Ada Lovelace Day provides a fitting occasion to honour the contributions of women in STEM and encourage more girls and women to pursue careers in these fields. Lovelace, often regarded as the world’s first computer programmer, continues to inspire future generations. As of 2024, women comprise about 28% of the global STEM workforce, with enrollment in STEM-related courses seeing a 15% increase since 2020.
In a heartening trend, female-led startups in STEM fields are garnering unprecedented funding, with venture capital investments soaring by 25% in 2024. Here are some inspiring women who are reshaping the landscape of STEM.
Sheena Macpherson (Adsilico)
Picture credits: adsilico
Founders: Sheena Macpherson, Prof. Alejandro Frangi, Dr Nishant Ravikumar, and Dr Zeike Taylor.
Founded year: 2022
Total funding: $4.56M
Sheena Macpherson is co-founder and CEO of adsilico, a pioneering healthcare technology startup revolutionising medical device design and testing. By combining generative AI with advanced computer modelling, adsilico aims to make medical devices safer and more inclusive while potentially reducing animal testing and accelerating innovation.
With a background in enterprise and entrepreneurship, Sheena has led adsilico to secure £3.5 million in investments from investors such as Parkwalk Advisors and Northern Gritstone and a £679,000 grant. The company builds on 15+ years of university research to develop AI-generated virtual populations for “in silico” medical device testing.
Sheena is passionate about applying cutting-edge digital innovation to real-world healthcare challenges. She advocates for encouraging more women to become STEM innovators, sharing insights from her own entrepreneurial journey: “By highlighting the diverse career paths in STEM, we can attract talented individuals who may have resisted traditional academic routes. My advice is to embrace the flexibility of STEM and chart your own course. Don’t hesitate to seek guidance along the way, as I’ve done to reach this point in my career.”
Aliya Grig (Evolwe)
Picture Credits: Evolwe
Founder/s: Aliya Greg
Founded year: 2020
Total funding: $750K
Aliya Grig, a tech entrepreneur with two successful startups under her belt, founded Evolwe AI to transform game creation for developers and enhance player engagement. The platform merges empathetic artificial intelligence with conversational AI to offer personalised coaching based on an individual’s personality and mental state. Speaking to TFN, Grig explains, “When you have a strong AI, artificial general intelligence, or an artificial consciousness, it can help solve complex tasks.”
The company secured $750,000 in a pre-seed funding round, though the investors remain undisclosed.
Reshma Saujani (Girls Who Code)
Picture credits: Girls Who Code
Founder/s: Reshma Saujani
Founded year: 2012
Total funding: €6.4M
Reshma Saujani, in her mission to close the gender pay gap in technology, founded Girls Who Code. This nonprofit organisation empowers young women with coding skills, primarily serving teenage girls through free summer programs and after-school clubs, offering a fun and friendly environment to explore coding. This way, Girls Who Code is changing the image of what a programmer looks like and does while building the world’s largest pipeline of future female engineers.
Major companies and foundations sponsor Girls Who Code’s programs, often hosting interactive events and providing financial support. For example, Olay featured Girls Who Code in a Super Bowl commercial, donating $1 for every tweet using the hashtag #MakeSpaceForWomen. Additionally, the organisation has collaborated with New York Life Investments to launch an ETF focused on closing the gender gap in tech.
Girls Who Code has already raised several grants totalling €6.4M from General Motors, Uber, Lyft, Walmart, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Pluralsight One, and Pluralsight.
Payal Kadakia Pujji (ClassPass)
Picture credits: ClassPass
Founder/s: Fritz Lanman, Payal Kadakia Pujji, Mary Biggins, Sanjiv Sanghavi, and Charlie Songhurst
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: €484M
Payal Kadakia Pujji is the CEO and co-founder of ClassPass, a fitness, wellness, and beauty startup. The company offers a subscription-based service through a single app, allowing users to book fitness classes, wellness experiences, and beauty appointments. This credit-based system provides flexibility, enabling customers to choose from a wide range of services and locations.
In 2021, Mindbody acquired ClassPass in an all-stock deal and secured a $500 million investment. According to Reuters, the company is expected to go public within 12–18 months.
