Dozens of high-growth tech firms selected for Dragons' Den-style investment event

More than 30 fast growing tech companies have been selected for a Dragons' Den-style investment event that is due to take place later this year in Edinburgh.

The EIE22 conference will see businesses pitch for seed to Series A plus investment in front of domestic and international investors.

Research from UK analytics group Beauhurst recently identified that EIE, which stands for Engage Invest Exploit, has helped some 540 companies raise more than £1.1 billion since the investor-readiness programme was launched in 2008.

The EIE Investor Readiness Programme, delivered by the Bayes Centre at the University of Edinburgh, has now announced a list of 36 high growth businesses selected for this year’s event, which culminates in the EIE Showcase Conference on October 6.

Some of the EIE22 company cohort at RBS Gogarburn. Picture: Stewart Attwood

EIE alumni companies include FanDuel, Celtic Renewables, Amiqus, Sunamp, Novosound and Pure LiFi.

Karen Wood, director of enterprise at the Bayes Centre, said: “We plan for EIE to be even bigger and better this year, through a mix of in-person and online events. EIE is an integral part of Scotland’s technology ecosystem, driving our International Market Square offering, and we remain on a mission to connect investors from across the world with our transformational companies in 2022.”

Energy, climate and clean tech is one of the most represented sectors in 2022, alongside companies specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, while other selected companies include those from healthcare technology and fintech, or financial technology.

While the majority of this year’s companies are based in Scotland, there are also start-ups from other parts of the UK, including London and Manchester, and international locations such as Hong Kong and Lithuania.

Danny Helson, head of EIE programme and investor relations, said: “Leading edge innovation runs through our company cohort again in 2022, from sectors of our digital economy that are now established as having globally leading credentials, and we look forward to working with their diverse teams in the run-up to the investor conference on October 6.”

EIE has also announced its partnership with the Earthshot Prize and become an “official nominator” for the global environment awards initiative created by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. So far, EIE has nominated seven companies, including from its alumni network, for the £1 million prize to be won in each of the five Earthshot categories.

Wood added: “We’re inspired to be partnering with Earthshot, it’s such an incredible initiative, designed to have global impact, and we think we have some really strong candidates among the EIE network.”

The full list of companies selected for EIE22 include Alta IP, BabyReady Finance, Bennu.ai, Beringar, Bioliberty, Continulus, CyberShell Solutions, Danu Robotics, DustiD, eMoodie, Energy Mutual, FC Laboratories, FittyAI, Indigo.ai, Infix Support, Lenz Labs, METERology, MI:RNA, and Microplate Dx.

The other firms selected are Ocean Biofuels, Pillow Partners, Planetary Ai, Pogo Studio, Rigpa, Robotics Cats, Roslin Technologies, Rostra Therapeutics, Scrapp, Securium, smash, SmpliCare, Stamp Free, Therma FY, TrackMyGym, ULab Equipment, and Vahanomy.

The team also plans to make an announcement shortly about an EIE London event in the heart of the City of London.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven’t already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription: www.scotsman.com/subscriptions