Welcome to the latest edition of the DIGIT Deal Roundup.

In August 2024, Scotland’s tech sector witnessed some significant funding wins by organisations and projects working in key areas like agritech, biotech, connectivity, SaaS, and much, much more.

For a recap on those standout stories, here’s our roundup.

Funding and Investments

SaaS Firm Administrate Secures £3.05 Million

Administrate, the Edinburgh-based learning and training management software company, has secured £3.05 million in a new funding round—just over a year after it raised a £5m investment.

The British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS), which is managed by Maven Capital Partners, provided £1m towards this new round. Archangels and Mercia, existing investors, also supported it.

The tech firm’s latest investment coincides with the launch of its new AI scheduling tool, which helps enterprise customers with the planning and management of learning and training activities at scale.

To learn more, click here.

Metacarpal Gets £800,000 Boost

Edinburgh-based startup Metacarpal, which is behind what’s thought to be the world’s first mechanical bionic hand, has received £800,000 in seed funding to accelerate its prosthetic development.

Investors in this funding round included SIS Ventures, Scottish Enterprise, Worth Capital, Oxford Technology, the University of Strathclyde, and Gabriel Investment Syndicate.

“The success of the seed funding round is a huge milestone for the business, which will enable us to develop our bionic into a commercially viable product with the potential to change the lives of prosthetics users. I cannot wait to see the impact that it has,” said Metacarpal CEO and founder, Fergal Mackie.

To read more, click here.

Connekt Group Obtains £250K IFS Loan

Connekt Group, a Scottish-owned independent electric vehicle (EV) charging network and commercial installation business, has obtained a £250,000 Investment Fund for Scotland
(IFS) loan via appointed fund manager, The FSE Group.

The funding will be used to develop Connekt’s first three rapid charging hubs, enabling the company to expand its proven hub model contributing to national sustainability goals and supporting the transition to electric vehicles.

Connekt founder and managing director, Johnny Manning, said: “We are thrilled to receive this IFS loan via The FSE Group, which will help us play a pivotal role in propelling Connekt’s strategy in the rapid charging market whilst supporting Scotland’s green transition.

“Growth funding for early-stage businesses is limited but vital – with this support we are able to continue our work towards becoming a leader in the EV charging sector, driving the adoption of sustainable energy solutions across the nation.”

Space Intelligence Clinches Series A Funding

Edinburgh-based Space Intelligence has announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding in a round led by new investors AzurX Space Ventures (ASV) with participation from Intercontinental Exchange.

The funding will be used to expand Space Intelligence’s library of mapping data and insights on global forest cover and will support the development and financing of forest carbon projects, as well as nature impact monitoring across corporate supply chains.

“To address the dual climate and biodiversity crises, it’s critical that investment in forest conservation and restoration scales through mechanisms such as the carbon markets and that rigorous compliance with rapidly emerging legislation like the EU Deforestation Regulation is ensured,” said Dr. Murray Collins, co-founder and CEO of Space Intelligence.

To discover more, click here.

Highland Broadband Receives Further £10M

Highland Broadband will receive a further £10 million in funding from the Scottish National Investment Bank.

The latest round of funding from the bank aims to make significant progress in broadband rollout to rural and remote parts of Scotland, with the goal of providing connectivity to more than 100,000 premises.

A part of Lothian Broadband Networks, Highland Broadband estimates that around half a million Scottish premises still lack access to gigabit-capable networks, as it plans to connect as many as possible over the next coming years.

To learn more, click here.

9 Firms Get £7.2M To Cut Carbon

Nine Scottish businesses have received £7.2m in government funding to support expanding their energy-saving projects.

Nine projects across various industries, including food and drink manufacture and timber pallet processing, have been awarded grants from the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF) to support their efforts in reducing carbon emissions created during energy-intensive manufacturing processes.

As well as being awarded £7.2 million by the Scottish government through the fund, another £11.8 million has come from private investment.

Among the projects in this latest round of funding is the Chivas Brothers Strathclyde Distillery in Glasgow, which will begin the use of Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) technology, supported by a £3.1m grant.

