What Hg Foundation does

Hg Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1189216), founded in 2020 and headquartered at 2 More London Riverside, London. It is funded by Hg, a transatlantic software-focused private equity firm, and operates as that firm's charitable arm to remove barriers to education and skills in technology for underrepresented groups, including those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, girls and women, and underrepresented ethnic groups. The Foundation does not build technology products; it is a grant-making and programme-support entity that identifies, funds, and partners with educational charities, schools, universities, and employers to deliver programmes. Core programmes include Tech500 (with upReach, reaching 991 undergraduates with 65% achieving highly skilled full-time employment), STEM Horizons (a school hub network connecting independent and state schools, expanding to seven hubs by 2026 covering 700+ students), IntoTech (with Futures For All, reaching 16,000 students over five years), CyberFirst Horizons (with NCSC and RTC North), and the AI Confidence educator upskilling programme (with BCS, Microsoft, and Cognizant targeting 40,000+ UK educators).

Since 2020 the Foundation has committed $45m across 55+ programmes and 30+ partnerships spanning the UK, Europe, and North America, supported 80,000+ young people and adults, and published independent research through NFER, NatCen, and ImpactEd Evaluation, including Randomised Controlled Trials. Its go-to-market is community-led: rather than selling products, it sources funding from Hg, awards grants to delivery partners, and convenes employers (Accenture, Amazon, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Barclays, Sage) and research bodies to widen access to tech careers. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees (chaired by Richard Donner) with Hg representation (Matthew Brockman, Managing Partner; Martina Sanow, Partner) and is advised by an inaugural Tech Advisory Board (December 2025) chaired by Elona Mortimer-Zhika.

Name

Hg Foundation

Legal name

Hg Foundation

Website

https://www.thehgfoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Hg Foundation is a UK-registered charity (no. 1189216), founded in 2020 and funded by Hg, that grants funds to and partners with educational charities, schools, universities, and employers to help underrepresented groups access education and careers in technology across the UK, Europe, and North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Education Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Foundation/NGO & Philanthropic Scholarships (EDAIAOAH), Field-of-Study & Discipline-Specific Funding (EDAIAOAD)

Keywords

• Charitable grant funding
• Education employment programmes
• Tech workforce diversity
• Social mobility initiatives
• STEM education support

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Others, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Charitable funding from Hg: The Hg Foundation is funded by Hg, a leading transatlantic software investor. As a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1189216), it receives funding to support education and employment programmes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hg Foundation is a charitable incorporated organisation that funds and coordinates education and employment programmes helping underrepresented groups access careers in technology. It awards grants to partner charities, schools, universities and employers who deliver programmes such as Tech500, STEM Horizons, IntoTech, CyberFirst Horizons, AI Confidence and SEO Tech Developer across the UK, Europe and North America. The Foundation also publishes independent research, evaluation guides and thought leadership on tech labour-market trends and AI in education.

Product overview

Hg Foundation is a charitable organization (not a technology product company) focused on removing barriers to education and skills in technology for underrepresented groups. Its offerings consist of grant-funded programs and educational resources rather than a unified software product. The main programs include Tech500 (in partnership with upReach), STEM Horizons, CyberFirst Horizons, and IntoTech. Supporting resources include the Partner Outcomes and Evaluation Guide and research publications on tech hiring and AI. The organization does not offer a commercial product but funds and coordinates education and employment initiatives across the UK, Europe, and North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tech500
• STEM Horizons
• IntoTech
• CyberFirst Horizons
• AI Confidence
• SEO Tech Developer

