HealthTech Founders Featured at Asians in Tech Anniversary
On 27 February 2024, to mark the launch of the Asians in Tech Impact Report, three Asian HealthTech founders were given a platform at the House of Lords. Ravi Janapureddy of Resony Health, Lucy Jung of Charco Neurotech, and Chung Looi, CEO of Ablatus, were all invited by Lord Gadhia to deliver “elevator pitches” followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
The event served as a launchpad for the findings of the Cambridge Venture Project (CVP) team, commissioned by Diversity UK to assess the social impact of the Asians in Tech initiative. The CVP report highlighted the significant growth of the UK’s digital health market, driven by the increasing demand for convenient, accessible, and outcome-improving healthcare solutions. This context provided a valuable backdrop for the founders’ pitches.
The event also explored the concepts of “jugaad innovation” and its implications for the healthtech sector. The audience included investors, startup founders, Asian Tech Pioneers, judges for the annual Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list, previous Tech Showcase entrepreneurs, and members of the CVP team from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School who presented their findings on the social impact of the initiative.
The CVP project unearthed two key positive economic indicators within the healthtech sector:
- Reduced Time to First Funding: Startups are securing their first round of funding earlier than ever before.
- Job Creation: Healthtech startups are actively hiring beyond their founding teams.
“The UK’s sustained focus on science, innovation, and technology is clearly paying dividends,” remarked Lopa Patel MBE, Chair of Diversity UK and the architect of the Asians in Tech initiative since its inception. “We are aware that healthtech startups often take a long time to generate revenue, so it was fascinating to learn that many are securing funding to scale up quickly. The CVP project has not only validated our intuitive understanding of the healthtech sector but has also solidified its position as a top five category for the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2024 list, which will be launched later in summer.”
