The first crop of companies have graduated from Scotland’s new ‘deeptech’ accelerator programme – aimed at supporting cutting-edge startups in a range of high-growth industries.
Fifteen firms joined the Infinity G programme in Glasgow in October where participants were able to access support workshops, training sessions, company-building mentorship, pitch refining, and business strategy development.
All were geared towards supporting companies in emerging sectors from AI and quantum computing to biotechnology, sensing and communications, advanced Materials, robotics, space, and more.
Mark Logan, Scotland’s former chief entrepreneur, called for a ‘deeptech supercluster’ to be formed last year, which provides greater links from software companies to manufacturing and product development facilities in Scotland.
The programme – which aims to help commercialise research and get companies investment ready – was delivered in collaboration with the University of Glasgow and the Smart Things Accelerator Centre based at Skypark, within Glasgow Riverside Innovation District.
Paul Wilson, CEO and co-founder of STAC, said: “We partnered with the University of Glasgow to help founders validate their ventures, get ready to raise investment, win customers, and build great teams. Mission accomplished. Several ventures are now ready to take the next steps towards global impact and we are excited to support their ongoing journey.”
Uzma Khan, vice principal, economic development and innovation, University of Glasgow, said: “Our collaboration with the Smart Things Accelerator Centre, through the Infinity G programme, has been of tremendous value to this first cohort of founders in our deep-tech accelerator programme.
“The Infinity G programme was launched to help new ventures succeed by supporting founders to learn and navigate their way through the different facets of a startup/spin-out journey. We hope that this will put them on a firmer footing for success as they seek to become investor-ready and scale-up.
“The programme is a significant step towards establishing Scotland as a leading hub for deeptech innovation, creating job opportunities and solutions for positive change on a global scale.”
Adam Foulis, founder at Scotia Biotech, said: “The Infinity G programme for us has been transformative – not just from the financial resources, but from the corporate training, learning how to set up a company with the seven pillars, and the mentorship from STAC has been amazing. The network and connections available have been great – it’s hard to find a fault.”
Veronica Bridgman and Alexandra Oti, co-founders at Unravel Health, said: “The team has been really brilliant. I think they are an incredibly experienced group of non-theoretical mentors, which has been extremely valuable as they have been able to talk about their own experiences. I have also appreciated their flexibility, and they have really taken the time to give us targeted support, which is greatly appreciated.”
Companies taking part:
Alessia, Glanadair, AevaSpec, Flora Wind, ForceBiology, Diabetes Companion, Hoofsmart, Orthovis, Quantcore, Quantrologee, RX Watt, Scotia Biotech, SepSense, and Unravel Health were part of the first cohort. The Infinity G accelerator has been partly funded by the Glasgow City Council-UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
