LBS AI Agent Cup 2025 highlights LBS' growing strength in applied AI
Where LBS talent turns AI ideas into real-world impact
The recent LBS AI Agent Cup 2025 drew one of the School’s largest gatherings of AI-curious talent, transforming the campus into a lab of creative prototyping and experimentation. Thirty teams, made up of 90 participants from MBA, MiM, EMBA and Sloan programmes, joined by alumni and students from UCL and Cambridge University spent the day building AI agents designed to tackle real-world challenges in business, education and society.
Led by the student-run Data & AI Club and supported by the LBS Data Science & AI Initiative, Cloudforce, Microsoft, Anthropic and several LBS clubs, the event highlighted the School’s expanding footprint in applied AI. Professor Keyvan Vakili opened the competition, setting an energetic tone for a day shaped by technologists, founders, researchers and investors who served as mentors and judges.
A surprise visit from Booster Robotics became one of the day’s standout moments, as a full humanoid robot drew crowds and sparked debates about the future of embodied AI in business.
Professor Keyvan Vakili said “The LBS AI Agent Cup showed how quickly our students can turn imagination into impact. Their work is a powerful reminder that the future of AI will be shaped not just by technology, but by the next generation of AI leaders willing to experiment and push boundaries.”
The judging panel featured LBS Chief Digital and Information Officer Karen Bates; Danny Attias, Cloudforce’s VP for the UK and Europe; LBS Assistant Professor Sukrit Puri; LBS Lead Data Analyst Nina Clifton; and UCL Professor of Strategy Bart Vanneste, alongside several additional industry experts.
The AI Agent Cup was awarded across three teams:
Public Favourite: Agentium — “MyAtlas”
The team won unanimous audience support for an AI agent, designed to enrich LBS alumni data and keep profiles updated through annual AI-powered voice calls.
Most Impactful: Maxi — “Faculty Productivity Agent”
Maxi addressed equity gaps in education with an AI tutor that analyses homework, answers student questions and generates personalised practice material - offering individual tutoring at the price of a coffee.
Best Innovation: 404 Not Error — “Business Lab”
This team re-imagined lecture materials as fully interactive business simulations, complete with KPIs, dynamic market shocks and AI-driven strategic guidance.
The cup highlighted LBS’s appetite for experimentation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. From ambitious prototypes to unexpected robotics demos, the event underscored the School’s growing momentum at the intersection of AI, robotics and management education.