Welcome to the latest edition of the DIGIT Deal Roundup.

From the Scottish Government relaunching and expanding its Ecosystem Fund to a University of Glasgow spin-out securing £36 million in funding, below includes some of August’s standout stories.

Without further preable, let’s get into it.

Funding and Investments

Scots Gov Announces Ecosystem Fund Expansion

A fund to help inspire more entrepreneurs to start or scale up their businesses has been relaunched, with grants of up to £50,000 available.

The Ecosystem Fund is also being widened this year to include initiatives encouraging young people to consider entrepreneurship from an early age.

Mark Logan, the chief entrepreneurial advisor to the Scottish Government, said: “Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem to raise a start-up. The Ecosystem Fund recognises and supports the vital enabling work of our ecosystem-building organisations. It will accelerate Scotland’s journey towards being an internationally recognised Startup Nation.”

Discover more about the fund expansion and relaunch here.

Chemify Wins £36M in Funding to “Digitise Chemistry”

University of Glasgow spin-out Chemify has secured £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.

“Chemify is building a company that can design, make, and discover complex molecules on demand using digital blueprints faster, more efficiently, and safely than is currently possible,” said CEO Lee Cronin.

“Our mission is to deliver better molecules for pharmaceutical and industrial partners in a fraction of the time and cost currently required.”

Read more here.

Enough Receives £34M for Its Meat Alternative

Glasgow-based foodtech company Enough has raised £34 million (€40m) in new growth funding to expand their mycoprotein plant-based food production.

The company, founded in 2015, is a spin out from the University of Strathclyde graduates Jim Laird, Craig Johnston, and David Ritchie, and touts an environmentally-friendly meat-alternative.

The product uses Abunda, an ingredient created by feeding fungi sustainably-sourced sugars, which is then fermented in a way similar to beer.

Jim Laird, chief executive and founder of Enough, said: “With this new funding, we will accelerate that growth. The alternative protein market is a multi-billion dollar opportunity, and the ethical and environmental reasons to embrace non-animal protein sources are more pressing than ever.”

Discover more here.

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 invests in early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies — with additional funding to put towards the next generation of Scots entrepreneurs.

“This additional funding will allow us to support current and future portfolio companies to grow their businesses and provide returns for both our investors and the broader Scottish economy,” said David Ovens, joint managing director at Archangels.

“We are in advanced discussions with a number of exciting new companies, and we anticipate seeing these deals coming to fruition over the coming months.”

Learn more here.

Cytomos Clinches £4M for Biopharma Platform

Cytomos, an Edinburgh-based life science company, has clinched £4 million to scale up market-testing of its technology platform Cytomos Dielectric Spectroscopy (CDS).

The investment round was led by existing investors Archangels with participation from Old College Capital, Scottish Enterprise and new investor British Business Bank.

Through its CDS platform, Cytomos aims to empower biopharma to bring novel therapies to market faster and reduce costs.

David Rigterink, CEO at Cytomos, said that the new funding will “now allow us to scale up our engagement with industry partners. We truly believe that, through our CDS technology, we offer a powerful platform which will help the scientific community bring novel therapies to market faster and radically reduce costs by making better informed, game-changing decisions a lot earlier.”

Read more here.

Scots Biotech BDD Lands £2M to Fuel Expansion

Integrated drug formulation and clinical trials company, BDD, has secured a further round of investment for £2M to aid the company’s expansion in response to growing demand for both its patented drug delivery technology and specialist clinical trial services.

The funding round was led by existing investors including angel syndicate Archangels, Scottish Enterprise, and new investor British Business Bank.

Dr Carol Thomson, CEO BDD Pharma, said: “We have always prided ourselves in working collaboratively with our clients to provide phase appropriate development, manufacturing and clinical testing services. This investment allows us to further expand on these services, enabling our clients to fast-track their drug product development.”

Scots Unis Win Share of Decarbonisation Funding

The University of Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt Univeristy are set to receive funding for the next wave of research aimed at accelerating UK decarbonisation efforts, as supported by the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC).

Backed by the UKRI’s Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, IDRIC are providing the money as part of its rolling “Flexible Funding Programme,” funding 13 new research projects to the tune of £1.2m in total.

Bryony Livesey, director of the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge at UKRI, said: “The new round of funding by IDRIC aligns with the UK Government’s commitment to support and drive Net Zero goals. The quality of projects is a testament to IDRIC’s ability to collaborate with high-quality researchers to find meaningful solutions to decarbonising industries in the UK.”

Discover more here.

Scientists at Scots Uni Secure £1M for Carbon Capture Tech

A team of scientists at the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with Carbfix – an Icelandic mineralisation operator – and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), have earned £1 million to support their work.

Their collaborative project, called Inclusion, received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council’s “Pushing the Frontiers” scheme for environmental science research.

The partnership will look to develop methods for measuring the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) in volcanic rock.

Dr Stuart Gilfillan, reader in Geochemistry at the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This project will combine the state-of-the-art scientific laboratory facilities available in Scotland with the world’s leading CO2 mineralisation project to provide essential understanding of how to safely lock away CO2 in underground basalts.”

Learn more here.

Scots Gov Provides Funding for Digital Inclusion Projects

In an effort to enhance digital accessibility in mental health and housing services, the Scottish Government has announced funding through the Digital Inclusion Programme for thirteen pioneering projects.

