SCOTLAND’s "first accelerator for firms in the internet of things (IoT) sector" has been launched with the aim of creating dozens of businesses and hundreds of jobs in the next three years.
The Filament STAC accelerator is partly modelled on a Canadian programme that has supported around 650 start-ups and created over 4,000 jobs, and Tim Ellis, the centre’s founder, has been lined up as a consultant to the Scottish project.
Filament STAC will build on the IoT foundations already put in place by CENSIS, Scotland’s Innovation Centre for sensing, imaging and IoT technologies, and Glasgow-headquartered product design firm Filament.
The three-year targets for Filament STAC in Scotland are for the creation of more than 25 IoT companies supporting around 750 jobs, reporting revenue in the region of £750 million, with cohort companies raising investment in excess of £100m.
Filament STAC, which starts at Skypark in Glasgow in October, is underpinned by an industry-government partnership which will see Scottish Enterprise support the first phase of growth alongside Filament, Plexus Corp, a global leader in complex design, manufacturing, supply chain and aftermarket services, and CENSIS.
Cohort companies on the accelerator programme will have the option to be based at Skypark.
Paul Wilson, Filament STAC chief executive, said: "We believe Scotland has the potential to be a main player in smart, connected devices and moving ahead with the accelerator gives us a real chance to gain a leading position in an IoT sector forecast to reach $1.5 trillion over the next few years."
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