From energy capital to tech powerhouse | ONE

If you were asked to suggest twin cities for Aberdeen, you might naturally think of oil capitals like Houston, Calgary or Stavanger. But Opportunity North East's (ONE) ambitious Future of Digital Tech Summit this November aims to position the Granite City alongside Silicon Valley, Seoul and Stockholm as a global digital cluster.

This is no idle boast. The region's digital tech sector is now the fastest-growing industry in the local economy, expanding from a handful of companies to over 300 digital tech firms employing 4,500 skilled professionals in just eight years. More remarkably, it's on track to create 10,000 additional jobs by 2035.

"This sector is growing at a faster pace than any other industry sector in our economy," explains Jennifer Craw MBE, CEO of Opportunity North East, the private sector development body that has been instrumental in orchestrating this transformation since 2017.

The genesis of a digital revolution

The story began at ONE's annual stakeholder event in 2017, when the organisation made a pivotal decision. "We did an update about what's happening in digital tech across each of our sectors – life sciences, food and drink, and oil and gas energy," recalls Craw. "We asked the audience: should we actually think about this as a vertical sector in its own right?"

The answer was an emphatic yes. What ONE identified was a fundamental shift in how technology businesses operate. "The world was moving from software as a service in a consultancy basis to productised solutions," Craw explains. "You develop a product you can sell multiple times rather than selling a group of software engineers to solve problems."

This transition has proved transformational. Aberdeen's digital tech companies are now creating scalable B2B solutions across industrial sectors, with particular strengths in energy tech, agri-tech, food tech, and health/med tech – all areas where the region has existing industrial expertise.

Building the ecosystem

ONE's strategy has been deliberately focused on entrepreneurs and start-ups. "This is very strongly founder-led," emphasizes Craw. "Somebody spots a problem they think a tech solution can solve, then they work out if there's a big enough market."

The organization established ONE Tech Hub as a physical home for the ecosystem – a deliberate contrast to traditional Aberdeen office spaces. “Through our partnership with Codebase, we adopted their model - it’s not your typical office in Aberdeen," Craw notes with a smile. "It was deliberately chosen and refurbished to create an environment where people could walk through the door off their skateboards if they wanted."

The approach has been comprehensive, encompassing entrepreneurial education, venture mentoring, peer-to-peer learning forums, and crucially, access to funding and customers. Partnerships with Codebase, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development International, and the Scottish National Investment Bank have created pathways for companies to scale internationally.

Success stories emerging

The strategy is delivering tangible results. Fennex, an energy tech company co-founded by Adrian and Nassima Brown, exemplifies the potential. "They're a great example of a digital tech business rooted in energy tech that has grown internationally, taken their product to market and scaled within ONE Tech Hub," says Craw. The company has expanded from energy into clean and green energy sectors while growing their team and physical presence within the ecosystem.

Other notable success stories include Rahd.AI and Leap AI, companies that demonstrate the breadth of innovation emerging from the region. These businesses represent a new generation of Scottish tech companies that are product-focused, internationally minded, and built for rapid scaling.

Particularly encouraging is the changing mindset among entrepreneurs. Craw recounts how one founder initially felt he needed to relocate to Edinburgh to attract serious investment. "He's saying this time I'm doing it all from Aberdeen," she reports proudly. "That's the difference between 2018-19 and 2025."

The AI opportunity

Perhaps most significantly, Aberdeen is positioning itself at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution. "It's about what's new in the world of AI," explains Craw. "How do you form and test your business model using AI platforms? How do you use AI agents?"

This focus on industrial AI represents a natural evolution of the region's B2B heritage. "Our industry based in the north-east of Scotland is predominantly B2B," notes Craw, whether in energy, food and drink distribution, or life sciences. This business model aligns perfectly with AI and SaaS solutions that can scale rapidly across international markets.

ONE is bringing MIT's Paul Cheek, the global expert in innovation-driven investment, to speak at their annual event about harnessing AI's power, emphasizing their commitment to staying at the cutting edge. "There's a new discussion to be had about the role of AI-driven enterprise that's different from just a straightforward innovation-driven enterprise," Craw explains.

Beyond oil and gas

While respecting its energy heritage, Aberdeen is successfully diversifying its economic base. The region's existing strengths in complex problem-solving and technological innovation – honed in one of the world's most challenging energy environments – are proving perfectly transferable to digital solutions.

"Data is the new oil," as local innovators put it, and Aberdeen is discovering how to refine crude data into valuable insights across multiple sectors. The transition from oil platforms to software platforms represents continuity rather than rupture – the same engineering excellence applied to new challenges.

Investment zone advantage

The recent designation of North East Scotland as one of the country's first Investment Zones, alongside Glasgow, provides additional momentum. Focusing on green energy and digital tech, the zone offers £160 million in targeted investments, tax reliefs, and other incentives – a powerful draw for entrepreneurs and investors.

"That will give us the opportunity to expand our inward investment proposition and our ability to go to market," explains Craw. The zone represents recognition at the highest levels that Aberdeen's digital transformation is not just a local success story, but a national strategic asset.

Looking forward

The upcoming Future of Digital Tech Summit represents both celebration and catalyst. It will showcase Aberdeen's remarkable journey from energy capital to emerging tech hub, while forging new connections between founders, scale-up leaders, and investors.

"We want to be right in the middle of that conversation and leading that conversation at Scottish level," declares Craw. With a digital sector growing faster than any other part of the regional economy, and AI-driven enterprises representing the next frontier, Aberdeen is well-positioned to achieve that ambition.

For entrepreneurs and investors looking beyond traditional tech hubs, Aberdeen offers something unique: a city that combines deep industrial expertise with entrepreneurial energy, world-class engineering talent with accessible costs, and most importantly, a track record of solving humanity's toughest technological challenges.

The North East's Nobel Prize tradition continues – but now it's being written in code.

(This article first appeared in The Times Scotland on Friday, 29 August 2025, and is reproduced with its permission)