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Scotland launches startup hub in Silicon Valley

Techscaler San Francisco Silicon Valley hub
Image credit: Techscaler

A Scottish government-backed programme has launched its first hub in San Francisco to foster ties between startups from Scotland and the Silicon Valley tech community.

The Techscaler pilot programme, lasting one month, will see 12 startups work out of an office at the heart of Silicon Valley for around two weeks at a time.

The facility is located at a Mindspace co-working space near the South Park District, San Francisco’s venture capital finance district.

CodeBase, a UK-wide technology incubator, is running the programme.

The long-term aim is to create a permanent San Francisco hub that encourages businesses to remain in Scotland while accessing Silicon Valley investors and customers.

“We think about it less as a programme, more about creating a permanent hub,” a spokesperson for CodeBase told UKTN. “We are hopeful that this is a best-of-both-worlds moment that can help companies touch down easily in San Francisco.  If they scale in the future, we’d hope that they move but retain people and presence in Scotland.”

It comes as part of a £42m investment from the Scottish government, announced in 2022, to establish seven Techscaler hubs that provide advice from industry experts.

“The benefits are clear, our startups are expanding their networks and engaging with communities of like-minded individuals of owners, startups and investors,” said Mairi McAllan, Scotland’s wellbeing economy secretary.

“This will help increase their visibility and grow their businesses in the global marketplace.”

The Techscaler initiative was launched following recommendations by the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review, which was conducted by the Scotland’s chief entrepreneur and former Skyscanner COO Mark Logan.

McAllan added: “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.”

The participating Scottish startups operate in areas ranging from space tech to health tech.

Daniel Grant, founder of Notation.dev, one of the startups using 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 12 participating startups are:

  • Playmaker
  • Unbaggaged
  • Krucial
  • National Support Network
  • Estendio
  • Notation.dev
  • Your Spin
  • Valla
  • eCERTO
  • Infix
  • Lovat Compliance
  • Refer My Jobs

Read more: Why the future is bright for Scotland’s tech industry

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