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Research
The State of Asian Funding UK is the first study of how venture capital reaches Asian-heritage founders in Britain. Built on Beauhurst round data and a survey of founders in our community.
Next edition
Second edition. Same data partner, a new year of rounds, and the first outcomes from our own programmes.
2025 edition
A baseline the community can use to focus attention and guide policy. Backed by HSBC Innovation Banking, Joelson, Mercia and Tech Nation.
The headline numbers
18.6%
of UK funding went to teams with at least one Asian founder
6.8%
went to teams where every founder is Asian
0.2%
went to teams where every founder is an Asian woman
79.7%
of funding to all-Asian teams went to London businesses
10 of 52
companies raising over £50m had an Asian cofounder
33.3%
of founders surveyed named cultural bias as a barrier to raising
Beauhurst round data, April 2024 to March 2025, covering 2,281 UK companies that raised £500k or more. Survey of 48 founders, Q2 2025.
Asian-heritage founders are on the teams that raised 18.6% of UK venture capital last year, against a population share of around 10%. Narrow the definition to teams where every founder is Asian and it falls to 6.8%. Narrow it again to all-women teams and it is 0.2%.
| At least one Asian founder | 18.6% |
|---|---|
| All founders Asian | 6.8% |
| All founders Asian women | 0.2% |
Asian-founded companies took 6.6% of funding at £500k to £5m and 10.7% at £50m and above. Between those two points the share halves. The companies that reach the top of the market do very well. Getting from seed to scale is where the system thins out.
| £500k to £5m | 6.6% |
|---|---|
| £5m to £20m | 4.6% |
| £20m to £50m | 3.0% |
| £50m and above | 10.7% |
79.7% of funding to all-Asian founding teams went to London businesses, against a national average of 58.2%. Teams with at least one Asian founder sit at 59.6%, in line with everyone else. The concentration is specific to all-Asian teams, not to Asian founders.
| All-Asian founding teams | 79.7% |
|---|---|
| At least one Asian founder | 59.6% |
| All UK companies | 58.2% |
63% of founders surveyed met their investors through personal or professional networks. 18% through cold outreach, 11% at events and pitch days, and 4% through an accelerator or incubator. Access to capital runs through relationships that most first-generation founders start without.
| Personal or professional networks | 63% |
|---|---|
| Cold outreach | 18% |
| Investor events and pitch days | 11% |
| Accelerators and incubators | 4% |
Sixty pages covering the funding landscape, a spotlight on Asian women founders, founder sentiment, and recommendations for government.