The first phase of the program, with a budget of £600,000, is expected to directly benefit more than 1,500 people through digital accessibility.

“This programme will see models tested that will help so many people gain the skills they need to improve their own health and know how to access the support that is available to them,” said Michael Matheson, cabinet secretary for NHS recovery, health and social care.

Read more here.

Three Scots Projects Land Funding From UK Space Agency

Three Scottish projects have been awarded up to £55,000 in UK Space Agency funding for innovations and research into water management, carbon emissions, and climate change effects using satellite technology.

The projects are set to take advantage of Earth observation tools, satellite tracking, and data on population demographics, in a bid to benefit sectors ranging from agriculture and energy, to finance and insurance.

Minister of state at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, George Freeman MP, said: “By backing UK innovators to make the most of modern technology including satellite data, AI, and Earth observation, we are also supporting businesses up and down our country to grow our economy while driving forward our ambition to make the UK a major player in space.”

Discover more here.

UK FinTech Growth Partners Unveils £1 Billion Growth Fund

London-based investment firm UK FinTech Growth Partners has unveiled a £1 billion growth fund to support the country’s burgeoning fintech sector.

The growth fund is backed by established financial institutions like Mastercard, Barclays, NatWest, the London Stock Exchange Group, and Peel Hunt. The goal of the £1bn fund will be to help fintech companies between their Series B and pre-IPO stage.

“Our aim is to not only provide the capital needed for founders to scale their businesses, but to also engage with stakeholders across the nation to support the wider ecosystem. In doing so, we believe we can ensure the UK remains a global leader in FinTech,” said Phil Vidler, managing partner and CEO of FinTech Alliance.

Learn more here.

UKI2S Innovation Fund Surpasses £100M After New Backing

Investment into the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) has surpassed £100 million, following further support from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

The purpose of UKI2S is to build and grow early-stage technology companies stemming from the UK’s research base. It’s an evergreen fund managed by Future Planet Capital, an impact-led venture capital firm.

Speaking on the surpassing of the £100m figure, George Freeman, the science and innovation minister, said: “This funding, reaching over £100 million with today’s investment, has so far supported more than a thousand high-quality jobs across the UK and secured more than £700 million of further private investment, in turn levelling up our country and boosting our economy.”

Read more here.

Green AI Initiatives Win Share of £1M UK Gov Funding

Twelve green AI initiatives will receive a share of £1m to decarbonise and boost the generation of renewable energy, in an effort to reach the UK’s net zero goal by 2050.

The supported schemes included in the fund range from solar energy improvements which use AI to improve forecasting of when it will best produce energy for the grid, to the decarbonisation of dairy farming through the use of AI robots monitoring crop and soil health.

Minister for energy efficiency and green finance, Lord Callanan, said: “It’s projects like those announced today that will take us to the next step on our ambitious journey to becoming net zero, while boosting our energy security and creating a new wave of skilled jobs for the future.”

Discover more here.

Intelligens Consulting Helps Attract Investment Through Digital Infrastructure Model

Through its Anchor Tenant model, Intelligens Consulting — the telecoms, smart city, and digital transformation management consultant — has helped local authorities to transform their digital infrastructure and attract hundreds of millions of pounds in private sector investment.

The Anchor Tenant model, developed in 2019 by Intelligens Consulting, creates an environment for businesses to thrive and grow while increasing fibre coverage, connectivity, and bandwidths for council sites and communities.

“Our approach has not only attracted substantial private investment but has also yielded impressive economic returns, with up to £2.5 billion generated for local economies.”
said Iqbal Singh Bedi, the founder and consulting director of Intelligens Consulting.

Recommended reading

• Scottish Equity Investment Rose Last Year, But Deals — Including in IT — Fell
• DIGIT Movers and Shakers | July 2023
• DIGIT Deal Roundup | July 2023

Deals and Acquisitions

Converged Acquires Aberdeen Technical Services

Aberdeen-based IT, cybersecurity and internet service provider, Converged Communication Solutions, has acquired Aberdeen Technical Services (ATS).

The merger has resulted in the creation of a separate company under the Converged group, Scot-Tech Fire and Security (STFS).

Following the decision of its managing director, Graham Porteous, to step back from the business, ATS chose to become part of STFS in a move that has seen all employees being transferred, and existing customer relationships and service levels being maintained.

Andy McKay, now general manager of STFS, said: “We’re delighted to have taken on ATS. Having worked with them as a client for over six years, we were familiar with their steadfast reputation for high tech security systems, established client base and 25-year history. This merger helps to give us the competitive edge, enabling us to deliver clients the full package of security both online and offline.”

CMA Provisionally Clears £1.2BN UnitedHealth-EMIS Deal

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared a £1.2bn deal between healthcare tech giants UnitedHealth and EMIS following an in-depth investigation.

The deal was originally investigated over concerns it would hurt market competition for the technology used by GPs and hospitals to store data.

Kirstin Baker, chair of the independent inquiry panel carrying out the investigation, said: “Digital technology and data analytics play an increasingly important role in supporting high quality healthcare in the NHS and so it’s important we investigate this deal thoroughly.

“We want to ensure the NHS continues to benefit from innovation and efficiencies brought about by technology services competing for its business. After carefully considering a broad range of evidence, we have provisionally found that this deal is not expected to harm competition or adversely affect patients.”

Learn more here.