Scotland's Technology Council 2025-26 Report

Focus and Ambitions

Vision 2035: Scotland’s Next Horizon

Positioning Scotland for Global Leadership in Technology

Vision 2035 sets out a bold pathway for Scotland to become a global leader in technology by combining disruptive strategy with deep collaboration across government, industry, academia, and public services. Built on national strengths in research, data, clean energy, and advanced engineering, the vision outlines how Scotland can compete internationally, accelerate innovation, and translate ambition into long-term economic impact.

Strategic Landscape

Scotland has globally recognised assets: world‑class universities, a highly trusted NHS, leadership in clean energy, emerging capabilities in AI, and foundational progress in critical technologies. Together, these strengths form a platform for accelerated innovation and international competitiveness.

To succeed, Scotland must benchmark itself not only against the UK, but against high performing innovation nations such as Singapore, Estonia, and Ireland. These peers demonstrate what can be achieved through focussed investment, open data infrastructure, and strategic alignment between government and high growth industries.

Core Ambitions

Scotland’s Technology Council has identified four core ambitions, which represent Scotland’s most significant potential for global leadership, job creation, and export growth as part of Vision 2035.

1. Becoming Europe’s Leading AI‑Ready Nation

In Vision 2035, Scotland aims to establish itself as the number one AI‑ready nation in Europe by building the infrastructure, skills, and governance frameworks required for responsible and scaled adoption of AI.

Key elements include:

• 5GW of sovereign inference data‑centre capacity, built to support public, academic, and commercial innovation.
• Openly licensed datasets to unlock safe, privacy-preserving innovation across sectors.
• Open‑source AI model development, enabling equitable access for citizens, universities, and companies.

This ambition builds a competitive advantage in the global race for AI capability, ensuring Scotland develops, deploys and exports AI at scale.

See page 20 for information on the key role that the Council has played in the development of Scotland’s AI Strategy.

2. Global Green Energy Leadership

Vision 2035 positions Scotland to lead in clean, low‑cost energy by accelerating investment in generation, storage, and connectivity.

Central ambitions include:

• £25 billion investment in green power infrastructure, spanning generation, interconnectors and long-duration energy storage.
• Continued investment in areas of Scottish strength such as photonics, quantum technologies, and power electronics.
• A national focus on static storage, enabling homes, public-sector estates, and industrial sites to store cheap or renewable electricity for use during peak demand.

Static storage supports grid resilience, accelerates renewable adoption, and underpins a new generation of energytech innovation — core to Scotland’s long-term economic and environmental goals.

3. Personalised Healthcare

As part of a wider ambition to make Scotland a global leader in health and longevity, Vision 2035 aims to enable personalised, preventative healthcare supported by secure data infrastructure.

Key focus areas include:

• Secure, integrated health data to support next-generation clinical research.
• National support for longevity science, enabling breakthroughs to translate into commercial and clinical impact.
• Strengthening the interface between the NHS, universities, and health tech innovators.

This approach positions Scotland at the forefront of global health innovation, while improving outcomes for its citizens.

4. Advanced Connectivity & Critical Technologies

To underpin the digital economy of 2035, Vision 2035 argues that Scotland should further modernise telecoms infrastructure, strengthen semiconductor capabilities, and support the development of advanced connectivity technologies.

This includes:

• Upgrading national telecoms networks to next-generation standards.
• Supporting progress across semiconductors, photonics, and enabling technologies.
• Building resilient supply chains in strategic technology areas.

Modern infrastructure ensures that Scotland’s high-growth sectors can compete globally while supporting inclusive digital participation.

Delivering Vision 2035: The Four Strategies

Vision 2035 positions Scotland to become a global leader in technology through bold, disruptive strategies and collaboration across government, business, and education.

To translate ambition into impact, Vision 2035 is structured around four ambitious, or moonshot, strategies:

1. 10x Global Capital

Attract global investment into Scotland by building a £100bn National Economic Investment Fund focused on high-growth sectors and national transformation. This fund aims to crowd in global private capital and anchor world‑class companies in Scotland.

This National Economic Investment Fund will be built through a partnership of the public, private, and third sectors. [please note: this is not via Scottish Government funding]

2. 10x Scale-ups

Build a world‑class founder support ecosystem through:

• A national Founders Institute
• A strengthened international footprint, including a Scotland presence in Silicon Valley
• Expanded access to operator-led learning, mentoring, and global networks

The goal is to help Scottish companies scale internationally, faster, and more confidently.

3. 10x Spinouts

Accelerate commercialisation of university research and NHS data by:

• Strengthening national pathways from discovery to venture formation
• Supporting interested researchers and clinicians to build investment‑ready ventures, while connecting founders with the researchers and clinicians needed to translate Scotland’s research strengths into commercial ventures.
• Building deeper integration between research institutions and global markets

4. 10x Purchasing, “Buy Scottish”

Use Scotland’s public and private sector purchasing power to:

• Create early domestic demand for Scottish products
• Support innovators and SMEs with real-world adoption opportunities
• Keep more economic value circulating within Scottish communities

This strategy aligns national procurement with national innovation priorities.