Wendy Tan White Investor and Moonfruit cofounder Wendy Tan White
- Entrepreneur and investor Wendy Tan White is exploring starting her own fund or joining one that specialises in artificial intelligence and other "deep tech."
- Until recently, White was a partner at BGF Ventures, the £200 million venture arm of BGF.
- BGF has decided to restructure its venture arm to refocus on startups outside of London and tech, fuelling the departure of 3 partners, including White.
- She believes artificial intelligence will fundamentally disrupt business in a similar way to mobile.
One of the most prominent women in UK tech is available for hire.
Wendy Tan White, cofounder of Moonfruit and an investor, will explore starting or joining a fund that specialises in "deep tech" such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning.
That comes after White's departure as a full-time partner from BGF Ventures, a £200 million fund which is losing three out of four partners as part of a radical shakeup.
White told Business Insider she is currently in discussions with others who may join her in raising a fund.
"Either I would join a next-generation fund with other GPs [general partners] and partner with them, or create my own group to do that," she said during a call. "It has to be people who want to look at emerging tech. It's actually not about tech so much as disrupting business models."
White believes artificial intelligence and machine learning will bring about the next fundamental computing shift.
"Every type of business that exists today is going to have to apply some sort of AI, machine learning, in the future," she said. "If you look at how mobile and ecommerce became commodotised, everyone understands how that plays out ... It's the first time I've felt like there's such a change in the fundamental infrastructure stack that will be behind lots of applications."
Nothing is settled as yet. White is still fresh from BGF Ventures, with news of her and others' departures only made official on Monday. The fund was originally set up to invest in early stage tech startups, and brought in White in that capacity, but has shifted focus to expand outside of London, and outside tech into areas such as life sciences.
White herself is well-known and respected in UK tech, having cofounded Moonfruit with now-husband Joe White, and sold the firm to Yell in 2012. She has been in venture investing for four years, first helping company builder Entrepreneur First raise a £40 million fund, then joining BGF Ventures last June.
"It was definitely a surprise," White said of the changes at BGF. "I've been an entrepreneur now for 20 years. I'm a great believer that you learn stuff through change, you work out what matters to you. It helped me get clear that maybe it's time for me to go again myself, or take on being part of a mission-led platform that is about emerging tech."