Scotland's startup landscape is a mix of established technology firms and new ventures across many industries. The country shows strength in areas like travel technology, artificial intelligence, and telecommunications.
Long-standing companies like Skyscanner, with $197.2M in funding, operate alongside newer businesses such as GoFibre, which has secured £125M for broadband infrastructure. The list also includes very recent startups like Wordsmith AI, a legal tech firm founded in 2024 with $30M in funding.
Below is our list of 60 Scotland startups worth keeping an eye on.
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Get the Sheet for $50Skyscanner built a global travel search engine that helps people find and compare deals on flights, hotels, and car rentals. Their platform pulls in options from countless providers, giving travelers a single place to plan and book their trips.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 2003 |
| Founders | Barry Smith, Bonamy Grimes, Gareth Williams |
| Funding Amount | $197.2M |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Sequoia Capital, Vitruvian Partners, Khazanah Nasional, Scottish Equity Partners, Baillie Gifford |
Aveni develops a conversational AI platform designed to help financial services firms analyze customer interactions for compliance and productivity. The company’s technology automates quality assurance and administrative tasks, turning conversational data into actionable insights.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Alexandra Birch, Barry Haddow, Jamie Hunter, Joseph Twigg |
| Funding Amount | £15.5M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Par Equity, Scottish Enterprise, Lloyds Banking Group, Puma Private Equity, TRICAPITAL |
Wordsmith AI builds an advanced artificial intelligence platform specifically for in-house legal teams. Their technology helps legal professionals automate complex work and manage tasks more efficiently.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 2024 |
| Founders | Ross McNairn |
| Funding Amount | $30M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Scottish Enterprise, s16vc, Felix Capital |
Artisanal Spirits Company curates and sells unique single cask spirits to a global community of members. They are best known as the parent company of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, one of the world's largest whisky clubs.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | £35M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | Santander |
Skylark Lasers designs and manufactures compact, single-frequency lasers for applications requiring high precision. Their diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) systems are known for their ultra-reliable performance and stability.
| Headquarters | Newbridge, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Fedor Karpushko |
| Funding Amount | £5.8M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Par Equity, Innovate UK, Scottish Enterprise, British Business Investments, Scottish Investment Bank |
GoFibre builds and operates a full-fibre broadband network for homes and businesses across Scotland and the north of England. They specialize in connecting towns and rural areas, bringing gigabit-speed internet to communities often overlooked by larger providers.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | — |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | £125M |
| Startup Size | — |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | Scottish National Investment Bank, Hamburg Commercial Bank |
FinTech Scotland develops and manages the country's financial technology cluster, aiming to establish it as a top global hub. The organization fosters innovation and growth by connecting entrepreneurs with financial institutions, government bodies, and universities.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Stephen Ingledew |
| Funding Amount | £22.5M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Grant |
| Top Investors | UK Government |
pureLiFi develops communication technology that uses light to transmit data, creating high-speed wireless networks. Their systems integrate data and lighting infrastructures to provide a more secure alternative to conventional Wi-Fi.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Harald Haas, Mostafa Afgani |
| Funding Amount | $84.9M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Temasek Holdings, Scottish Enterprise, Par Equity, Scottish National Investment Bank, TRICAPITAL |
Recast built a streaming platform for sports and entertainment that operates without a monthly subscription. Instead, fans use a pay-as-you-watch model to directly support the channels and creators they follow.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Andy Meikle |
| Funding Amount | £18.3M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Seed |
| Top Investors | Morpheus Ventures, Cooley, The Riva Group, Riva Technology and Entertainment, Airstream Ventures |
Wood Mackenzie provides research and consultancy for the energy, chemicals, metals, and mining industries. Their data and analytics help organizations make strategic decisions in the complex natural resources sector.
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, Scotland |
| Year Founded | 1973 |
| Founders | Amir Bornaee, Morten Keller |
| Funding Amount | — |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | — |
| Top Investors | — |
50 Additional Scotland Startups Worth Following
Our top 10 picks are just a small slice of what’s happening across Scotland right now. Everywhere you look, new founders are experimenting and finding support for their ideas. You'll see a lot of new companies in fields like AI and AgTech, which together have raised over a billion dollars. Here’s a look at the other startups helping define the country's tech scene.
