Today, we’re witnessing a new wave of women-led businesses shaking up industries and changing the business landscape for the better.
Capsule is excited to highlight the female entrepreneurs leading the charge in the fast-growth space. These women aren’t just making their mark – they’re redefining what success looks like, pushing boundaries, and driving innovation while inspiring a new generation of business leaders.
The challenges still faced by women in business
Yet even as the number of female-led companies grows, there are still challenges to overcome. These businesses often face significant barriers when it comes to accessing funding, with recent reports showing that only 5.8% of venture capital went to female founders in 2024.
Shifting the balance with funding initiatives
Fortunately, things are beginning to change. The UK government’s Invest in Women Taskforce is actively working to close the funding gap. Plus, initiatives like the £250 million ‘women backing women’ fund – supported by finance giants like Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Aviva – are helping to level the playing field.
Scale-Up 50 List 2025: The women to watch
Looking at our latest Scale-Up 50 list supported by Cooper Parry and HSBC Innovation Banking, we’re delighted to see so many incredible female-led companies pushing boundaries. From innovative HealthTech and BioTech solutions to groundbreaking developments in the AI and sustainability sectors, these women are leading with purpose and vision to build successful enterprises.
Below, we’re highlighting the women-led companies that made the list. These scale-ups are all rapidly evolving, attracting top-tier investors, and driving innovative solutions in their respective fields. Whether it’s advancing healthcare with PocDoc or bridging gaps in FinTech with Deblock, the stories of these remarkable companies are worth celebrating. So, without further ado…
Abound
Co-founded by Michelle He, as well as Gerald Chappell, Abound is transforming consumer lending with its AI-powered credit technology. Following the completion of her PhD in Artificial Intelligence, He relocated from Singapore to London… where she was denied a £5,000 loan for an apartment deposit by every bank she turned to. Since then, she has spent her entire career looking for a way to make lending fairer. Enter Abound: “I decided to set a change by building a very different accredited technology which uses open banking and AI to focus on the customer's affordability rather than focus on their history.”
With over £500 million in loans issued to date, Abound is on an impressive growth trajectory. And with its Render platform, it also enables any company to leverage its powerful decisioning technology. The company has raised over £1.3 billion to date from global investors, including Citi and GSR Ventures, to take this innovative approach global.
Deblock
Launched in 2022 by a team of Revolut and Ledger alumni, including Adriana Restrepo, Capsule client Deblock is raising the bar in the finance industry. Operating between London and Lille, the FinTech innovator blends traditional current accounts with a non-custodial crypto wallet, empowering users to deposit, withdraw, and spend funds across both virtual and physical cards.
Before leaving her position as COO at Revolut to build Deblock, Restrepo built an impressive career working with some industry giants. From interning at Procter & Gamble to senior leadership positions at BT, Vodafone, and Barclays, she has gone from strength to strength. And now, her fast-rising company is poised to shape the financial landscape for the digital-first generation.
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ExpressionEdits
Founded in 2021 and based in Cambridge, ExpressionEdits is revolutionising protein expression with advanced AI and proprietary intron technology. Led by an expert team, including Dr Kärt Tomberg and Dr Liliana Antunes, the BioTech company is focused on developing protein-based therapeutics.
Both Tomberg and Antunes went to the University of Cambridge and were on track for a career in academia. But when the 2020 pandemic hit and their lab was tasked with working on a COVID-19 cure, the idea for ExpressionEdits began to form. “It was very much happenstance,” said Tomberg on The Big Experiment podcast. Fast-forward to 2024, and the company secured $13 million in seed funding co-led by Octopus Ventures and redalpine.
Little Journey
Over 20,000 families throughout 11 countries trust Little Journey to support their healthcare experience. Co-founded by Sophie Copley and Dr Chris Evans, this innovative digital platform is designed to ease the emotional and psychological challenges that children and families face before, during, and after healthcare visits.
