Introduction 2020
Celebrating Resilience
Welcome to the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2020 list which showcases one hundred of the most inspirational Asian men and women working in Britain’s tech sector. As 2020 has been a year like no other, with the pandemic devastating communities, families and businesses, this year’s list celebrates resilience.
HealthTech has dominated the list this year with many entrepreneurs focussing their attention on helping to launch platforms and applications for the physical and mental wellbeing of people and focussing on supporting the search for protective equipment and vaccines. To mark this, we have reinstated the HealthTech category for the second year running, alongside the new category of Sustainability which showcases entrepreneurs working at the forefront of agritech, energy, environmental and combating climate change technologies.
80% of nominees are new to the list
Resilience is celebrated by the fact that 80% of the people featured are new to the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2020 and at 37%, Asian women continue to be well represented across the tech sector. But we are making only slow progress to achieving a broader regional representation across the UK with over 80% of shortlisted nominees based in London – there is still much to do on “levelling up” tech entrepreneurship across the UK.
But Britain loves its tech entrepreneurs; 37% of the list is made up of Startup founders or co-founders and 17% are in the Business category with more established enterprises; 29% are Investors (including angel investors, incubators, private equity and venture capitalists); with the balance made up of healthtech and sustainability entrepreneurs and technologists.
Asian Tech Pioneers – 20 for 2020
We are pleased to be inducting 20 of the most inspirational Asian stars, who have been profiled in previous editions of the list and have been selected by a judging panel of their peers, as ‘Asian Tech Pioneers’. You can read more about Pioneers here: https://asiansintech.com/asian-tech-pioneers/
AI Inclusion Podcast
This year, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has continued to dominate the list – a fact I’ve tried to celebrate in the AI Inclusion Podcast, the first two episodes of which are now available on the website: https://asiansintech.com/ai-inclusion-podcast/
What’s the purpose of this list?
The purpose of this list is to showcase the diversity and vibrancy of the tech sector and Asians who work within it. Our nominees go on to found multiple businesses, provide invaluable services, raise capital, employ people and change lives. We are pleased that so many go on to win prizes and awards, are shortlisted in other lists, judge pitch events, build new partnerships and give back to the community by establishing social enterprises and charities.
Selection criteria make for a very competitive list!
Each year I get asked what the selection criteria are. Obviously being Asian isn’t enough! We do have eligibility criteria that we ask nominator’s to read before nominating and a stellar panel of judges look at impact, influence, expertise, deep knowledge and technical knowhow. It is a very competitive list, but we assess each nominee on their merit within the sector they operate in. The list isn’t ranked for that reason. After all, what criteria would be used for ranking a list of people who work in such different fields; from AI to sustainability and from EdTech to venture capital? It really is about celebrating 100 of the game changers and policy makers and showcasing the wealth of talent that is currently growing the British tech scene. So a huge congratulations to all the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2020.”
Judges for the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2020
The task of selecting the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2020 and the Asian Tech Pioneers 2020 nominees could only be undertaken with the help of this year’s stellar judges who pulled out all the stops in judging with skill and accuracy at great speed. My sincerest thanks to: Ajay Chowdhury, Managing Director & Partner, BCG Digital Ventures; Harry Rhys Davies, AI Programme Lead, Tech Nation; Rajeeb Dey MBE, Founder & CEO, Learnerbly; Volker Hirsch, Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners; Bindi Karia, Innovation Expert + Adviser, & Venture Partner, Draper Esprit; Rob McCargow, Director of AI, PwC UK; Rohit Nanda, Founder, The Business Troubleshooter; Neeta Patel CBE, CEO, Centre for Entrepreneurs; Joanna Santinon, Tax Partner & Leader for Entrepreneur of the Year, EY; Matt Smith, Director, Centre for Entrepreneurs and Nick Travis, Head of Entrepreneurs, Smith & Williamson.
A special thank you to Amit Patel of Count Creation for all the design and graphics work and to Hanadi Jabado for being a champion extraordinaire of the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech.
I hope you enjoy reading the list!
Lopa Patel MBE
Chair – Diversity UK [List curator]