HERA, the UK’s first female-founded video podcast network, to unlock untapped $7.3bn podcast market for women

A trio of media powerhouses from Google, YouTube and BBC & Fremantle have joined forces to launch HERA, a media technology company to unlock the most underserved audience in media history: women.

HERA is the UK’s first video podcast network to focus on stories through a female lens, championing and supporting women through every stage of the creative and commercial process. The mission is to close the gender gap in podcasting and give women’s voices the scale and financial reward they deserve by supporting a community of storytellers through producing original shows, brokering partnerships with brands, and building cutting-edge tech.

HERA is founded by Rosie Allimonos, Nishma Patel Robb and Kirsty Hunter, distinguished media professionals with decades of experience in delivering premium content and fuelling brand growth.

Between them, they have launched YouTube’s Creator Economy, pioneered digital storytelling strategies that rewrite the rules for brand building, scaled Instagram Reels across EMEA, and delivered award-winning content, including the hit BBC podcast Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley, Britain’s Got Talent and Sherlock: The Network.

Their wealth of expertise powers HERA to amplify women’s stories at scale and democratise creation through its infrastructure, original content, unique community, bespoke and proprietary technology and a new commercial model for the next wave of female-led entertainment.

At launch, the trio have closed the initial seed round of funding in the UK under the SEIS scheme and have now opened up a further EIS second seed stage as investors recognise the scale of the opportunity.

With 80% of the top 10 podcasts on the UK Spotify Charts being hosted solely by men, and only 20% having a female host or co-host, there is a huge cultural and commercial gap in the market.

Women are expected to control 75% of discretionary spending by 2030, but female audiences remain underserved and brands are missing important media opportunities as a result. By unlocking this untapped audience, HERA is creating a premium platform for advertisers to connect with women at scale in an authentic and trusted environment.

HERA has been launched as a force for change built on innovation, including cutting-edge proprietary AI tools to support creators, streamline workflows and create new audience experiences - giving female creators access to production and tech to help them create content faster, smarter and fairer and to be heard and paid.

In addition, HERA Club is now open for membership to women and non-binary people hosting or planning their own podcasts. Through training, mentorship, and access to tech and tools, HERA Club will be the training ground, monetisation path, and hype engine for the UK’s most unmissable female storytellers.

Nishma Patel Robb, Co-Founder at HERA, said: “One billion people globally are watching podcasts on YouTube every month, the podcast industry generated $7.3 billion in sales last year, and even Taylor Swift is using video podcasts to continue her streak of album announcements. Podcasts aren’t just entertainment, they’re trusted outlets where listeners go to find new information. But when you look at the charts, this is a sector dominated by men. It’s time for change.

“Audiences are hungry for authentic voices, while brands seek better ways to reach women. HERA is the platform to give voice to female creators, leaders and storytellers to ensure the world sees, hears and pays them.”

Rosie Allimonos, Co-Founder at HERA, said: “HERA is giving female creators real access to the means of production; to the platforms, studios and tech tools, to build and scale their work. Women’s voices are still underrepresented across media, tech and investment, and the pace of AI transformation risks widening this gap. HERA is changing this: we’re building proprietary AI tools that supercharge female creators by removing the barriers and instead, we’re encouraging female podcasters to experiment with new video formats and scale their impact.”

Kirsty Hunter, Co-Founder at HERA, said: “HERA is the destination for brands who want safe, scalable, premium content that unlocks new audiences. And when you create content through a female lens, the audience listens in their millions, like they have with Lady Killers. We’re not waiting for permission to create this content anymore; we’re developing, producing and publishing it ourselves. Our team is already building an original slate of shows with major talent, which is just the beginning of a new era of media.”