The Scottish government has launched a Techscaler hub in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley as part of its programme to create a network of tech incubation hubs.
The Silicon Valley hub is the Scottish Techscaler programme’s first overseas tech hub, and has space for 12 startups looking to grow their businesses and connect with others.
The US-based tech hub is initially a pilot, but tech incubator Codebase, which runs the Techscaler programme on behalf of the Scottish government, is hoping to create a permanent space.
This will give Scottish business owners the ability to remain in Scotland long term, but still having access to Silicon Valley’s tech community.
The £42m Techscaler programme was launched by the then-first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, in July 2022. It consists of a network of Techscaler incubators spread across Scotland, including in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Stirling, Aberdeen, Dumfries and Inverness.
Commenting on the programme’s US expansion, Scottish well-being economy secretary Mairi McAllan said the Techscaler network “is showcasing some of Scotland’s most promising startups on the global stage” and 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,” she said.
“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.”
In 2020, the then Scottish finance secretary, Kate Forbes, announced a short-term review of the country’s tech sector.
The review, which was led by former Skyscanner chief operating officer Mark Logan, was published in August 2020. It called for government to build out “a world-class backbone implementation of core capability”, as well as setting up a network of Techscaler incubators, which led to the creation of the programme in 2022.
The techscalers aim to provide “long-term affordable, high-quality incubation space” and education in a range of areas, including Silicon Valley business models, internet economy working practices, how to manage people and teams, and basic operating hygiene.
So far, the programme has recruited 634 startup founder members across 517 startups.
“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”
Daniel Grant, Notation.dev
One of the first companies to use the Silicon Valley hub is Notation.dev, and founder Daniel Grant said joining the hub has enabled him to “connect with people from around the world 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,” he said.
The partnership between the two means alumni companies, which have previously taken part in one of CivTech’s challenges, will automatically be given Techscaler membership and access to a number of facilities and services.
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