£7.5 million is up for grabs for female UK entrepreneurs
Female tech entrepreneurs are hoping the launch of a new multi-million pound fund aimed at closing the industry’s massive gender investment gap will help usher in the end of the “tech bro renaissance”.
The Arāya Sie Fund, spearheaded by venture capitalists Rupa Popat and Triin Linamagi, is a £7.5m investment backing early-stage, female-led startups in AI, deeptech, fintech, healthcare and sustainability.
The fund comes amid severe gender disparities in the sector: in 2025, only 2.3 per cent of venture capital went to female-only founders compared to 83.6 per cent to their male counterparts.
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“There are small minds that judge a book by its cover” Photo credit: Jenni York
According to the Founders Forum Group, at this current rate, it will take until around 2065 to reach gender equality in venture capitalism.
The 2026 Rise Report, which studies UK female entrepreneurs, found that if women were awarded the same entrepreneurial opportunities as men, an estimated £310 bn would be injected into the UK economy.
Jenni York, a two-time tech founder and serial entrepreneur based in London, has spent her career tackling rooms full of men to challenge that exact disparity.
“There are small minds that judge a book by its cover and can be very presumptuous, or not take you seriously [as a woman]. So that’s why I would prefer to walk into a room full of men. To prove to them very quickly that that’s not the case,” she said.
“We have this power, and this force. You just need to listen to us.”
While new initiatives like the Arāya Sie Fund are key steps to speed up the 2065 timeline, they also serve as a reminder that women are statistically more likely to fund other women.
“It’s the women that I’ve met in tech, and what they’re capable of doing and what they’ve already done. They’re going to be the ones that take over next,” said York.
For York, the ultimate goal for the startup world is one of unity and inclusion, rather than being about men or women.
“I’m very discerning about the men I keep in my close circle, especially professionally,” she said.
“It’s all about building trust and respect.”
Featured image credit: wocintechchat.com
