UK Tech Stalwarts Honoured as Asian Tech Pioneers 2023

Twenty of Britain’s leading UK tech stalwarts were honoured earlier this week as Asian Tech Pioneers 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 on Wednesday 5 July 2023 and simultaneously saw the release of the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2023 list. Now in its ninth year, the list celebrates the outstanding contribution made by British Asians to this country’s digital economy.

Among those honoured were Dr Enass Abo-Hamed, the Co-founder & CEO at H2GO Power Ltd, an award winning spin-out company from the University of Cambridge developing Hydrogen AI and energy storage technologies; Dr Somayeh Taheri, CEO of UrbanChain, a blockchain/AI-based energy exchange system that directly links energy consumers to renewable generators using its trading platform; Dr Amrit Chandan, CEO of Aceleron which has developed the world’s first truly circular economy lithium battery based on its patented technology and Furqan Alamgir, CEO of Connexin, a technology company specialising in smart city solutions and IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity.

In the healthtech space, Quintus Liu, CEO & Founder of Healthera, one of the UK’s fastest-growing digital health companies, connecting thousands of pharmacies to over 750,000 patients across the country, was recognised alongside Dr Noor Shaker, Senior Vice President & General Manager at X-Chem Inc, solving small, sparse, fragmented and noisy data challenges in drug discovery and Qun Yang, the co-founder and COO of Biorbyt, one of Europe’s largest bioscience hubs, providing antibodies, small molecules, ELISA kits and protein services to the global scientific community.

Focus on FinTech and HealthTech

FinTech pioneers Virraj Jatania, Founder and CEO of Pockit, a challenger bank equipping the UK’s financially underserved with simple, transparent digital banking and Asesh Sarkar, Global CEO and Co-founder of Salary Finance, a leading employee financial wellness platform were recognised alongside leading Asian healthtech and AI innovators.

Jon Gill, Partner, at global law firm Eversheds Sutherland who helped judge the 2023 list, said:
“The breadth and sheer quality of nominations for these awards was particularly impressive, with significant contributions and achievement across the tech community from operators, investors and ecosystem builders alike. We were also delighted to see such a strong representation of female entrepreneurs and investors leading this vibrant and vital part of the digital economy in the UK, with an increasing focus on impact and sustainability.”

Lopa Patel MBE, list curator and Chair of Diversity UK said: “It is inspiring to see so many Pioneers scale new heights over the past year, succeeding on the merits of their ingenuity in the development of innovative solutions for pressing problems in financial services, healthcare and energy. I am delighted that the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list has marked its ninth anniversary and that we have been able to honour twenty amazing Asian Tech Pioneers, including for the first time ever ten inspirational women who make up 50% of the Pioneers index this year. The Asian Tech Pioneers index now stands at 121 individuals – symbolically a very powerful number – the key to success, love, and happiness.

It is also pleasing to see that newer sectors like AI (4.1%) and Healthtech (3.3%) being represented alongside established industry categories like business (42.1%) and investors (22.3%) among this elite group of inspirational individuals – it is indicative of the maturity of the sector. We were doubly pleased, this year, to have honoured the entrepreneurial ecosystem builders who are so often overlooked.”

About the Asian Tech Pioneers

The Asian Tech Pioneers Awards were introduced in 2019 to mark the fifth anniversary of the The Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list and celebrate an elite group of individuals who have helped to build Britain’s technology sector. 91 Asian Tech Pioneers, who have appeared on the list several times, have been recognised to date, with this year’s 20 awardees joining 10 entrepreneurial ecosystem builders to bring that total to 121 – symbolically a very powerful number – the key to success, love & happiness.

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 more about the Asian Tech Pioneers 2023.