A Silicon Valley hub for young technology companies from Scotland has been established in San Francisco, one of the world’s leading communities for creating and funding start-up businesses.
Located close to San Francisco’s venture capital finance district, the Techscaler hub is part of the Scottish Government’s nationwide support programme launched in November 2022 following recommendations from Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review headed by Mark Logan. Techscaler is run on behalf of the Scottish Government by technology incubator CodeBase, which says it aims to create a permanent hub enabling business owners to remain in Scotland in the longer term while maintaining easy access to the San Francisco tech community.
The pilot programme is providing office space for 12 start-ups near the South Park District, which is home to a large community of venture capital firms. The Scottish businesses involved are developing entrepreneurial ideas in areas from health technology to space tech.
“Our £42 million Techscaler network is showcasing some of Scotland’s most promising start-ups on the global stage.” economy secretary Mairi McAllan said. “The pilot Techscaler San Francisco hub is helping their businesses make connections in the world’s leading start-up community.
“The benefits are clear, our start-ups are expanding their networks and engaging with communities of like-minded individuals of owners, start-ups and investors. This will help increase their visibility and grow their businesses in the global marketplace.
“Activities like this demonstrate Scotland’s ambition to become one of Europe’s leading start-up communities, we are setting an example internationally and helping drive a fair and growing economy.”
The hub has been set up with support from Mindspace, a global provider of flexible office accommodation co-founded by Dan Zakai and Yotam Alroy in 2014.
“Mindspace works with governments from several countries to create landing spaces for start-ups,” Mr Zakai sais. “It’s amazing that the Scottish Government has joined that list.
“We have seen first hand the value of exposing start-ups to the San Francisco tech ecosystem. We hope to do more in future and to make the Techscaler hub a permanent fixture.”
Daniel Grant, founder of notation.dev, one of the first companies to use 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 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.”