To read more, click here.

Glasgow Hospital Invests £2.2M In Robotic System

Ross Hall Hospital, part of the Circle Health Group and Scotland’s largest private hospital, has invested over £2 million in upgrading its technology with the introduction of a Da Vinci surgical system. This advanced setup features multiple mechanical arms controlled by a surgeon through a connected console.

The robotic arms allow for a greater range of motion compared to the natural hand and wrist, enabling smaller, more precise movements to be made by surgeons. Ross Hall’s Da Vinci system matches the surgeon’s hand movements in real time, allowing the robotic arms to simulate the movements exactly.

Robotic-assisted surgery is generally less invasive, with patients benefiting from lower risks of secondary infection, reduced blood loss, and faster recovery times.

To discover more, click here.

2 Scots AgriTech Projects Receive £1.2M

The UK government has awarded funding to two Scottish-based AI projects to help develop agricultural technology as part of its £32 million boost for AI development across the UK.

A scheme using AI-enhanced robotics to automate manual tasks such as intricate trimming work on farms and replanting of crops has been awarded over £1.1 million. The project is set to be delivered by the University of Aberdeen, alongside partners including the Aberdeen-based firm Leap Automation Limited.

The other Scottish programme to win funding comes from Dyneval Limited, at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Innovation Centre, set to receive £99,868 for a project automating the detection of defects in animal sperm, which could help vets with fertility testing to improve livestock production rates.

To learn more, click here.

TransiT Hub Supported By £46M From UKRI EPSRC

Eight institutions across the UK, led by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Glasgow, will join forces to create the TransiT Hub, supported by a £46 million investment from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and 67 partners.

The hub will use sensors attached to critical infrastructure, such as roads, railways and shipping, to create digital twins, dynamic virtual replicas of real-world objects. These will allow data to be analysed in near real-time, testing scenarios and offering solutions for improvements to the physical world.

Researchers say the digital twins will allow for testing how parts of a future decarbonised transport system work that don’t even exist yet, for example electric road systems and alternative fuels.

To read more, click here.

Software Sustainability Institute Secures £10.2M

The Software Sustainability Institute (SSI), led by the University of Edinburgh, The Universities of Manchester and Southampton, has been awarded a record £10.2 million funding for a new project phase from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The national initiative will seek to improve the environmental sustainability of software used in research – the newest phase aims to address the rising interest in artificial intelligence.

Led by the University of Edinburgh’s EPCC (formally known as the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre), the new SSI phase will focus on how to improve equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the research software community, and address the rising interesting in AI and machine learning.

To discover more, click here.

Heriot-Watt University Project Granted £750,000

Heriot-Watt University’s MicroSNARE project has been awarded over £750,000 to develop less invasive cancer detection tests, preventing the need for painful biopsies and saving time and money in treating the disease.

The grant comes from the EPSRC, a UK government agency working alongside UK Research and Innovation to fund research and training in engineering and the physical sciences.

The MicroSNARE project is led by Professor Nicholas Leslie of Heriot Watt University’s new Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies, and Professor Maïwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas, the overall co-lead for the Institute.

To learn more, click here.

Up To £800M For UK-wide Project Gigabit

Hundreds of thousands of rural homes and businesses with outdated broadband infrastructure will receive major internet speed upgrades, as the UK government looks to help bridge the digital divide across the country.

Up to £800 million in government investment will be provided via contracts to Openreach, the telecoms provider, to modernise broadband infrastructure in rural areas of England, Wales, and Scotland.

The deal with the telecoms provider is being made under Project Gigabit, a broadband rollout initiative which targets locations too expensive for providers to reach in their commercial build, and which would otherwise be left behind with poor digital infrastructure.

To read more, click here.

Scots Gov Funding For Youth Entrepreneurship

A new fund has been launched by the Scottish government seeking to spark fresh ways to engage young people in entrepreneurship.

