'Special ops' Scottish tech firm doubles staff numbers - and AI interest is soaring

A “special ops” Edinburgh tech firm has doubled its headcount and is on track to double revenue to some £5 million in the current financial year.

ClearSky Logic, which now employs 54 people across its main Edinburgh base and Glasgow satellite office, said it was seeing increased operating activity around areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT, helping businesses to reduce carbon emissions around their tech and supporting fast-growth companies as they prepare to raise investment from angel and venture capital funders.

Startline Motor Finance, Zonal, EBar and Wolfson Brands are among the key project assignments won by the firm this year. The company opened its Glasgow office last November, and in February moved to a new Edinburgh headquarters on Queen Street, with plans in place for an additional hub in London later in the year as it continues to expand its client base across the UK.

Paul Duffy, chief commercial officer at ClearSky Logic, explained where the ‘special ops’ approach comes in.

Chief executive and co-founder Darren Auld said: “Essentially, we are helping businesses build world-class software, enabling them to grow faster, solve problems quicker and move with the times. It has been our strongest year to date, and we’ve been able to bring some incredible people and talent into the business. Edinburgh and Scotland have an impressive track record in software delivery, and we want to be the next big thing in the industry here.”

Chief commercial officer Paul Duffy added: “We’re starting to win UK-wide business, and we also have some international projects on the cards, so the natural next step is to have a permanent base in London. What’s also notable around assignments, is that while we continue to support fast-growth and scaling companies, or companies aiming to get onto that trajectory, we’re demonstrating that we can also add real value for much larger corporates.”

He added: “When we partner with global brands, we have seen them get excited about the service we can offer and its impact, and importantly we are having rapid value-add impact, against an industry which can be characterised by slow and underperforming delivery, so that’s where the ‘special ops’ approach comes in.”