Boost Fund 1 invests in 50% female-founded businesses as maiden startups fund reaches halfway mark
Capital Pilot is delighted to announce that Boost Fund 1, the first automated, high-volume fund for UK-based startups, has now reached its halfway milestone by completing the first 50 investments out of the £5m fund in just three months.
The fund has now deployed £2.5m of capital into 50 UK-based high-growth startups, backing a diverse range of entrepreneurs, of which 50% are female founders, 30% are founders from an ethnic minority background, and an impressive 40% of the businesses in the fund are based outside of London, in line with Capital Pilot’s mission to provide ‘equal access to capital for everyone, everywhere.’
The sector-agnostic fund launched in June 2022 and uses Capital Pilot’s pioneering Investability Rating System to automatically select investment opportunities. Boost Fund 1 remains on track to complete 100 investments within 6 months, making it the leading UK startup investment fund by volume.
Richard Blakesley, Founder & CEO of Capital Pilot, commented: “From the outset, we were confident that by removing human bias in the investment selection process the Boost Fund would build a more diverse portfolio of startup founders. It’s hugely encouraging to see that at just the halfway point, the fund already has a considerably higher representation of female founders, ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and businesses based outside of the capital than the industry average.”
Jo Living, Co-Founder and COO of Aura Fertility added: “From my perspective, the alarmingly low levels of VC investment flowing to female entrepreneurs illustrates the enormous challenge women and underrepresented founders are faced with when raising funds - from unconscious bias to old boys' networks.
Refreshingly, due to Capital Pilot’s thorough Investability Rating System and the investment process of Boost Fund 1, funding is allocated purely on the strength of the investment opportunity with Aura, which gives me a huge amount of confidence as I grow my business and attract future investment.”