The Entrepreneurial Education Pathways Fund offers public and private sector organisations grants of up to £250,000 to deliver ‘new and innovative’ courses and projects to under-18s to encourage more young people, from a wide range of backgrounds, to choose business ownership as a career path.

Deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for economy Kate Forbes said: “Entrepreneurship is key to a productive and growing economy. Tapping into a more diverse talent pool to drive the creation and growth of new businesses is an ethical and economic imperative.”

To discover more, click here.

New Funding for Business-Academic Collabs

Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s national economic development agency, and Interface, a hub connecting Scottish businesses and academic institutions, have announced a £250,000 fund for research and development collaborations to create new products, processes, and services.

The Advanced Innovation Vouchers are aimed at building sustained relationships between business and academia.

They are open to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Scotland and are awarded on a sliding scale with the business match funding the award up to £20k.

To learn more, click here.

£1.9M Digital Investment for Argyll and Bute Schools

Argyll and Bute Council has announced a £1.9 million investment over the next five years to develop a flexible IT network that will expand digital learning opportunities for children, young people, and communities across the region.

The council’s digital transformation plan includes key investments to support hybrid learning models, enabling both in-school and at-home education. The network upgrades will also tackle emerging cyber security challenges by implementing “zero trust” network security technology.

To read more, click here.

Scottish Enterprise Celebrates Record Year

Scottish Enterprise is celebrating delivering a record set of results over the last financial year, helping to grow both businesses and the Scottish economy.

Working with over 1,300 companies between April 2023 and March 2024, the agency secured over 16,700 new jobs for the country. This includes over 9,000 jobs from inward investors to Scotland—which the agency noted is the highest number achieved in the last five years.

Support provided to firms last year also helped unlock £1.9 billion of capital investment spend in Scotland, £2.15bn in planned exports, and over £449 million in business innovation investments. This represents some of the best annual results ever achieved by businesses and entrepreneurs working with Scottish Enterprise.

To discover more, click here.

SNIB’s Investment Income Grows

The Scottish National Investment Bank’s (“the Bank”) latest annual report has revealed that the development bank’s investment income has considerably grown since the year prior.

The report, which covers the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, shows that the Bank’s income of £19.3 million was up more than 80% on the previous year of £10.7m, and exceeded its operating costs of £16.1m for the first time.

That said, overall loss before tax was £14.6m (2023: £20.2m), with the Bank saying this was predominantly due to realised and unrealised losses on investments.

To learn more, click here.

Acquisitions

Frog Systems Bought Out Of Administration

Scottish tech firm Frog Systems has been acquired by English wellbeing firm, Raiys.

This means that Raiys has acquired the Frog Systems-developed streaming service Ashia, which provides individuals and businesses with 24/7 wellbeing support.

Uncertainty about ongoing research and development tax credit reviews had frustrated Frog Systems’ attempts at attracting new funding streams to provide working capital and accelerate its growth, despite interest from potential investors.

As a result, Craig Morrison and Brian Milne, managing directors of business advisory firm Quantuma, were appointed joint administrators of Frog Systems at the end of July and completed the sale of the Ashia business and assets to Raiys.

To read more, click here.

Hybrid Anchor Acquires Off Canvas

Hybrid Anchor, the web and software development specialist, has announced that it’s acquired Edinburgh-based tech support firm Off Canvas in a deal expected to create 40 new jobs in the next three years.

The move comes as the Coatbridge company marks its third year in business, with a variety of key roles set for both the capital and Glasgow.

Details of the acquisition, which aims to address the strain put on resources in the industry by balancing project execution and help desk support, remain undisclosed.

To discover more, click here.

Black Isle Renewables Acquired By AES Solar

AES Solar, based in Moray, has acquired heat pumping specialists Black Isle Renewables.

The Dingwall-based company, founded in 2010, installs ground source and air source heat pumps and exhaust air units across the North of Scotland and the Western Isles.

AES Solar plans on integrating Black Isle Renewables’ heating expertise with their longstanding solar energy experience to provide comprehensive energy systems that provide power and heat to homes and businesses.

To learn more, click here.