Edinburgh’s tech sector has seen an investment leap of 67% in the past year, according to new figures.
The annual Tech Nation report shows the capital secured £120m in venture capital in 2019, compared to £70m the previous year.
Data revealed a total of £200m in venture capital investment across Scotland last year.
Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Investment into Scotland’s tech sector was an impressive £200m in 2019, making it one of the fastest growing industries in the country.
“We are determined to create the conditions digital businesses in Scotland need to succeed and are investing heavily in gigabit speed broadband, 5G, cyber security, digital skills, and research and development.”
Hazel Jane, Entrepreneur Engagement Manager, Scotland, Tech Nation, said: “Scotland’s tech sector is growing fast and is attracting considerable amounts of investment. £93 million was invested in emerging technology in 2019 alone, and £25 million into Artificial Intelligence. I’m looking forward to seeing continued growth in Scotland’s tech sector, building on our growing reputation in the fintech sector, and in emerging areas of technology too, including Healthtech and Spacetech.”
Allan Cannon, Co-founder & CEO, R3 IoT, said: “R3 IoT was founded in the summer of 2018, having identified a new approach to delivering remote data from sensors via satellite (Remote Industrial IoT). Although we are still relatively young for a start-up we have great traction and secured some amazing follow on work – in the last 6 months we’ve doubled our headcount and have generated a seven figure sales pipeline.
“Being based in Scotland has provided us with a great foundation to generate growth. Not only are we surrounded by incredible talent from some of the best universities in the country, we’ve also had some amazing support from the likes of Scottish Enterprise, the UK Space Agency and the CENSIS innovation centre. There is a definite buzz in Scotland’s tech community particularly across Glasgow and Edinburgh and we are excited to be a part of it.”
For Scotland, headline findings are:
- £200mn total VC investment in 2019
- £93m invested in emerging tech (2015-2019)
- £25m invested in Artificial Intelligence (2015-2019)
- 4 digital tech unicorns are based in Scotland
- 1 high-value tech scaleup (2019)- Orbex Space
- Edinburgh sees 67% rise in VC investment from 2018 to 2019 from £70mn to £120mn
- Median digital tech salary is £43,000 in 2019
