Welcome to the latest edition of the DIGIT Deal Roundup.

Scotland’s tech industry witnessed numerous exciting funding and acquisition wins in November 2024, helping firms working in key industries such as energy, biotech, medtech, and many more to further innovative and grow.

To get a recap of these standout stories, read our round-up below.

Funding and Investments

Sulmara Gets £15M BGF Backing

BGF, the equity investor specialising in investments for growing companies, has announced a £15 million investment in Sulmara, the Glasgow-headquartered provider of innovative survey and inspection services to the offshore wind and energy markets.

Sulmara, founded in 2019, has grown to more than £55.8 million in annual revenue, delivering a compound annual growth rate of 61% over the last 4 years, and building a global footprint with offices in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Norwich, Houston, Singapore, and Taipei.

BGF said that its investment will go towards supporting Sulmara’s continued growth trajectory, including backing for new technologies such as uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), next-generation geophysical sensors, and advanced data products.

“BGF’s investment comes at an important moment for the company as we look to build on the success of our technology and innovation efforts to date and to accelerate their introduction to our service offerings,” said Kevin McBarron, founder and CEO of Sulmara.

To learn more, click here.

IFS Surpasses £10M Milestone in First Year

The British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland has committed over £10 million of funding to smaller businesses in Scotland during its first 12 months, supporting firms across a range of sectors and specialisms to thrive and grow.

A total of 26 businesses have received support through the fund to date, involving a mix of both debt and equity funding deals to enterprises across the country. Launched in autumn 2023, the Investment Fund for Scotland aims to improve access to finance and boost the Scottish economy, with loans from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million available to help small- and medium-sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The anniversary comes as Edinburgh-based Ingenza Ltd, the biotech research business, has secured funding to double its capacity and create up to 20 new jobs. Delivered via The FSE Group, the £2 million loan will support the fit-out of new commercial premises, enabling Ingenza to double its office and lab space and meet the growing demand in the pharmaceutical research and development market.

Mark Sterritt, director of nations and regions funds at the British Business Bank, said: “Scotland has a thriving small business community, and it is fantastic to see the impact that our fund has made for so many businesses in just 12 months.”

Cytomos Secures £5M to Scale Up

Edinburgh-based biotechnology company Cytomos has secured £5 million to scale up production of its cell analysis technology.

The oversubscribed funding round was led by existing investors Archangels, and saw participation from the likes of Scottish Enterprise, the University of Edinburgh’s Old College Capital, and the British Business Bank.

Cytomos said that the investment will enable it to drive sales of its first commercial product, Celledonia™, built on its cell analysis technology platform, AuraCyt, which is “already generating significant market traction.”

David Rigterink, CEO at Cytomos, also commented: “Successfully raising £5 million within a difficult market has been a huge boost for the business. The result is testament to the team’s hard work in delivering our first commercial product with international early adopters.”

To read more, click here.

BetHog Launches Following $6M Seed Round

BetHog, a cryptocurrency casino and sportsbook company created by FanDuel co-founders, has announced its launch with $6 million (£4.6m~) in seed funding.

The funding was led by 6th Man Ventures (6MV), with participation from Will Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Karatage, Advancit Capital, and several angel investors including Chris Grove, partner emeritus at Eilers & Krejcik LLC, and John Hannah, co-founder of Flutter Entertainment.

Founded by serial tech entrepreneurs Nigel Eccles and Rob Jones, the BegHog platform has emerged from alpha mode with a variety of casino games, including BetHog originals as well as favourites from studios such as Pragmatic and Evolution.

“With BetHog, we plan to continue that innovation by bringing unique highly visual games to market,” said Eccles. “We see opportunities to engage users with unique play along and skill-based titles, combined with a robust VIP offering.”

To find out more, click here.

Offshore Wind Tech Project Gets £2.5M Boost

A funding boost of £2.5 million has been awarded to a partnership between the University of Edinburgh, the University of Dundee, and the Forth and Tay Offshore (FTO) Cluster to improve offshore wind technology.

