New wave of tech firms set off to Silicon Valley

Scottish start-ups will travel to Silicon Valley to unlock investment and expand their customer base as part of a landmark government programme.

Techscaler has announced the latest wave of Scottish entrepreneurs that will take part in its San Francisco hub. From 12 to 31 May, 14 companies will have the opportunity to take their AI-powered tools, apps and climate tech to the next stage.

They will “unlock further investment, develop new commercial partnerships and drive and showcase their businesses on a global stage”, deputy first minister Kate Forbes said.

Their solutions are set to help combat climate change as well as improve healthcare and education. Selected firms include Glasgow-based firm LumiAIres which designs photonic capable of cutting energy use by up to 90 per cent and PracTest which automates administrative tasks for NHS GPs.

This is the third group of entrepreneurs to travel to San Francisco as part of the Techscaler initiative, with previous rounds taking place February and September last year. In August, Techscaler also announced a similar venture in Singapore.

Forbes added: “The programme has already generated tangible, positive outcomes for past participants, and I know the companies visiting Silicon Valley next month will seize the opportunity to collaborate with some of the biggest names in industry and take their business to the next level.”

During their three-week stay entrepreneurs will also have time at the Mindspace co-working facility and attend the SaaStr conference, a world-leading event on cloud computing.

More than 800 venture capitalists and around 300 speakers from the world’s top SaaS (software as a service) and AI companies, including representatives from OpenAI, Anthropic and Canva, are expected to take part in the conference.

Anais Guillemaud, head of scale-up growth programmes at CodeBase, which runs Techscaler, said: “International connections are instrumental to startup growth, leading to economic development through inward investment and job creation. 

“In San Francisco and Silicon Valley, the ecosystem is at such a mature level, there is no language barrier, so meeting investors, customers, and peers happens very organically, supported by attending a world-class conference like SaaStr.  The immersive experience will be invaluable for our start-ups, understanding that if they want to compete internationally, they have to reach the same standard as the best start-ups worldwide.”