Describing herself as a “human-centred designer”, Copley spent a formative part of her career at L’Oréal, during which time she helped set up Little Journey as a side venture. But as business began to pick up, she decided to take a leap of faith – moving back up north to her Yorkshire family home and focussing all her energy (and money) on the startup. “I had £12 in my bank account when we landed our first £1.7 million deal,” she told Insider Media. Now, the company has just closed a £6 million Series A funding spearheaded by Par Equity.
Luminance
Developed by AI experts from the University of Cambridge, with Eleanor Lightbody acting as CEO, Luminance’s AI automates and augments the generation, negotiation and analysis of contracts. Lightbody, who was previously a Director at cyber AI company Darktrace, has been named in Management Today’s “35 Women Under 35” list as well as “One To Watch” by the Financial Times.
Last year, she led the scale-up through a $40 million Series B funding round supported by the likes of March Capital. The company also increased its global headcount by 80% and opened new offices in Madrid, Dallas, San Francisco and Toronto. With a number of world-firsts under its belt, including the first AI vs AI contract negotiation and the first use of AI at London’s Old Bailey, Luminance is redefining the legal industry globally.
PocDoc
PocDoc is changing healthcare for the better by making vital screenings for cardio, metabolic, and renal diseases accessible right at your fingertips. Launched in 2020 by Steve and Dr Kiran Roest and Dr Vlad Gubala, this pioneering HealthTech uses smartphone-based technology to deliver near-instant results for patients – in workplaces, communities, and the comfort of their own homes.
As a husband-and-wife team, both Steve and Kiran have had to juggle the demands of family life with leading a growing company – splitting their valuable time between Switzerland and the UK. Kiran has consistently excelled in her space – earning recognition such as the “Women in Tech Excellence” award and reaching the final of the prestigious “Women Who Tech” challenge.
Sano Genetics
Founded by three Cambridge PhD students back in 2017, including COO Charlotte Guzzo, Sano Genetics has developed a state-of-the-art platform integrating patient recruitment, genetic testing, analytics, and long-term patient engagement – all in one place. With a bold mission to accelerate the world’s transition to precision medicine, Sano Genetics is not only reshaping the future of healthcare but also making rapid strides in the pharmaceutical market.
However, Guzzo’s journey into medicine wasn’t straightforward. She started her career as a risk analyst at J.P. Morgan but quickly realised that finance wasn’t her calling – that’s when she began her PhD in Genetics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Now, she’s proud to be at the forefront of the #WomenInTech movement: “Tech won’t serve women if women are not in tech. We are all aware of the huge advances tech can deliver, particularly in healthcare, and it is important to me that this benefits women too.”.png?width=1000&height=450&name=Resources%20header%20(6).png)
SOLASTA Bio
More than 40% of insect species face extinction, but SOLASTA Bio is working to change that. Based in Glasgow and founded by CEO Shireen Davies, the startup is disrupting the global insecticides market with bioinsecticides that are both highly effective and environmentally safe.
Like so many of the other women on this list, Davies comes from a highly academic background, having taught Biochemistry at the University of Glasgow, Oregon, and Malaysia during her nearly four-decade career. But in founding SOLASTA Bio in 2021, she sought to apply her academic knowledge to help solve the challenges happening on the ground – quite literally. Since then, she’s led her company through a $14 million Series A in 2024, bringing its total funding to $19 million.
Xampla
With plastic pollution set to triple by 2040, something needs to be done – and fast. Led by CEO Alexandra French, Xampla is determined to be that something. Operating out of Cambridge, the sustainability scale-up is developing natural polymers to replace plastic with home compostable and biodegradable alternatives.
Outside of the C-Suite, French is also an accredited EMCC coach with over 25 years’ experience within technical manufacturing and 10 years in leading teams and individuals. She was also honoured by the Women in Green Business Awards 2024 as a finalist in not one but three categories: Women in STEM Champion of the Year, Leader of the Year, and Woman of the Year.
Supporting the next generation of female founders
Female-led businesses are playing a pivotal role in transforming industries across the board.
At Capsule, we’re proud to partner with some of the very businesses on this list – supporting them with tailored solutions that protect their vision and drive growth.