Tech firm Pufferfish aiming to 'scale at pace' with new £600k funding round

Edinburgh-based tech firm Pufferfish has announced a funding round to raise £600,000 as it prepares to capitalise on what it sees as a rapidly accelerating global market for its expanding offering.

The business says its digital display systems deliver appealing, interactive engagement and multi-sensory experiences for a range of uses and settings, including corporate conferences, museums, science centres, planetariums, art exhibitions and other visitor attractions, as well as education institutions, and can integrate with other tech systems to turn “complicated data into powerful immersive experiences”.

It added that it is seeking the six-figure sum to expedite its growth plans and maximise commercial opportunities from the ongoing revolution of the digital display market, and investment will support go-to-market activities, product innovation, and new product launches, as well as funding new talent.

The company in the next year aims to debut improved versions of two of its core products, PufferSphere and PufferTouch, with sharper images and more powerful touch functionality, as well as three completely new products including one that it says will “offer a greater ‘wow’ factor through size and scale”.

Pufferfish also said it is seeking investment from existing and new investors, while a new head of creative will join the business this month, bringing decades of experience from MTV and Disney.

Recently appointed chief executive Elaine Van Der Berg said: “Interactive and immersive display experiences are more in-demand than ever as in-person visitor attractions, events, and exhibitions not only normalise but increase as the Covid-19 pandemic slows.

“The business has almost entirely relied on repeat business and word of mouth to generate sales,” she added, saying its clients include NASA, Google, IBM and the BBC.

The firm says interactive and immersive display experiences 'are more in demand than ever'. Picture: contributed.

“But there’s much more we can do; Pufferfish hasn’t realised its full potential yet. The market is ripe, with advances in technology fuelling the demand for multi-sensory, immersive, audio-visual experiences across a range of sectors from art and entertainment to science and education.

“This investment will allow us to scale at pace to meet growing worldwide demand. It will be used to support new talent in the business, research innovative technology to further improve our products, and roll-out a strong go-to market strategy, including a significant increase in outbound sales and marketing activity.”