Kimberly Bryant (Black Girls CODE)
Picture credits: Black Girls CODE
Founder/s: Kimberly Bryant
Founded year: 2011
Total funding: €376k
In 2011, Kimberly Bryant founded Black Girls CODE, a tech startup empowering young Black girls by providing them with the skills and opportunities to excel in technology. The organisation’s business model centres on offering workshops, summer camps, and virtual classes that teach various aspects of technology and programming. Black Girls CODE operates primarily in the education and technology markets, focusing on STEM education—specifically coding, app development, robotics, and other tech-related fields.
Black Girls CODE has raised €376,000 in total funding, receiving two grants. The most recent grant, amounting to $260,000, came from General Motors in 2017.
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE (STEMettes)
Picture credits: STEMettes
Founder/s: Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE and Jacquelyn Guderley
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: –
STEMettes, an award-winning social enterprise operating across the UK and Ireland, was co-founded by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE to inspire and support young women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths (STEAM) careers. Since its inception, STEMettes has reached over 50,000 young people through various programs, including panel events, mentoring schemes, and hackathons.
The organisation has achieved this impact without raising any funding or receiving any grants.
Priya Lakhani (Century TECH)
Picture credits: Century TECH
Founder/s: Priya Lakhani
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: €15.3M
Priya Lakhani founded Century TECH, an ed-tech startup, to accelerate student learning, improve engagement, and deepen understanding of subjects using artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and learning science. The platform provides personalised learning experiences to primary, secondary, and further education (FE) institutions, including international and independent schools. It also significantly reduces teacher workload by automating marking, analysis, and resource creation tasks.
Century TECH has raised €15.3M in funding, securing a Series A investment from Hambro Perks for an undisclosed sum. In June 2021, Alturki Ventures made the largest investment of £ 4.7 M.
Riham Satti (MeVitae)
Picture credits: MeVitae
Founder/s: Riham Satti and Vivek Doraiswamy
Founded year: 2014
Total funding: €3.2M
Riham Satti co-founded MeVitae to transform the recruitment technology sector. This platform specialises in fighting unconscious and algorithmic bias in hiring. MeVitae’s services include blind recruiting, talent screening, and diversity and inclusion analytics. These tools integrate smoothly with over 20 major Application Tracking Systems, ensuring an efficient hiring process for clients.
MeVitae uses a B2B model, earning revenue through software subscription fees. Their solutions, backed by years of research, have shown a clear return on investment. This has made MeVitae a trusted partner for both large corporations and startups. The company’s innovative work, including the Microsoft Partner Pledge Impact Award, has won recognition.
In February 2024, MeVitae secured $1.8M in funding to further its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Hélène Huby (The Exploration Company)
Picture credits: The Exploration Company
Founder/s: Hélène Huby and Artur Koop
Founded year: 2021
Total funding: €45.3M
In 2021, Hélène Huby co-founded Exploration.Space, a space tech startup, aims to make space exploration affordable, sustainable, and accessible. The company has its roots in Europe but operates globally. Its primary product is Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital vehicle that can be refuelled in orbit.
The company manufactures and operates Nyx, providing its technical components with open interfaces. These components are available on their SpaceStore, allowing companies within and outside the space industry to use them and develop new applications.
The Exploration Company raised €45.3M in funding, with recent investments from Partech, Omnes Capital, 50 Partners, Cherry Ventures, EQT Ventures, Red River West, Vsquared Ventures, Stellar Ventures, Possible Ventures, and July Fund.
Tania Boler (Elvie)
Picture credits: Elvie
Founder/s: Tania Boler
Founded year: 2013
Total funding: €143M
Tania Boler founded Elvie, a female-focused tech startup specialising in smart technology products designed to empower women by leveraging their unique biology. For example, the Elvie Pump is an innovative breast pump that allows mothers to manage their breastfeeding routine effortlessly. Elvie also offers the Elvie Trainer, a biofeedback device to guide users through Kegel exercises, helping strengthen their pelvic floor muscles.
Earlier this year, Elvie raised £9.6 million from existing investors. This follows a £70.7 million Series C round in 2021 and an additional £18.5 million quietly secured from internal investors in 2022.
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