIANT Health Events operates as an annual multi-day healthcare innovation festival in the UK, not a traditional software platform. The core product is the GIANT Health Event — a 2-day in-person festival at The Business Design Centre, London, featuring multiple concurrent conferences (The NHS National Procurement Show, The Innovating NHS Systems Congress, The Future Hospital Show, and The NHS National AI Conference). Supporting offerings include GIANT's Healthy Innovators Live TV (a weekly live TV program), the GIANT Thinking Podcast, and the Beanstalks startup competition. The company functions as an events organizer and ecosystem builder connecting NHS leaders, clinicians, innovators, and investors rather than as a software product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beanstalks: International competition for prizes for health and care tech start-ups, part of the GIANT Health Event ecosystem.
• GIANT's Healthy Innovators Live TV
• GIANT Thinking Podcast
• 5000 Women Campaign

Products and services

• GIANT Health Event (Annual Festival) 2-day in-person healthcare innovation festival at The Business Design Centre, London, bringing together NHS leaders, clinicians, innovators, investors, and policymakers. Features multiple concurrent conferences, exhibitions, startup showcases, and networking opportunities.
• The NHS National Procurement Show A dedicated show within the GIANT Health festival focused on healthcare procurement transformation, value-based procurement models, NHS and government spending priorities, and scaling innovation from pilot to national deployment.
• The Innovating NHS Systems Congress A congress bringing together Integrated Care System (ICS) and Integrated Care Board (ICB) leaders to discuss system-wide integration, digital transformation, population health management, and new models of care delivery.
• The Future Hospital Show A show exploring hospital redesign, digital-first infrastructure, smart hospital systems, virtual wards, hospital-at-home models, sustainable hospital design, and AI-enabled clinical environments.
• The NHS National AI Conference A conference focused on real-world AI applications in healthcare including AI in diagnostics and imaging, predictive analytics, AI-assisted clinical documentation, workflow automation, and AI governance.
• GIANT's Healthy Innovators Live TV A weekly live TV panel discussion programme featuring health-tech innovators, NHS leaders, and industry experts, covering case studies of successful health-tech innovation and implementation.
• GIANT Thinking Podcast A podcast hosted by Barry Shrier focusing on challenges and opportunities in healthcare innovation, including system capacity, rising demand, and the role of technology in delivering better care at lower cost.
• Beanstalks Competition An international competition for health and care tech start-ups where early-stage businesses pitch their solutions on stage in front of a panel of judges and a live audience at the GIANT Health event.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 345,000 NHS leaders, clinicians, and innovators in their community
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• NHS (National Health Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS England, NHS trusts, and NHS-related bodies are central to the GIANT Health ecosystem. NHS leaders and clinicians serve as speakers, attendees, and decision-makers. The event is designed specifically around NHS innovation, procurement, and transformation priorities.
• Financial TimesflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Financial Times has recognised GIANT Health as 'The UK's largest, most valuable NHS healthcare innovation and technology events' — a significant third-party endorsement used prominently in marketing.
• Health Technology WalesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHealth Technology Wales was a sponsor at GIANT Health 2025, supporting the event and engaging with NHS decision-makers and health-tech innovators.
• NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerNIHR was a 2025 exhibitor sponsor, participating to connect with innovators and NHS stakeholders on research and innovation priorities.
• SEHTA (South East Health Technologies Alliance)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSEHTA participated as an exhibitor sponsor at GIANT Health 2025, engaging with the health-tech ecosystem.
• LFH RegulatoryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLFH Regulatory exhibited at GIANT Health 2025, offering regulatory and compliance expertise to the health-tech community.
• Gill Jennings & Every LLPminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIP law firm Gill Jennings & Every LLP exhibited at GIANT Health 2025, providing intellectual property guidance to health-tech innovators.
• InfermedicaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAI-powered triage and symptom checking company that exhibited at GIANT Health 2025.
• iRhythm TechnologiesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvanced cardiac monitoring solutions company that was a 2025 exhibitor sponsor.
• AvegenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital health company exhibiting at GIANT Health 2025, focused on health performance and optimisation technology.
• NHS Trusts (Barts Health, Guy's and St Thomas', Chelsea and Westminster)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor NHS trusts actively participate as speakers, exhibitors, and partners, bringing clinical expertise and innovation priorities to the event.
• Medical Technologies Innovation Facility (MTIF)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMTIF was a 2025 exhibitor, bridging academic research and clinical implementation in medical technologies.
• dotHealthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIn 2019, GIANT Health partnered with dotHealth to offer free first-year .health domain registration to all registered attendees, supporting the health-tech startup ecosystem.
• Health FoundrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIANT Health's registered office is at Health Foundry, a health-tech innovation hub in London that hosts the company's operations.
• Business Design CentrecoreOthersThe annual GIANT Health event is hosted at the Business Design Centre, a premier Art Deco event venue in Islington, London.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society): Operates the HIMSS Global Health Conference, the largest US/international health-IT conference with exhibitions, speakers, and a digital health ecosystem comparable to GIANT's NHS-focused event. Both sell sponsorship, exhibition, and registration around a multi-day health-tech innovation festival.
• HLTH: Runs an annual large-scale health innovation event with multi-track programming, exhibitions, and a strong startup/VC pull — overlapping directly with GIANT's positioning as a healthcare innovation festival serving buyers, sellers, and investors.
• Arab Health: One of the largest healthcare exhibitions and congresses globally (Dubai), combining multi-conference tracks, an exhibition floor, and a healthcare buyer/seller match — a comparable large healthcare events business model to GIANT's annual festival.
• MEDICA (Messe Düsseldorf): Runs the world's leading medical trade fair plus concurrent conferences, attracting medical technology exhibitors and clinical attendees — directly comparable to GIANT's mix of medical/health-tech exhibitions and healthcare congresses.
• Frontiers Health: Global conference on health innovation bringing together startups, investors, and pharma/digital health leaders — overlaps GIANT's startup pitching (Beanstalks), investor attendance, and multi-track health-tech conference format.
• Digital Health World Congress: Congress series focused on digital health transformation with speakers and programmes for NHS and provider audiences — directly comparable to GIANT's Innovating NHS Systems Congress and Future Hospital Show tracks.
• Health 2.0 Conference: Conference series focused on digital health innovation and health-tech startup showcasing, similar in scope and target audience to GIANT's Beanstalks competition and AI Healthcare conference track.

Broad incumbents

• Wired Health: Wired's annual health conference brings together clinicians, startups, and investors in a content-driven event format that overlaps GIANT's positioning, though as part of Wired's broader media portfolio rather than a dedicated health-tech event series.
• Reuters Events: Pharma (Reuters Professional): Operates large healthcare/life-sciences industry events across multiple tracks with sponsor and exhibition revenues at scale — adjacent to GIANT's model as a multi-track, sponsor-supported healthcare events business.

Regional players

• NHS Confederation: Runs NHS-focused leadership events and conferences targeted at the same NHS decision-maker audience GIANT cultivates (trust chairs, ICB leaders), competing for the same NHS speaker and attendee ecosystem in the UK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gianthealthevnt
• Facebookfacebook.com/gianthealthevent

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GIANT Health Events