Scotland’s first deeptech accelerator has been launched by the University of Glasgow in partnership with a ‘smart things’ development hub based in the city.
The Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC) will work with the university on the creation of a programme to help build the next generation of tech startups that can make a ‘global impact’.
The Infinity G accelerator numbers 15 ventures including 10 spinouts, from AI and quantum computing to biotechnology, and is designed to nurture and advance groundbreaking deeptech ventures.
Alessia, Glanadair, AevaSpec, Flora Wind, ForceBiology, Diabetes Companion, Hoofsmart, Orthovis, Quantcore, Quantrologee, RX Watt, Scotia Biotech, SepSense, and Unravel Health join the first cohort, a 13-week accelerator hosted at STAC’s thebeyond co-working and lab space based at Skypark in Finnieston, Glasgow.
The Infinity G accelerator is partly funded by Glasgow City Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Uzma Khan, vice principal, economic development and innovation, University of Glasgow, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with STAC on this programme, which will bring enormous values and benefit to this first cohort. Each of these early stage ventures have been selected for the quality of their propositions, innovative technology, and scale of ambition.
“STAC brings a wealth of deep tech expertise to our doorstep, and particularly so at a time when the university has stepped up to unlock the significant potential of our deep tech spin-outs and startups, both from the university and in the wider city region.”
Melville Anderson, head of commercialisation at the University of Glasgow, added: “Infinity G is one of our new initiatives to provide specialist support to our entrepreneurs seeking to build ventures. These nascent companies will build on cutting-edge science and engineering innovations to product and services with scalable global market potential in areas ranging from quantum computing and sensing, industrial process energy efficiency, and women’s health.
“We’re excited to be collaborating with STAC and bringing their tech company building methodology to what could be the next generation of major employers in the city of Glasgow.”
Paul Wilson, CEO and co-founder of STAC, said: “We’re honoured to help develop the innovation brilliance coming out of University of Glasgow, moving towards commercialisation and getting founders prepared to make a global impact. The first cohort is full of high-potential ventures, and through our company scaling mentorship methodology, we are already confident we are building startups that can make a global impact. We are integral to Scotland developing a deeptech supercluster, with key constituents including our world-class universities, scale-up expertise, and funding.”
STAC says the Infinity G programme is unique in the UK because of its depth of mentorship, building vital startup ingredients across sales, marketing, IP & technology, investment, finance, legal and talent/HR. Mentored by industry experts, the industry-led model mobilises technology and professional service partners to the university’s sourced ventures.
Yazan Haidar, co-founder of SepSense, originally a student-based team from the University of Glasgow that is now developing a self-calibrating biosensor to detect asymptomatic sepsis, said: “We think the Infinity G programme though STAC will give us a strong foundation from which to develop our prototype, gain access to industry, and start mapping out our future go to market and commercialisation strategy. The US market provides a huge opportunity for SepSense, we want to build internationalisation into our positioning from the outset, and we are impressed with the expertise made available to us on international markets.”
Wilson added: “Overall, we want to create an environment that enables Scotland to become a deeptech powerhouse on the global scene with Glasgow recognised as an epicentre of impactful, scaled, and competitive brands.”
In September, STAC launched thebeyond, where companies and founders have access to a 250-desk co-working and event space, electronics and design labs supported by global tech giant Keysight Technologies, and a media lab – which aims to be Europe’s largest “smart things” hub.
STAC is supported by a range of UK and international corporates, including Pelion, Plexus, and Keysight, and the technology accelerator announced its latest industry partnership in June, to provide an innovation pipeline for Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars, a pioneer in the electric vehicle (EV) market.