Visitors to Edinburgh — known for its old-world charm and rich history — often fall in love with the city’s unique blend of tradition and modernity. The city’s business scene showcases this diversity, too. Some companies have been around for centuries, while others are just getting started, and both are celebrated equally. Here are a few of these startups worth highlighting.
Startups in Edinburgh
- Appointedd
- Bioliberty
- Brainnwave
- Aveni
- Suji
Startups in Edinburgh to Know
Reath develops digital infrastructure for reusable packing systems to encourage a more sustainable economy. Founded and headquartered in Edinburgh, the women-founded company has raised several rounds of funding since its inception in 2019 and continues to grow.
Appointedd was established to meet the growing demand for flexible online booking solutions, offering a cloud-based platform for small and medium-sized enterprises and larger businesses. Since its launch in 2011, the company has raised £2.5 million in investment, expanded globally and recently ranked fifth in the software category of the IP League Table.
Founded in Edinburgh, Fanbase is a software company that delivers mobile ticketing and other solutions for sports teams. A press release says that, in 2023, the company received a £1 million investment led by SaltPay to expand its operations and marketing in North America. According to the same statement, the company is also the first U.K. sports startup to have been accepted into Microsoft’s startup accelerator program.
Brainnwave combines data science and cloud technologies to create applications that integrate, visualize and analyze information across various domains, including economic development, place intelligence and insights into the local business landscape. The company’s Edinburgh office is located near Fountainbridge.
Founded in 2020, Bioliberty designs and develops assistive robotics and rehabilitative technologies for individuals with hand weakness. Its first product, Lifeglov, was launched to assist those affected by conditions such as arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and stroke.
Sports technology company Suji is the developer of a mobile-integrated wearable device designed to streamline blood flow restriction training for athlete recovery. Since its launch in the United States in 2021, Suji has gained traction among professional sports organizations, including 68 percent of Power Five D1 college programs and 40 percent of NFL, NBA and MLB teams.
Having started and sold its own startups, Lumi has branded itself as a “startup-friendly product studio” that aims to help other startups design and develop their products. Founded in 2019, the company has worked with global companies such as Trello, Robokiller, Kayak and Visit Thailand.
Aveni’s AI assistant enhances every call by automatically extracting relevant information, driving automation and improvements across the fintech business. The company claims that client administration is completed within minutes after a call, enabling customers to focus more on their clients and less on paperwork.
University of Edinburgh startup MiAlgae aims to transform the livestock and pet feed industries by producing polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich microalgae, an environmentally friendly alternative to fishmeal, as used in traditional feed. In September 2024, the company announced that it received £14 million in funding to develop an industrial-scale production facility.
Focusing on maritime safety, Zelim provides smart technology solutions, such as semi-autonomous search and rescue boats for offshore wind farms. Its other products include Swift, an overboard recovery service, and Guardian, a rescue vessel that can be crewed or uncrewed.
