Artificial Intelligence (AI) is evolving at an unprecedented speed, revolutionising industries and reshaping daily life in ways we could only imagine a decade ago. Around the world, AI is unlocking significant opportunities for people, businesses and public services to become more efficient and competitive, improving lives and livelihoods.
Yet, as AI continues its rapid evolution, increasing the representation of women in the sector has never been more critical. Diverse perspectives in AI development are essential to a fair and inclusive society, especially as AI becomes an integral part of daily life.
Shaping the AI revolution
The UK has a strong foundation to build on. We rank fourth in the world for AI capacity and third for AI market size. We are home to an extraordinary mix of local and global talent, world-class research institutes, and pioneering AI firms like Google DeepMind, ARM, ElevenLabs, and Wayve.
To build on these foundations, the government recently published the AI Opportunities Action Plan, a roadmap to spread AI adoption across every part of the UK, help boost living standards, create jobs and unleash economic growth.
Harnessing the AI advantage
AI is a powerful driver of innovation. Across the UK, around one in six businesses, totalling 432,000, are already utilising AI technologies to boost efficiency and gain competitive edge.
AI is a transformative force for start-ups across industries, not just in tech, enabling them to focus on strategic initiatives by automating mundane tasks, like streamlining supply chains or personalising customer experiences.
The UK is also home to a fast-growing ecosystem of start-ups and scaleups that are transforming challenges into AI-driven solutions, developing their own proprietary AI technology and novel, often life-changing, applications of machine learning and data science.
Investment in these start-ups has skyrocketed. The UK’s AI sector attracted £8.48 billion in equity investment in May 2022, which has more than doubled to £18.1 billion as of January 2025. This positions AI as one of the best-funded industries in the UK, surpassing financial technology and second only to software as a service and mobile applications.
While these figures are impressive, women-founded AI start-ups win just 2% of the funding, showing a clear gender imbalance within the sector. Innovate UK is committed to encouraging and supporting the growth of women-led AI businesses.
Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award winners.
Credit Innovate UK.
Women-led advancements
Innovate UK is witnessing this AI boom firsthand – with increasing numbers of AI-driven businesses applying for our support, right across our portfolio of programmes.
This trend was evident in our 2024 to 2025 Women in Innovation Awards where more than one in three winners were developing AI-driven solutions across a dizzying range of industries. These trailblazing innovators include:
Yola Jones, co-founder of Seluna
Seluna is revolutionising paediatric healthcare with an AI-powered wearable device that diagnoses sleep apnoea from home. With 80% of cases undiagnosed, her innovation offers a more child-friendly diagnostic experience, alleviates strain on hospital resources, and advances health equity.
Ina Hanninger, co-founder of Anathem
Anathem is streamlining police case management, particularly complex cases like domestic violence, by reducing paperwork and enhancing evidence collection. The AI-powered PolicePartner tool cuts documentation time from three hours to just 30 minutes and is projected to boost prosecution rates from 58% to 70%, delivering better outcomes for victims.
Layla Hosseini-Gerami, co-founder of Ignota Labs
Ignota Labs is revolutionising drug discovery with AI. Her platform rescues failed drugs by identifying the precise biological and chemical flaws and offering alternative therapeutic uses. This innovation reduces R&D costs, speeds up drug development, and provides new hope for patients.
Ilisha Masaun, founder of Econominds
Econominds boosts academic performance with AI-tailored content to meet individual student needs. The platform is already supporting 30,000 students, including neurodiverse learners, and reducing teacher workloads by up to 45%. After being excluded from school six times due to undiagnosed dyslexia, Ilisha used her own Econominds platform to achieve exceptional A-level results: A, A, A*.
Sarah Knight, founder of The Allergy Team
The Allergy Team is making schools safer for kids with allergies. Her AI-powered platform streamlines allergy management, from staff training to policy documents, reducing anxiety for parents and teachers.
Amanda MacCannell, co-founder of Pathways Open
Pathways Open is bridging the gap between academia and industry. Inspired by the collaborative scientific response to COVID-19, Amanda developed an advanced AI-driven matching algorithm that pairs life science businesses with leading experts, who can provide the credibility, insights and validation needed to fast-track development and secure investment.
Innovate UK Interim CEO, Stella Peace, and Minister for AI, Feryal Clark, recently visited Women in Innovation awardee, Dr Emma Yates, at her lab-space in Cambridge.
Ministerial visit to Proteotype Diagnostics.
Credit: Department of Science, Innovation and Technology
Dr Yates, co-founder of Proteotype Diagnostics, is pioneering a new approach to early cancer detection by measuring patients’ immune responses, which are strongest at the onset of cancer. Blood plasma samples are processed using specialised lab kits to reveal a unique class of biomarkers, which are then analysed with AI to detect the presence of cancer. By enabling earlier diagnoses, it reduces mortality rates and supports more personalised treatment plans.
Feryal Clark, Minister for AI, said:
This year’s Women in Innovation Award winners are driving forward an exciting range of projects that could improve so many aspects of our lives. It truly shows the value of Government investing in creative, women-led projects in every corner of the UK – supporting economic growth to deliver our Plan for Change.
Celebrating the UK’s AI ecosystem
Several of our Women in Innovation awardees were invited to a reception at 10 Downing Street to celebrate the UK’s AI ecosystem. At this prestigious event, they had the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister and explore the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.
Among them was Binhui Shao, founder of Easy Digital, who received her Woman in Innovation Award for improving digital accessibility for the two million visually impaired people living in the UK. Binhui is developing an AI-powered audio device that provides seamless internet access without needing sight or advanced technical skills. This intuitive solution learns and adapts to user behaviour for a truly intuitive experience.
Reflecting on the event, Binhui said:
Walking into Number 10 was such a special moment and being surrounded by so many inspiring people made it even more incredible. The conversations about AI’s future were eye opening, and it’s so promising to see the Government’s AI Action Plan and the opportunities it opens for innovation and collaboration. I left feeling truly motivated!
Breaking barriers, building futures
With women making up just 22% of AI and data professionals in the UK, initiatives like the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards are playing a crucial role in shifting the balance. By celebrating trailblazers and inspiring future innovators, these programmes are driving a more inclusive AI landscape – one where diverse perspectives fuel ground breaking advancements and ensure technology serves everyone.
Find out how Innovate UK can accelerate your AI journey.
Learn more about Innovate UK Women in Innovation and explore other support opportunities on Innovate UK’s No Limits platform.
Richard joined Innovate UK with 15 years of engineering and scientific communications experience at spin-outs, scale-ups and billion-pound multinationals.
Richard manages Innovate UK’s inclusive innovation campaigns and is passionate about celebrating the achievements of the innovative UK-backed businesses.
Gaia is part of the Reach and Engagement team at Innovate UK. Her job involves marketing programmes such as Women in Innovation, No Limits and Young Innovators to ensure they reach a diverse audience across the UK.