Quantifiable outcome

• Tech500 participants 65% more likely to secure highly skilled full-time employment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026Collaboration on AI Confidence programme alongside Microsoft and Cognizant, providing free national AI upskilling for 40,000+ UK educators.
• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026Co-funder and collaborator on AI Confidence programme for educators, and partner on TEALS programme bringing IT experts into secondary school classrooms. Microsoft also participates as employer partner in Tech500.
• CognizantcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026Collaborator on AI Confidence national programme to build AI confidence across UK education workforce.
• Futures For AllcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Major national partnership to expand IntoTech programme reaching 16,000 young people over 5 years with career exposure, work experience and mentoring. Being independently evaluated through Randomised Controlled Trial by NFER and ImpactEd.
• National Centre for Social Research (NatCen)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Independent evaluator conducting Randomised Controlled Trial research on upReach Tech500 programme impact, comparing participants against matched peers.
• Tech Advisory BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Inaugural advisory board with senior leaders from global tech firms and talent sectors including ING, LotusAI, Adecco Group, AMS, McKinsey, Microsoft, Google, Accenture, providing strategic insight on tech hiring trends.
• National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership supporting CyberFirst Horizons programme delivered by RTC North, expanding to Yorkshire and Humber. NCSC is the UK's authority on cyber security and provides programme framework and endorsement.
• National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Research partnership exploring education and employment trajectories into tech workforce. NFER conducts independent evaluations of Hg Foundation programmes including IntoTech RCT and STEM Horizons evaluation.
• ImpactEd EvaluationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner for IntoTech Randomised Controlled Trial evaluation, using their School Impact Platform for data collection and tracking.
• STEM Horizons Hubs NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Network of 7 independent schools leading regional hubs (Newcastle, Oxford, Hampstead, Norwich, Oundle, Bath, Bolton) working with 35+ state partner schools to deliver Computer Science education.
• BrightsideminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023UK's leading online mentoring charity providing mentors for IntoTech programme participants through digital platform.
• British Computer SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with Microsoft and Hg Foundation to bring TEALS Programme to UK, recruiting IT experts into secondary school classrooms to support teachers.
• Apps For GoodminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Three-year partnership for App for Social Action programme reaching 24,000 state school students aged 11-14 across 600 schools with app-development course.
• JINCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership with Netherlands' largest social mobility charity to expand vocational tech and engineering careers programme, reaching 1,700+ students over 2 years across 4 cities.
• upReachcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2021Groundbreaking partnership delivering Tech500 programme for undergraduates from lower-income backgrounds pursuing tech careers. The Hg Foundation has committed over £4.5m including a £1m regrant for 2026-2028. Independent NatCen evaluation found Tech500 graduates 80% more likely to earn above UK median graduate salary. Programme has reached 991 students with over 500 graduate roles offered.
• Merit AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Grant supports data, analytics and evaluation capacity to help Merit grow from 2,500 to 40,000 learners by 2026. Merit connects unemployed adults with tech employers including Google, Amazon, IBM.
• GenerationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Hg Foundation is anchor funder of landmark research project Launching a Tech Hiring Revolution, surveying 4,000+ people and 1,325 employers across 8 countries on entry-level tech hiring.
• SEO (Sponsors Of Education)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Seed funder of SEO Tech Developer programme supporting Black, Latinx, and Native American students into tech careers. $3.8m commitment reaching 750+ students by 2026.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Google.org: Google's philanthropic arm funds large-scale technology education, workforce development, and social mobility programmes globally. It is directly comparable to Hg Foundation as a tech-industry-funded grantmaker focused on digital skills and underrepresented groups, but operates at materially greater scale.
• Salesforce.org (Salesforce Foundation): Strategic philanthropy arm of Salesforce, investing in workforce development, education, and equality programmes. Comparable to Hg Foundation because it is a tech vendor-funded grantmaker focused on tech career pipelines for underrepresented groups, but at materially larger scale.
• Mastercard Foundation: Large-scale philanthropic foundation focused on education and financial inclusion, with significant workforce development programming in Africa and globally. Comparable to Hg Foundation in mission (education-to-employment pathways for disadvantaged youth) and grantmaking scale, though significantly larger and more international.
• JPMorgan Chase Foundation (New Skills at Work): JPMorgan Chase's philanthropic arm runs the $350m New Skills at Work initiative focused on workforce development and tech skills for underrepresented workers. Comparable to Hg Foundation in target population and tech career pathway focus, but operates at substantially larger scale and corporate-budget depth.

Direct peers

• Microsoft Philanthropies: Microsoft's philanthropic entity funds STEM education, AI skills, and digital inclusion initiatives worldwide, including co-funded programmes with Hg Foundation (AI Confidence, TEALS). It is a direct peer given shared employer partner status, shared AI upskilling focus, and closely overlapping target beneficiaries.
• Gatsby Charitable Foundation: One of the UK's largest science and education foundations, funding skills, vocational education, and STEM pathways. Direct peer as a UK-based grantmaking foundation focused on education and skills development, with similar evidence-based programme design and cross-sector partnership approach.
• Year Up: US non-profit providing training, apprenticeships, and career support for young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds into tech and professional careers. Directly comparable to Hg Foundation's Tech500 and Merit America programmes in target beneficiary, model, and outcome focus.
• Jobs for the Future: US non-profit focused on transforming education and workforce systems, with significant programming in tech career pathways for underrepresented adults. Directly comparable to Hg Foundation's adult-focused grantmaking (Merit America, SEO Tech Developer) and similar evidence-based practice.

Emerging players

• AnitaB.org: Global non-profit advancing women in technology through programmes, research, and advocacy. Comparable to Hg Foundation's gender-focused programmes (girls and women in tech) with overlapping employer engagement and skills-development focus, though narrower on social mobility breadth.
• Code.org: Non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science education in schools, with particular focus on women and underrepresented minorities. Comparable to Hg Foundation's STEM Horizons and Futures For All programmes in K-12 / early-career computer science education focus, though with a curriculum-distribution model rather than grantmaking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about Hg Foundation