Analysis: how prestigious index of UK start-ups is putting Scots innovation in limelight - and calling for more to appear next year
The Startups 100 initiative says it showcases new businesses demonstrating innovation, solid financials, economic impact, and the ability to scale – and has previously selected Revolut, Bulb, Deliveroo and Notonthehighstreet as ones to watch, who all went on to become major corporate names.
Startups.co.uk that is behind the venture says that this year – which marks the 15th anniversary of the index – is one of the “most exciting yet, with the final list championing a huge range of inventive ideas”. The four included Scottish start-ups comprise Touchlab, Pawprint, WhisperClaims, and Gigged.AI, with their respective remits encompassing robotics, reducing carbon emissions, research-and-development (R&D) tax claims, and recruitment.
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Hide AdThe highest-ranked of these, at number 41, is Touchlab, which is based at the National Robotarium at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh campus. It is behind an e-skin system that is thinner than human skin and can be wrapped around hard or soft robots to sense pressure, location, and direction in real time, and it is eyeing great potential in fields such as dexterous grasping automation or nuclear decommissioning.