Resolution Ventures, the social investment arm of the Resolution Foundation, has launched a £9 million WorkerTech fund to back startups using technology to improve conditions for workers in sectors with low pay and insecure employment. The first close of the fund has already secured £6.75 million, with the goal of reaching £9 million. The fund aims to support startups that enhance pay transparency, address workplace power imbalances, expand access to skills training, and provide pathways to better career prospects.
The fund builds on the success of Resolution Ventures’ previous £1.5 million WorkerTech Partnership, which made 21 investments into 15 companies, impacting over 2 million workers and improving workplace outcomes for more than 350,000 people. Startups in the portfolio include Organise, which has helped workers secure pay increases through collective action; Valla, a legal tech platform that assists employees in resolving workplace disputes; and TaskHer, which connects skilled tradeswomen with clients seeking female tradespeople in male-dominated sectors.
The WorkerTech fund will provide equity investments between £75,000 and £200,000 at pre-seed and seed stages, with the option for quasi-equity investments. Ventures supported by the fund can leverage the Resolution Foundation’s research and expertise to identify workplace challenges and develop practical solutions. The fund’s investors include the Resolution Foundation, Resolution Trust, Better Society Capital, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Ufi VocTech Trust, Friends Provident Foundation, Fusion21 Foundation, This Day Foundation, Shaw Trust, and Lightbulb Trust, with support from lawyers and fund managers.
By scaling support to startups addressing workplace challenges, the fund aims to create networks and communities that foster worker-friendly innovation in sectors characterized by precarious work and low pay. The initiative aligns with the Resolution Foundation’s 20-year mission to raise living standards for low- and middle-income families, combining social investment with practical workplace impact.
Leaders from the Resolution Foundation and partner organizations emphasized the fund’s potential to drive meaningful change. Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, highlighted the fund’s ability to expand the positive impact of pioneering startups on hundreds of thousands of workers. Investors noted that the fund provides a scalable model for combining social impact with innovation, ultimately supporting workers’ pay, prospects, and wellbeing while addressing inequalities in the labour market.
