Twelve tech startups are taking up residence in a Silicon Valley business hub thanks to a Scottish Government scheme.
The companies have joined the Mindspace office and co-working space in San Francisco as part of the £42 million Techscaler programme.
The pilot programme aims to help ‘promising startups from Scotland build contacts with international investors and customers’.
Located in the city’s South Park District – close to venture capital firms and leading investors – the companies are developing solutions in sectors including health technology and space tech.
Technology incubator CodeBase is running the programme and aims to create a ‘permanent hub enabling business owners to remain in Scotland in the longer term while maintaining easy access to the San Francisco tech community’
Mairi McAllan, wellbeing economy secretary, said: “Our £42 million Techscaler network is showcasing some of Scotland’s most promising startups on the global stage. The pilot Techscaler San Francisco hub is helping their businesses make connections in the world’s leading startup community.”
“The benefits are clear, our startups are expanding their networks and engaging with communities of like-minded individuals of owners, startups and investors. This will help increase their visibility and grow their businesses in the global marketplace.”
“Activities like this demonstrate Scotland’s ambition to become one of Europe’s leading startup communities, we are setting an example internationally and helping drive a fair and growing economy.”
Daniel Grant, founder of notation.dev, one of the first companies to use the hub, said: “Joining the San Francisco hub has energised me, and enabled me to connect with people from around the world working at the forefront of tech.
“The power of San Francisco is the velocity at which information moves through the city. It is a hyper-charged network that accelerates innovation, and connects founders with collaborators, prospects and investors faster than anywhere else in the world.”
The full list of firms are: Playmaker, Unbaggaged, Krucial, National Support Network, Estendio, notation.dev, Your Spin, Valla, eCERTO, Infix, Lovat Compliance, and Refer My Jobs.
Dan Zakai, CEO and co-founder, Mindspace, said: “Mindspace works with governments from several countries to create landing spaces for startups. It’s amazing that the Scottish Government has joined that list. We have seen first hand the value of exposing startups to the San Francisco tech ecosystem. We hope to do more in future and to make the Techscaler hub a permanent fixture.”