Scottish Deep Tech Report 2026
Felix Honecker, Gemma Milne, Dominic Chalmers and Jillian Gordon
Dealroom.co and University of Glasgow · May 2026
Abstract
Scotland’s deep tech ecosystem has grown more than tenfold in a decade. Produced by Dealroom in collaboration with the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School, this report maps the ecosystem’s value, venture funding and university spinouts, with deep dives into life sciences, quantum, space and climate.
It sets out five priorities for turning Scotland’s research strengths into economic value: developing deep tech leaders, building commercial and technical literacy across the value chain, reforming access to infrastructure, making Scotland a first customer for its own innovations, and building Scottish-specific research on deep tech futures.
Key findings
- 01Privately held Scottish deep tech startups were worth a combined $7.9B in 2025, up from $735M in 2015.
- 02Deep tech captured 57% of Scottish venture capital in 2025. Across 2020–2025 its 60% share ranks Scotland second of the ten nations tracked, behind only Switzerland.
- 03University spinouts make up 43% of Scotland’s VC-backed deep tech startups and 56% of ecosystem value ($4.3B).
- 04Scottish investors provide 73% of funding in rounds under $15M but only 17% in larger rounds, where US investors lead with 35%.
Cite this
Honecker, F., Milne, G., Chalmers, D. and Gordon, J. (2026). Scottish Deep Tech Report 2026. Dealroom.co and University of Glasgow.
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