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DIGIT Deal Roundup | December 2025
The close out of 2025 saw a range of high profile deals across quantum, AI, biotech, and data centres.
Welcome to December 2025’s DIGIT Deal Roundup.
After a short break, we reflect on the deals that saw 2025’s stellar year to its completion, with landmark funding rounds in AI, space, and more.
As the year wound down, firms finalised some major deals in data centre funding, large investments in biotech and quantum breakthroughs, and major acquisitions in the Scottish tech sphere.
All that, and more, coming up.
Funding & Investment
Edinburgh’s Optima Partners Secures Fresh Growth Capital
Edinburgh-based Optima Partners has won fresh backing from Growth Capital Partners (GCP), with the cash earmarked to accelerate the AI consultancy’s ambitious expansion plans across the UK and Europe following a year of sustained growth.
Optima, which specialises in data and AI-led transformation, said that the new investment will allow the firm to scale further and faster by investing in customer operations, expanding strategic marketing, strengthening talent development, and growing its position in regional markets.
Founded in 2013 by Alan Crawley, the company supports enterprise organisations across industries such as financial services, energy, and telecoms, in tackling complex challenges through business strategy, machine learning and AI, and advanced engineering.
Read more here.
UK Gov Launches Fresh Funding for Scottish Space Tech
Scotland’s space industry is set to receive a funding boost under new plans from the UK Government aimed at backing breakthrough technologies and a faster route to commercialisation.
Universities across Scotland will team up with partners around the UK to receive a share of £3.8 million under the National Space Innovation Programme, aimed at developing new tools and systems for secure communications, environmental monitoring, and navigation.
Among the projects awarded funding are a partnership between Edinburgh University and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre to develop an instrument for CubeSats to measure pollution from space, while Heriot-Watt will work with Toshiba Europe on a secure quantum transmitter for small satellites.
At the same time, the UK Space Agency announced £1.1 million to strengthen space clusters in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, working through the UK’s devolved administrations to harness each region’s unique strengths and catalyse investment for local growth.
Read more here.
Dunoon Data Centre Developer Secures £15M for AI Expansion
Argyll Infrastructure Holdings, a Dunoon-based firm focused on building sustainable, high-performance data centres, has announced an initial capital raise of £15 million, the first stage in an ambitious investment plan.
While the firm did not release details of those behind the funding, it said that negotiations were continuing for a further £100 million, expected to be made available within the next six months, with AIH looking to attract future investors to the tune of €2 billion (£1.7bn).
The company said this mega investment, which would count among the largest in Scotland, will support new AI infrastructure sites at both Dunoon and Perth, laying the foundations of a Scottish network designed to deliver resilience, seamless connectivity, and future‑ready capacity.
To anchor the project, AIH has entered a three-year exclusivity deal with SambaNova, the full‑stack AI chip firm reported to be in early acquisition talks with tech giant Intel.
The Scottish data centre builder said that SamabNova’s integrated AI rack solutions could ensure “lightning-fast inference on the best open-source models” while maintaining an efficient carbon footprint.
Read more here.
Glasgow’s Fraunhofer Centre Wins £8M for Quantum Breakthroughs
Glasgow’s Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics (CAP) has secured £8 million in fresh funding from the UK Government to fuel the next wave of breakthroughs in photonics and quantum technologies.
The investment, provided by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, will support the Centre’s research and development over the next four years, building on a previous £2 million handed out by DSIT earlier this year for capital equipment.
The cash injection will allow the Centre, based at the University of Strathclyde, to continue its work creating advanced laser and optical systems that address challenges across sectors such as space, defence, healthcare, and renewable energy.
Read more here.
Orbital Marine Power Lands £7M For Next Wave of Tidal Tech
Orkney-based Orbital Marine Power has landed a £7 million investment deal from PXN Ventures to power the next wave of its tidal technology and pursue international commercial projects.
Using floating tidal turbines to generate clean, reliable electricity from tidal currents, Orbital harnesses energy along the UK coast, with a design built for cost‑efficient servicing and scalable manufacturing.
The fresh capital, which comes alongside support from existing shareholders, including Scottish Enterprise, will fuel Orbital’s growth mission. The company said it is on course to double its turbine orderbook, underpinned by UK Government contracts for a total of six turbines delivering 14.4MW at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) site in Orkney.
Read more here.
Edinburgh Biotech MI:RNA Nets $3.6M to Expand Vet Diagnostics
Edinburgh-based molecular diagnostics company MI:RNA has announced the completion of an oversubscribed funding round, raising $3.6 million (£2.7m) to accelerate the firm’s future expansion and commercial progress.
