Innovators bag top spots in the Asian Stars in UK Tech 2023 list

Innovators have bagged top spots in the Asian Stars in UK Tech 2023 list, published on 5 July 2023 by equality charity Diversity UK, in association with law firm Eversheds Sutherland and Cambridge-based Biorbyt, one of Europe’s largest bio-reagents supplier. The event took place in Central London and simultaneously saw the presentation of the Asian Tech Pioneers Awards honouring twenty tech stalwarts and recognising the significant impact of a further ten pioneers who are entrepreneurship ecosystem builders. Now in its ninth year, the list celebrates the outstanding contribution made by British Asians to this country’s digital economy.

Tech faces new challenges, but remains resilient

Lopa Patel MBE, list curator and Chair of Diversity UK said: “Product, service and technology innovators accounted for 85% of the Asian Tech Pioneers 2023 demonstrating the resilience of the sector. Also for the first time ever, ten inspirational women made up 50% of the Pioneers index this year and women investors bagged all Top 5 slots in the ‘investors’ category! Their backgrounds range from angel investors to those investing at pre-seed and seed levels, within corporates, as well as those working at established venture capital firms funding Series A rounds and beyond. Women’s representation in the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list has risen from 21% in 2015 up to a peak of 52% in 2021 and is at 48% in 2023, despite the fact that nearly 60% of the list are new nominees.  

“Overall, the past year has been a difficult one for the technology sector but it remains resilient. DCMS data shows that digital technologies are the engine driving the UK’s economic growth. The UK digital sector contributed 7.4% of UK total GVA in 2022, growing three times faster than the rest of the economy. The UK is home to over 85,000 tech startups and scale ups providing over 3 million jobs and a strong innovation ecosystem.”

Earlier this year, the Rose Review reported that more women were founding more businesses. Despite difficult economic headwinds, the confidence of female founders continues to grow:

• Over 150,000 new all-women led companies were founded in 2022 – more than ever before
• A fifth of new incorporations (20.5%) last year were all-female led, a figure that has risen from 16% in 2018
• The biggest leap was among 16- to 25-year-old female founders, which rose by almost a quarter (24.3%)

“The Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2023 sectoral analysis showed that Asian women are working across the tech industry. This year, 25% of the list is made up of Startup founders or co-founders; and 15% are in the Business category with more established enterprises; 18% are Investors (including angel investors, incubators, private equity and venture capitalists). The FinTech category accounted for 8%; Healthtech & Life Sciences (22%), Greentech (6%) and AI (6%),” added Lopa Patel, “with more women innovators coming through the UK’s universities, research institutes and entrepreneurship ecosystems”.

One example is Qun Yang, a chartered accountant turned life sciences pioneer who co-founded and now runs Cambridge-based Biorbyt, one of Europe’s largest bio-reagent supplier, providing antibodies, small molecules, ELISA kits and protein products and services to the global scientific community. “During the pandemic, we stepped up by collaborating with the world’s finest researchers and academics to develop products of the highest quality for Covid-19 antibody research. This year we partnered with the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2023 initiative, to promote and showcase healthtech innovators, so I am delighted that 22% of the nominees are in the HealthTech & LifeSciences sector. Given equal opportunity and access to funding, women know that everything is possible.”

About the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list

The Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list, published by Diversity UK aims to highlight the business models, apps, funding and support networks being created by Asian digital entrepreneurs. The list addresses the perceived lack of diversity in the tech sector and showcases the wealth of talent that is currently helping the British tech scene grow. The Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list and Diversity UK are the brainchild of the digital entrepreneur Lopa Patel MBE who has long been recognised as an evangelist for STEM and the tech industries in the UK.

Click here to read the full Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2023 list.