Last week Sarah Turner of Angel Academe joined SyndicateRoom's Francesca O'Brien to launch Angel Academe EIS Fund 2. If you couldn't make it, here's the recording — and below, the things I think are worth your time.
Female-founded teams still take around 1.75% of the equity invested in the UK went to female-founded teams in 2025, it edged the wrong way. The average seed round is £500k for women against £3.7m for men; in AI it's £900k versus £6.5m. Sarah's point is the one I keep coming back to: this isn't a pipeline or quality problem. The gender index shows women-led businesses outperform those with solely male teams. It's a capital-allocation problem, and dedicated pools of capital are the way to fix it.
Angel Academe isn't new to this. Since 2014, they've backed 60 female-founded startups across 110 funding rounds, moving roughly £200m into female-founded businesses alongside their co-investors. Fund 1 (2025) invested in eight companies that have raised £10m+ between them and unlocked a £1m commitment from the British Business Bank to invest alongside the fund.
Two portfolio names stood out for me:
Béa Fertility — clinical-grade, non-invasive fertility care at a fraction of IVF cost. FDA-cleared, now live across all US states, first US pregnancies reported, and a signed term sheet for $8m from a US healthcare VC. Valuation up 8.4x since the 2020 round.
Zonova — technology that prevents hospital-acquired infections like sepsis and MRSA. Just closed a £2m pre-round, with health-tech VC Thena Capital joining the second phase.
Women won't deliver worse returns. The evidence, what little we have, points the other way.
Angel Academe EIS Fund 2 is raising up to £1.5m into 6–10 female-founded companies, targeting a 3x return. It's open from June to October 2026. You can read more about the fund on the deal page via the link below.
On the tax side, EIS still does the heavy lifting: 30% upfront income tax relief, loss relief that takes the effective capital at risk down to 38.5%, CGT exemption on gains, and IHT relief. You can carry relief back one year to 2025/26 (back only — there's no carry-forward). Worth noting: VCT relief has just dropped from 30% to 20%, while EIS holds at 30%. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change.
This is a high-risk asset class and returns aren't guaranteed — it suits part of a diversified portfolio. Consider your personal financial circumstances before investing, or speak to a registered financial or tax adviser.
You can register for Angel Academe EIS Fund 2 and make a commitment now without sending money — funds are only called near the close.
If you've got questions about the fund, the EIS timing, or how this fits your own situation, email tom@syndicateroom.com.
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