Investors back wider range of Scottish companies – Daily Business

Scotland saw a surge in funding in the first quarter of this year as investors backed a wider range of companies compared with the UK overall.

While the number of deals recorded in Q1 2025 declined by 6% compared to the previous quarter, the total value of investment more than doubled (108%).

Overall, Scotland captured 7% of all deals completed across the UK in Q1 2025, according to data compiled by Beauhurst’s State of Investment in Scotland report.

Since the beginning of 2025 until 2 May, Scottish companies have received £211m across 99 equity funding rounds.

Of these, 26% were in the application software industry. However, this sector represented 48% of the UK total, indicating that Scotland has a wider range of industries that are gaining investment.

Electronics hardware companies received the second most deals in Scotland (18% of the total) with 17 companies in this industry raising equity funding.

This is reflected in Beauhurst’s list of Scotland’s biggest deals of 2025 so far, where a number of companies deal in electronics hardware. This includes Neuranics, a company developing highly sensitive magnetic sensing technology designed for advanced wearables, medical devices, and intuitive human-machine interaction.

Just behind is renewable energy with 12 companies (12.4%), reflecting the growing importance of cleantech in the UK and in Scotland’s economy, as the country continues to position itself as a leader in the transition to net-zero.

Venture stage companies have led the way in Scotland’s funding activity since the start of the year. This contrasts with the broader UK picture for the quarter, where deals into venture stage companies trailed behind seed stage activity. This suggests that, in Scotland, investors are showing a stronger appetite for slightly larger, later-stage businesses compared to the UK overall.

Scotland’s seed stage companies also performed strongly in Q1 2025, being the second-most prevalent stage of growth in companies that secured investment.

In the Q1 2025 report of all UK investment, Beauhurst saw an interesting trend where early-stage startups continued to attract steady, if modest, funding — while later-stage companies raised fewer rounds, but much larger sums. And this is reflected in the Scottish investment market too.

Funding for female-founded Scottish companies remains low

Since the start of 2025, 83% of funded Scottish companies have all-male founding teams. Just under 10% had an equal gender split in the founding team — and only 3.7% had an all-female founding team.

The figures are low, and historical data shows that the percentage of all-female founding teams is declining too. In Q4 2024 6.5% of funded Scottish companies had an all-female founding team, and 11.3% had an equal gender split.

Looking at 2024 as a whole, there is an even wider gap. In 2024, 7.2% of funded Scottish companies had an all-female founding team, 9.6% was an equal gender split, and 79% was all-male.

Top deals in reverse order

10. Podfather

Amount raised in 2025: £1.10m
Total amount raised: £4.05m
Location: Edinburgh

Podfather is a software company specialising in cloud-based logistics and fleet management solutions. Incorporated in 2016 and headquartered in Edinburgh, the company offers tools designed to streamline and digitise delivery operations across various industries, such as logistics, construction, food and beverage, and healthcare.

The company raised £1.10m in March 2025 from the Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS) and Maven Investor Partners. This was the company’s sixth funding round.

9. Dxcover

Amount raised in 2025: £5.01m
Total amount raised: £17.4m
Location: Glasgow

Dxcover is a clinical-stage diagnostics company based in Glasgow. The business specialises in the early detection of multiple cancers. Founded in 2018 as a spinout from the University of Strathclyde, the company has developed a new approach that combines infrared spectroscopy with AI to analyse blood samples for cancer detection.

In January 2025, the company secured £5.01m from several investors, the company’s sixth fundraising event. Dxcover has also received seven grants totalling £4.82m.

8. Agricarbon UK

Amount raised in 2025: £6.00m
Total amount raised: £20.5m
Location: Perth and Kinross

Agricarbon is an environmental technology company. It creates large-scale, cost-effective ways of measuring soil organic carbon (SOC). Founded in 2018, the company aims to provide scalable soil carbon stock audits to support sustainable agriculture initiatives.

The company went through its fourth funding round in March 2025, securing £6.00m. It attended the Unlocking Ambition accelerator programme in 2020-2021.

7. Neuranics

Amount raised in 2025: £6.20m
Total amount raised: £8.09m
Location: Glasgow

Neuranics is a deeptech company that creates ultra-sensitive magnetic sensing technology for next-generation wearables, healthcare devices, and human-machine interfaces. Founded in 2021 as a joint spinout from the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh, the company is developing Tunneling Magnetoresistance sensors capable of detecting minute biomagnetic signals from the human body.

The company went through its second fundraising event in March 2025, securing £6.20m. The company also received an £800k R&D grant in October 2024.

6. Lario Therapeutics

Amount raised in 2025: £6.35m
Total amount raised: £7.85m
Location: Edinburgh

Lario Therapeutics is an Edinburgh-based biopharmaceutical company developing precision medicines for severe neurological disorders, including epileptic conditions and Parkinson’s disease. Founded in 2021, the company focuses on genetically validated targets to create disease-modifying treatments.

In March 2025, the company raised £6.35m in its second funding round. This brought the company’s total raised to £7.85m.

5. CSignum

Amount raised in 2025: £6.44m
Total amount raised: £7.20m
Location: West Lothian

CSignum specialises in wireless underwater and underground communications using patented low-frequency electromagnetic (EM) field signaling. This technology supports various applications such as environmental monitoring, aquaculture, and critical infrastructure security by enabling connectivity between submerged sensors and surface networks.

In an effort to increase the size of its engineering team, the company went through its second fundraising event in April 2025, securing £6.44m.

4. EnteroBiotix

Amount raised in 2025: £6.86m
Total amount raised: £72.7m
Location: North Lanarkshire

EnteroBiotix is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in North Lanarkshire. It specialises in the development of full-spectrum microbiome therapeutics aimed at restoring and enhancing gut health, using proprietary technologies focused on creating orally administered therapies to treat conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and liver cirrhosis.

The company went through its tenth funding round in March 2025, securing another £6.86m, bringing its total equity raised to £72.7m.

3. IONATE

Amount raised in 2025: £13.6m
Total amount raised: £17.4m
Location: Edinburgh

IONATE is a deeptech company developing next-generation Hybrid Intelligent Transformers (HITs) to modernise electricity grids. Incorporated in 2019, IONATE’s technology supports the integration of renewable energy sources in the UK.

The company received an R&D grant in 2021 for £187k, and has raised a total £17.4m in equity funding. In January 2025, the deeptech company raised £13.6m, with participants including AlbionVC and Zero Carbon Capital.

2. BLK

Amount raised in 2025: £50.0m
Total amount raised: £50.1m
Location: Glasgow

BLK is a digital commodities marketplace that connects buyers, sellers, and shippers of raw materials and industrial supplies worldwide. Founded in 2018, the company offers a peer-to-peer platform that streamlines buying and selling by eliminating intermediaries. It also uses technologies like blockchain and AI to optimise logistics, forecast market trends, and facilitate carbon trading.

Overall the company has raised £50.1m. Tt raised £109k in 2021, and then raised a huge £50.0m earlier this year. This capital investment came from just one fund: Nimbus Capital.

1. Orbex

Amount raised in 2025: £55.0m
Total amount raised: £164m
Location: Highlands and Islands

Based in Moray, Orbex is an aerospace company that’s developing environmentally-friendly orbital launch services for the small satellite industry.

Incorporated in 2015, the company focuses on creating low-carbon, high-performance micro-launch vehicles. Their flagship rocket, Orbex Prime, is designed to provide dedicated and flexible launch solutions for small satellites.

Since 2015, the company has been through 10 rounds of funding. Most recently it raised £55.0m, with £20.0m of that coming from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. This brings the company’s total raised up to a sizeable £164m.