How Aberdeen is building Scotland's digital future | ONE

The North East of Scotland is confidently embracing a new chapter in its pioneering story that blends digital innovation and global ambition.

Once defined by oil rigs and engineering feats that conquered the North Sea, Aberdeen is now fuelling a new revolution based on code rather than crude. With a fast-growing ecosystem of founders, investors and civic leaders, the Granite City is recasting itself as one of the UK’s most dynamic regional tech clusters.

“Our city has powered industries for decades and is now powering the digital future,” declared Jennifer Craw MBE, chief executive of Opportunity North East (ONE). “Every time there is a transition, we emerge stronger and more ambitious.”

A summit with global intent

The day-long summit, hosted by The Times and Sunday Times Scotland in partnership with ONE, CodeBase and the Scottish National Investment Bank (The Bank), showcased the momentum transforming the region’s economy. Over a dozen sessions explored everything from AI and EnergyTech to regulation, leadership and capital.

The conference heard from a remarkable line-up of founders and pioneers who shared stories of scaling, perseverance and reinvention. Chris Herd, founder of Firstbase, spoke about building global teams from anywhere.

Ross McNairn, co-founder of Wordsmith AI, the in-house legal AI startup backed by Index Ventures, described the creative explosion that comes when “engineers and storytellers work side by side.” Maya Moufarek, serial entrepreneur and adviser, urged founders to “design with empathy – your product, your brand, your culture.” And Jodie Sinclair, CEO of Theo Health, reflected on building technology that “makes people feel better, not just behave differently.”

Their insights, echoed throughout the day, reinforced the summit’s central theme: this is a region where ideas meet opportunity and where digital entrepreneurship is fast becoming part of the North East’s identity.

Beyond the founder: investors and the builders of scale

Delegates agreed that scaling companies is vital and is as much about mindset as money. The investors on stage were quick to emphasise that ambition alone isn’t enough. In his keynote Beyond the Founder, Edward Keelan, partner at Octopus Ventures, captured the dilemma faced by early-stage leaders.

“Great founders evolve from ‘doer-in-chief’ to company builder,” he said. “The people who got you here may not be the people who take you there. Design your organisation first, then see who fits into it.”

Keelan, who manages a £500 million enterprise software portfolio, urged founders to think of scaling as “a series of experiments, not an explosion”. “Scaling is about repeatable process, not headcount,” he warned. “Don’t lose product-market fit by chasing growth.”

That balance of discipline and daring was echoed by investors across the Investor Insights panel. Ailsa Young, investment director at The Bank, said the bank’s role was to “provide patient capital that strengthens Scotland’s economic resilience while supporting innovation with long-term impact.”

Stuart McLeod, managing partner at Ventex Studios, went further: “Investors don’t need unicorns — we need credible companies with measurable milestones and sustainable growth journeys.” Ana Wolsztajn of Innovate UK Business Connect agreed, adding: “The best founders are storytellers. They can translate complex technology into a story customers and investors understand.”

Together, the delegates painted a picture of a maturing ecosystem – one that values credibility and patience over the get-rich-quick mentality of investment bubbles. Stephen Coleman, whose CodeBase network supports thousands of startups, captured the cultural change best: “We’ve moved beyond the idea that success means leaving. Founders are staying, scaling and hiring here. That’s what builds lasting ecosystems.”

Herd, McNairn, Moufarek and Sinclair exemplified that mindset. Each spoke about the hard, human side of building their companies, from the lonely pivots, the fundraising marathons, the late nights spent keeping culture intact while growth accelerates. As Moufarek put it: “The most resilient founders don’t just adapt to the system – they reshape it.”

Keelan’s message landed squarely with them. Scaling, he told the audience, isn’t a financial function but a cultural one. “You’re building a company people want to join, not just a product people want to buy.” And it was that blend of pragmatism and purpose that set the tone for the summit’s broader story: a region growing not just companies, but confidence.