Now backed by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the project will leverage the expertise of those involved to help address critical challenges in offshore wind tech, fostering innovations that will drive sustainable energy solutions and further strengthen Scotland’s position as a global leader in offshore wind.

The project also looks to drive job creation, economic growth, and innovation within the renewable energy sector, benefitting regional and local economies and communities.

Professor Alasdair McDonald, chair in renewable technologies at the University of Edinburgh, expressed enthusiasm for the project: “This funding will enable us to push the boundaries of offshore wind technology, from improved design and engineering practices to enhanced environmental impact analysis.”

To learn more, click here.

Biotangents Gets £2.3M For Diagnostic Device

Scottish biotech Biotangents has announced its latest investment round, which amounted to £2.3 million for its diagnostic device aimed at detecting diseases in dairy cows.

The company claims the device is set to revolutionise the dairy farm industry as a fast on-farm, point-of-care diagnostic device to combat bovine diseases such as bovine mastitis, which is estimated to cost the global dairy farming industry around £20 billion every year, and costing the average UK dairy farm up to £25,000 per annum.

The company developed its technology due to the timeframe of existing diagnostics, which take so long that farmers resort to presumptively treating herds, predominantly with antibiotics that are estimated to be unnecessary in up to 40% of cases.

Fiona Marshall, CEO of Biotangents, said: “Biotangents is on the cusp of full market launch with a technology that leads to better herd health, much improved productivity, and significantly higher levels of sustainability.”

To read more, click here.

£1.9M For Scots Entrepreneur Education

More than £1.9 million has been awarded by the Scottish Government to create the entrepreneurs of the future and to increase access to business careers.

Pupils will have the opportunity to learn about business from primary one to the end of high school for the first time under a new initiative to boost entrepreneurship in Scotland. This follows more than £829,000 being awarded to seven education organisations.

They include Gen+, which is designing lessons that set high school pupils real-world challenges by established entrepreneurs, focused on running aspects of a business, while the University of Strathclyde will provide activity packs that develop entrepreneurial skills in primary school children.

Deputy first minister Kate Forbes said: “These projects mean that for the first time entrepreneurship will be embedded in Scotland’s classrooms, from P1 to S6. By mainstreaming the subject we aim to give every school leaver the skills, confidence and opportunity to set up their own business.”

To find out more, click here.

Konversable Raises £300K

Glasgow-based AI firm Konversable has raised £300,000 following a successful investment round, attracting funds from a range of UK and international angel investors.

Konversable said that its AI chatbot and messaging technology allows businesses and organisations to have “smarter conversations” with their customers online using the firm’s trademarked MediaFlo system, which allows operators and customers to embed custom media, including video, audio, or images, into the chat flow.

As well as working to integrate its AI chat products with Facebook, the firm’s mission is to become the “go-to” WhatsApp API provider of choice for UK businesses.

Konversable CEO Wes Beard said: “We’re delighted with the success of this investment round and will channel these funds towards growing our global footprint and further improving our innovative range of online chat solutions within a rapidly moving AI landscape.”

To learn more, click here.

Acquisitions

Yatter Acquired By Velstar

Yatter, the Edinburgh-based paid advertising agency, has been acquired by ecommerce specialist Velstar just three years after formation.

The company has witnessed consistent growth since starting out in 2021, currently managing over £10 million in annual client ad spend.

A leading Scottish PPC and paid social agency, Yatter has a portfolio of 60-plus clients including Loch Lomond Group and Countrywide, employing 12 people in the capital. No jobs are under threat as a result of the agreement, which sees Yatter become the only Shopify Plus partner agency in Scotland.

Details of the deal remain undisclosed.

Yatter founder and CEO Gavin Bell, 30, said: “We have a very close alignment on values and culture and Velstarʼs impressive growth and shared vision to be the UKʼs No. 1 independent agency made them the perfect partner for Yatterʼs next chapter.”