Glasgow was once the workshop of the world. A quarter of all ships were built on the Clyde, and for a century the city’s reputation rested on what it could make with its hands.  

Now, after decades of decline, something is shifting. Automation and applied R&D are reviving manufacturing in Glasgow, and a new generation of founders is building physical products again, including quantum hardware, robotics and advanced materials. While software, especially anything AI-related, continues to grab the tech headlines, hardware is creating new prospects that could see Glasgow resume its industrial crown.  

The ecosystem behind this is more developed than most people realise. At the beginning of this year, we entered a new partnership with STAC, the Smart Things Accelerator Centre based at Skypark. STAC runs an 18-month venture-building programme which has become a genuine pipeline for businesses moving from idea to institutional investment.  

Among its notable successes is University of Glasgow spinout Quantcore. In February, Quantcore secured £2.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by PXN Ventures, Blackfinch Ventures and Scottish Enterprise, backed by Quantum Exponential and STAC, to develop the production of quantum hardware in Scotland. Its products will facilitate the next generation of technology and help to build a domestic supply chain that will create high-quality jobs. Then there is LumiAIres Ltd, which is building purpose-built photonic chips to make AI more energy efficient, tackling both carbon emissions and energy costs. The hardware innovation that LumiAIres is pursuing may turn out to be as consequential as the software it aims to support. 

While these are great examples of the entrepreneurial talent, innovation and ambition that could propel Glasgow forward, we need to think carefully about how to help such businesses scale if we are to retain them over the long term. Not only are we in competition with countries that offer sharper skills incentives, more generous tax treatment and better infrastructure, we’re also lagging behind on suitable funding.  

A SaaS company can get a long way on a £250,000 round, but a company building physical infrastructure, laboratories and manufacturing lines, needs millions, sometimes tens of millions, before it has a product it can sell at scale. EIS and SEIS-style funding, the mainstay of Scotland's early-stage market, doesn’t stretch to what advanced manufacturing actually costs. 

Scottish Enterprise is doing the job it is meant to and doing it well, as Quantcore’s round has shown. But scale needs more substance than the current system provides, and institutions such as the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) are well placed to help address that challenge by providing larger-scale investment alongside private capital. A recent example is its £8.4m contribution to Mironid's £34m Series B round this August. 

This model and conviction should now be extended to advanced manufacturing and hardware scale-ups. A large first cheque from SNIB isn’t just about funding; it’s also about creating confidence. It tells international investors someone credible has already done the diligence, which makes the next round easier to close. 

With Glasgow Tech Week underway, there’s much progress to be proud of, but it’s important that our achievements aren’t working in isolation. Accelerators like STAC, infrastructure investment such as the recent expansion at DataVita’s Lanarkshire data centre, lab and manufacturing space, and early-stage capital that matches what hardware costs all need to exist together. They shouldn’t operate as separate initiatives competing for the same headlines. Glasgow has already proven it can produce these companies. The harder, more valuable task now is proving it can keep them.