What Scotland's Founders Took Away from Deep Tech Week London

Last month, from 5-11 October, marked the launch of Deep Tech Week in London, bringing together over 750 founders, scientists, investors and industry leaders into one space for seven days. 

Proud to launch this initiative, we took six of Scotland’s pioneering deep tech startups to the centre of the action. Across the week, our cohort immersed themselves in technical sessions hosted by the likes of Airbus and NASA, demoed hardware on the expo floor at the Techscaler stand and joined an exclusive Techscaler-sponsored breakfast roundtable on the future of compute.

Here is what the week entailed and what the founders took away from their time in London:

Techscaler Roundtable:

On the morning of the flagship day (October 8), Techscaler sponsored an executive breakfast roundtable hosted by our Entrepreneur in Residence, Allan Cannon. 

The event brought together a highly credible and global room of operators to unpack the future of compute with representatives from the Sovereign AI Fund, ChipStart, international VCs from Australia, Asia and Europe, as well as US companies in attendance. 

Joining from the Techscaler community were Giulia Marcucci of LumiAIres, Henry Shulayev-Barnes of Catalyst Neuromorphic and Myles Bax of Aurora Avionics.

For the founders in the room, it was a chance to talk about their technology directly to sovereign funds and international investors. The mix of new compute architectures and a group of stakeholders they might not otherwise have met in one place, set the session apart. Sharing a table with them before the expo kicked off proved to be a major advantage.

As Myles noted, the session set a high-impact tone for the day, "showcasing Techscaler companies to the wider ecosystem in a professional manner" and anchoring them firmly in the international deep tech conversation.

Read more about Myles and Giulia in their case studies. 

Founder perspectives:

Deep tech is a highly technical field that demands specialised knowledge, and for founders, this can make finding investors and commercial opportunities a challenging process. Deep Tech Week London bridged this gap by offering the cohort a unique opportunity to have direct face time with dedicated deep tech investors and operators. 

For each of the companies, that face time turned into concrete leads. 

Mathew and Charlotte of Aelo Neurotech secured over 10 investor conversations at the event and came across opportunities like Seedcamp on the floor itself, while Henry of Catalyst Neuromorphic turned live hardware demos into follow-on calls with Sustainable Ventures and Colossus Compute. 

Many of the founders credited the Techscaler stand for making that possible. It gave the companies a physical presence and credibility, and a reason for delegates to approach them rather than the other way round. 

“A stand gave people a reason to come to us rather than chasing them round the room,” Mathew shared, noting that a physical device on the table stopped delegates in their tracks. Henry agreed: “Being part of the cohort gave us a stand and a presence we couldn’t have had on our own as an early company, and having the other Techscaler founders around brought people to the stand and made the day a lot easier.”

Together, the cohort achieved significant momentum at Deep Tech Week London securing key pathways for capital and future growth. Founders reported making high-value investor and customer connections, generating an average of 7 investor introductions and 6 confirmed follow-up meetings each. These discussions have already translated into active opportunities with leading funds and commercial traction with industry partners, with 100% of companies confirming the week delivered access to people, opportunities, and visibility they would not have reached otherwise. 

Support on the ground: 

Throughout the week, the cohort was supported directly on the ground by Allan, who acted as a key connector between Scotland’s founders and the wider deep tech ecosystem.

Beyond advising the teams on the expo floor, Allan represented Techscaler at dedicated sponsor functions and a dinner with leading deep tech investors. Attending these sessions created high-level connectivity that directly fed back to the cohort, allowing Allan to build warm relationships with investors whom he could later introduce to the founders.

Reflecting on the week Allan said:

“The first Deeptech London Week was a chance to expose some of Scotland's most exciting companies to the London founder and investor ecosystem. The event itself was something I was incredibly impressed by. The quality of the attendees was unlike any deeptech event I've been to recently and it was great to be there with such a strong delegation from Scotland which was recognised by the high level of interest across the week. “

Up next: 

Lowering the barrier to entry to high-value opportunities like Deep Tech Week London sits at the heart of Techscaler’s mission. As deep tech continues to accelerate, the companies best positioned to scale are those armed with the latest sector insights and access to capital. 

Deep Tech Week London is just one example of how we connect founders directly to crucial capital and networks. To be part of the next opportunity like this one, apply to become a Techscaler member here.