The AI imperative

If one theme united the day’s conversations, it was artificial intelligence – not as hype, but as a practical engine for productivity and progress. Across panels spanning EnergyTech, RegTech and applied innovation, speakers explored how AI is reshaping industries once thought immune to disruption.

Professor Andy Pardoe, chair of the Deep Tech Innovation Centre at Warwick and head of AI consultancy Informed, described the moment as “the most important and exciting period for humanity.”

“AI isn’t science fiction,” he said. “It’s the next industrial revolution. The question isn’t whether it works, it’s whether we use it wisely. Trustworthy AI – fair, transparent and explainable – must become a national advantage.”

For Yan Zhang, venture adviser and former COO of PolyAI, the real barrier lies not in algorithms but adoption. “Most AI failures aren’t technical – they’re human,” he said. “You’re not just selling software; you’re selling a story. The best companies help people see how AI makes their work better, not smaller.”

Zehan Wang, founder of Paddington Robotics and previously with Twitter, took that thought into the physical world. “We’re not building robot overlords,” he said. “We’re building colleagues.” Paddington’s robots are already being trialled in UK supermarkets, performing heavy lifting so staff can focus on creative and social roles. “Robotics should free people to do what only humans can – empathise, decide, imagine.”

That same philosophy echoed in Aberdeen’s industrial transformation. In the EnergyTech and RegTech sessions, innovators such as Nassima Brown of Fennex and David Jamieson of Salus Technical showed how automation and compliance can coexist – proving that regulation and competitiveness now go hand in hand.

At the heart of it all was capital. The Bank’s Ailsa Young reminded delegates that “innovation without patience rarely lasts.” Her argument – that finance must follow purpose, not fashion – found wide agreement. As Pardoe later summed up, “AI is only as good as the human intention behind it.”

Creating the conditions for growth

The closing session, Shaping the Future, brought policy and investment together. Ana Stewart, Scotland’s chief entrepreneur, and Antonia Jenkinson, chief operating officer at ARIA, spoke of the need for government to move at the pace of the market.

“Government must remove barriers, not build them,” Stewart said. “Five years ago, Scotland was one of Europe’s poorest-performing start-up nations. Now it’s one of the fastest-growing. The challenge now is helping scale-ups, not just start-ups.”

Jenkinson added: “We exist to take risks. When something goes right for us, it should change the conversation entirely.” Her agency’s mandate, she explained, is to back projects so bold they might fail but which will redefine the landscape should they succeed.

Their remarks underlined the point made repeatedly throughout the summit: that innovation thrives where ambition meets alignment — when founders, investors, academia and government all pull in the same direction.

A region redefined

Across the day’s panels, one theme kept resurfacing: Aberdeen’s evolution is not about abandoning its past but building upon it.

“Data is the new oil,” Craw observed, giving voice to a view heard in the corridors and cafés throughout the venue. “The same engineering mindset that built the North Sea is now building scalable digital solutions.”

Speakers repeatedly pointed to the North East’s engineering heritage as a foundation for innovation in AI, automation, and data analytics. “It’s not about replacing heavy industry,” said Brown of Fennex, “it’s about transforming it.”

Jamieson added that Aberdeen’s unique industrial mix gives local firms a head start: “Every problem that exists in North East Scotland exists somewhere else in the world. So this is the perfect place to prove your technology and prove you can add value before exporting it globally.”

And in a nod to the city’s inclusive future, Craw concluded: “What makes this place special isn’t just the numbers — it’s the mindset. We have momentum, we have talent, and we’re positioning this region as a launchpad for global scaleups”

Looking ahead

As the final applause echoed through the hall, it was clear that the summit had made a profound impression: Aberdeen’s digital future is not an aspiration—it is already underway.

Whether in EnergyTech startups turning offshore expertise into AI platforms, RegTech firms exporting compliance software worldwide, or investors backing the next industrial revolution, the North East is writing a new economic narrative—one defined by invention, ambition and resilience.

Or, as Craw put it succinctly: “The future doesn’t happen to us – we create it.”

(This article first appeared on The Times website and is reproduced with their permission.)