‘Record’ investment in tech, but woeful gender diversity

Investment in European technology companies is likely to hit a record high in 2018, but gender and minority diversity remains a “big problem”, a report has said.

Capital investment in European technology has been projected by one estimate to hit $23 billion (€20.3bn) in 2018, according to a report by investment firm Atomico, published on 4 December. If correct, this would be a more than fourfold increase since 2013, the report said.

Atomico also flagged major challenges around inclusion and diversity. It said that a massive 93 per cent of funds raised in 2018 by European companies with venture capital backing went to all-male founding teams. The proportions going to female or mixed-gender teams, or to other underrepresented groups, have “not budged in any meaningful way in recent years”.