Having achieved a $4 million (£2.9m) Series A in July 2024, this latest funding round attracted participation from existing investors, including NovaQuest, Scottish Enterprise, Kyoritsu Holdings Corporation, VANE (Angel Syndicate), Animal Health Angels, Equity Gap and Gabriel, as well as new investors Holstein UK and AniVC.
The Scottish biotech, which uses biomarkers and advanced modelling to diagnose veterinary disease earlier, said that the return of established investors reflected industry confidence in its early disease detection technology, commercial strategy, and international presence.
Read more here.
AAC Clyde Space Lands Major Investor Boost
Small satellite firm AAC Clyde Space has announced that Bonnier Capital will become its largest shareholder following a strategic investment valued at more than £11 million.
The space tech, headquartered in Sweden but with a global footprint that includes a satellite manufacturing base in Glasgow, said the investment of 140 million kr (Swedish Krona) marks an important step in the business’s long-term development and will allow it to meet growing demand for space-based intelligence.
Acquiring more than a million new shares, Bonnier Capital becomes the company’s largest stockholder, a partnership which AAC Clyde Space said will provide it with the resources to accelerate priority programmes and finance the growth of its operational capacity.
The investment will aid the firm in its mission to turn space-based intelligence into real-world impact across a variety of applications, including weather monitoring, maritime safety, security, defence, agriculture and forestry.
Read more here.
Myriad Energy Targets Small-Wind Market with £865K Boost
Scottish clean-tech Myriad Wind Energy Systems has secured £865,000 in seed funding to help it deploy its first crane-free, small modular wind turbine, tech which could see clean, green, and cost-effective wind power for thousands of businesses across the country.
The Stirling-based firm’s patented technology is designed to open on-site wind generation to areas that have historically been unsuitable due to cost, access, and installation complexity, issues that have caused wind energy to remain underutilised at a smaller scale.
Myriad’s small modular turbine system, however, does not require specialist heavy lifting equipment or access roads, allowing wind power to be deployed across a far wider range of sites, from rural businesses and farms, to industrial estates and off-grid infrastructure.
Read more here.
StretchSense Raises $2.3M For Wearable XR Training Tech
Wearable tech firm StretchSense has secured $2.3 million (£1.75m) in a fresh investment round led by PXN Ventures to accelerate the global rollout of its XR training glove, designed to let organisations immerse employees in realistic virtual environments.
The wearables firm, which announced plans to double its Edinburgh headcount earlier this year, aims to deliver a lifelike training experience, building real-world skills enhanced by haptic technology that creates realistic sensations using vibrations when touching digital objects
The new funding from PXN, supported by Scottish Enterprise, will help the firm to expand its reach across sectors ranging from healthcare and education to aviation and defence, with StretchSense engaging several global partners about licensing opportunities for the XR games consumer market.
Read more here.
Acquisitions
Loveelectric Acquired by Perkbox
Electric vehicle salary sacrifice firm Loveelectric has been acquired by Perkbox for an undisclosed sum.
The deal will allow Perkbox to expand its benefits offerings with Loveelectric’s EV salary sacrifice and charging solutions, opening the service to thousands of organisations and employees already using Perkbox’s app.
Since Loveelectric’s launch in 2021, the Scottish firm has grown quickly, supporting 125,000 employees and 1,500 employers. The firm also recently acquired Bypass, a startup, in order to cut the cost of public charging.
Perkbox offers benefits, employee wellbeing, and engagement in a single app for employees and employers alike, with over four million employees using the service.
The acquisition of Loveelectric is an important step for Perkbox after the launch of its new unified employee experience platform in September of this year.
Read more here.
Hedgehog Lab Acquires Edinburgh’s Label Sessions
Label Sessions, the Edinburgh-based global innovation network, has been acquired by digital product consultancy hedgehog lab for an undisclosed sum.
Those behind the deal said that the agreement creates a full-stack innovation consultancy, combining the strength of Label Sessions’ network of more than 500 experts with Newcastle-based hedgehog lab’s skill in AI delivery, product design and development.
The tie-up will aim to help organisations across sectors such as finance, travel, retail, and tech fast‑track the journey from concept to pilot to scalable AI products, cutting both time and the cost of realising real-world impact.
The deal with hedgehog lab builds on Label Session’s mission since the company’s launch back in 2023, to connect business leaders to ‘the best advice from the most interesting people’ in live 1:1 sessions.
Read more here.
