Last week may prove to have been one of the most important of the year in terms of news within the Scottish tech ecosystem, with the fallout from some tectonic news on Friday having implications for potentially years to come.

With that in mind, here are the biggest news stories from Scottish tech last week (31 Aug- 6 Sep).

CodeClan Announces Sudden Liquidation

Scottish digital skills academy CodeClan has announced it has gone into liquidation.

The news initially started spreading around LinkedIN, with the company’s Head of Marketing, Killian McAleese, posting an update on Friday afternoon stating “with extremely heavy hearts… we discovered that CodeClan has gone into liquidation and will cease all operations as of today.”

The landing page of the organisation’s website has been updated with the following message: “CodeClan has gone into liquidation

“It is with extremely heavy hearts that we announce that CodeClan has gone into liquidation and will cease all operations as of 4 August 2023.

“Sadly, that means all our staff have been made redundant and will no longer represent CodeClan.

“Craig Morrison and Scott Milne of Quantuma Advisory Limited were appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators of the CodeClan Limited on 4 August 2023.

“CodeClan has ceased to trade with immediate effect.

“Creditors will be contacted in due course.”

Glasgow Uni Spin-out Lands £36m to ‘Digitise Chemistry’

University of Glasgow spin-out, Chemify, secures £36 million from a number of investors.

Chemify‘s £36m funding came in part as a Series A led by US-based Triatomic Capital, with participation from venture firms in Hong Kong and the US, and Scottish investment first Eos. More funding came through the UK Government’s Innovation Accelerator programme, all of which made up the £36m announced today.

The startup has already used £25m to finance its foundational research, with which the team developed a new digital chemical approach to program chemistry.

Scots Investment Syndicate Archangels Secures £12M Co-investment Agreement

Edinburgh-based investment syndicate Archangels has secured a £12 million co-investment agreement with British Business Investments through its Regional Angels Programme.

The deal will supply Archangels — which was formed in 1992 and invests in early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies — with additional funding to put towards the next generation of Scots entrepreneurs innovating within these sectors.

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The capital from British Business Investments, the commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, is set to be deployed alongside syndicate funding across all of the firm’s investment activity.

ICO Reprimands NHS Lanarkshire Staff for WhatsApp Data Sharing

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to NHS Lanarkshire after finding that the health board’s staff had shared the information of patients via an unauthorised WhatsApp group.

From April 2020 to April 2022, 26 members of staff at NHS Lanarkshire had access to a WhatsApp group where patient data — such as names, phone numbers, and addresses — was shared on over 500 occasions. Screenshots, images, and videos which included clinical information were also shared.

On one occasion, a non-staff member was added to the group by mistake, resulting in the disclosure of patient data to an unauthorised individual.

After becoming aware of the incident, NHS Lanarkshire reported themselves to the ICO. The body’s investigation then concluded that NHS Lanarkshire did not have the appropriate policies, guidance, or processes in place.

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