Glasgow’s regional tech ecosystem has hit a valuation of £4.1 billion according to a new industry report.
Its collective enterprises are now part of one of the fastest-growing clusters in the UK, according to Dealroom’s second annual report on the city region.
The report dives into the rapid growth of the ecosystem – including a record year of investment in 2023 – with venture capitalists and angel investors securing opportunities in Glasgow’s emerging tech sectors across food, climate, recruitment, photonics.
Healthcare, in particular, drew more than 50 per cent of all investments through 2023, illustrating how the importance of med-tech and life sciences to the city region.
Leading academic institutions have also continued to support innovation, with nearly 30 per cent of the total enterprise value coming from regional university spinouts.
Early-stage investment is also on the rise with breakout stage in particular at an all-time high of £99 million, up 50 per cent from 2022.
“Glasgow has learned how to harness its considerable talent, creativity and resources towards building a genuinely world-class start-up environment,” said Mark Logan, chief entrepreneurial adviser to the Scottish Government.
“The city has experienced astonishing growth of 526 per cent in investment into its startups since 2019, making it one of Europeʼs fastest-growing startup ecosystems, with the enterprise value of Glasgowʼs startups exceeding £4 billion for the first time.”
The stats showed that the combined value has increased to over £4 billion this year from £2.4 billion in 2020. By growth rates in venture capital investment, Glasgow now ranks fourth in the UK after Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield.
Glasgow City Council worked in partnership with Dealroom.co on the second annual Glasgow City Region Tech Ecosystem Report.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The partnership in Glasgow and the city-region between the public, private and academic sectors has created a thriving and rapidly-growing tech ecosystem that will increasingly help drive our economy in the future. It is particularly interesting to see the rapid development of some sectors that will be key to this economic growth.”
Gregor Aikman, founder and chief operating officer at the Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC), based in the city, said: “Glasgow City Region has a huge advantage. Access to industries, markets, infrastructure and services are all possible and being a significant urban area, itʼs a great cultural and creative environment. All of this provides an advantage to startups being exposed to diverse perspectives, ideas, and trends.”
