News
Scotland’s scaleups being held back by £25m glass ceiling
Scotland risks losing high-growth companies overseas unless it addresses a widening gap in later-stage capital and skills, industry leaders have warned.
At an industrial strategy roundtable in Glasgow, investors, manufacturers and public agencies agreed that while Scotland performs strongly in spinouts and early-stage funding, the transition to scale remains the system’s weakest link.
Source: The Scotsman
Earth Blox funding tackles climate risks to business
Earth Blox, an Edinburgh-based environmental risk company, has secured new funding to help businesses understand how they are impacted by loss of nature and climate change.
PXN Ventures, which grew out of Par Equity, has led a £6m funding round with support from Scottish Enterprise, Archangels and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Source: Daily Business
Why universities are the glue uniting talent, industry and patient need
Universities have a unique role to play in accelerating health technologies out of the lab and into the hands of the clinicians and patients who really need them. But while Scotland continues to lead the way on innovation, change is urgently needed to accelerate pathways to clinical adoption.
Source: The Scotsman
Biotech spin-out secures £1.58m as bio kits sell in US
The University of Edinburgh spin-out BIOCAPTIVA has raised £1.58 million in a new funding round and launched its first product in the US.
BIOCAPTIVA’s a novel magnetic bead technology is designed to solve one of liquid biopsy’s biggest bottlenecks - preparing blood samples for cancer research and diagnostics. By improving how cell-free DNA is captured from blood, the technology aims to make liquid biopsy testing more reliable, scalable, and accessible.
Source: The Business
Female powerhouses are fuelling Scottish economy
If you want to see today where the Scottish economy is firing on all cylinders, look at your women business champions.
The number of visible, scaling female founded or co-founded businesses has surged by a staggering 81 per cent over the past year. These 139 powerhouses – including the likes of pizza disrupter Ooni, creative arts giant LS Productions, and life sciences firm Amici – now generate £1.5 billion in revenue and employ more than16,000 people.
Source: The Scotsman
SCC and FICCI sign MoU to strengthen Scotland–India business links
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at deepening economic cooperation, strengthening trade and investment relations, and enhancing business‑to‑business partnerships between Scotland and India.
Source: Scottish Financial News
‘Step-change’ for UK’s digital horsepower
A major new compute investment could accelerate the progress of astronomers exploring the mysteries of the universe, chemists searching for cancer-killing drugs, and historians analysing archives.
The £76m investment from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is set to enhance the UK’s computing and AI capability.
Innovation unlocked by Scotland's aligned national ecosystem
Scotland combines world-class research and clinical excellence with international connectivity and access to a skilled workforce, often with strong talent retention levels which I believe is one of Scotland’s most underappreciated strengths, says Mark Hanna
Source: The Scotsman
SRUC presented with Queen Elizabeth Prize for Education
SRUC has been presented with a prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize for Education by Their Majesties The King and Queen yesterday, Tuesday 24 February 2026.
The accolade was awarded at St James’s Palace for SRUC's leading work on the Scottish Farm Business Survey alongside 18 other institutions.
Salmon study supports £200m innovation drive
An £8.5m project to boost health and welfare in farmed salmon is contributing to a sector in which innovation spend has surged to almost £200 million within a decade, according to an independent report.
Innovation has broadened across every major area of salmon farming, the review into the sector concludes.