Arāya Ventures and Sie Ventures have announced the £7.5 million first close of the Arāya Sie Fund, a new investment vehicle dedicated to backing female founders building companies across the UK and Europe.
- The fund will focus on early-stage startups in artificial intelligence, deeptech, fintech, healthcare, and sustainability, with the aim of supporting women building technologies that shape the future economy across these sectors.
- The launch comes against the backdrop of a persistent funding gap in venture capital. Despite growing momentum across the European startup ecosystem, women founders still receive less than 2% of total venture funding in the UK and Europe, highlighting the scale of the imbalance that remains.
"I’m also incredibly proud that more than 50% of our LP base is made up of women - something still far too rare in venture capital. Representation matters not only on cap tables, but around investment tables too," explains Triin Linamagi, Founding Partner at Sie Ventures.
- Arāya Ventures previously secured $26.3 million in the final close of its oversubscribed Super Angel Fund, supported by British Business Investments. That fund invests between £150,000 and £450,000 into around 60 UK-based B2B SaaS and consumer startups at pre-seed and seed stage.
- Together, Arāya Ventures and Sie Ventures have been active across early-stage investing and founder support, and the new fund formalises this work into a dedicated strategy focused on female-led innovation across Europe.
