Three pioneering spin-out companies from the University of Glasgow have successfully secured vital proof-of-concept funding as part of a major Scottish Government initiative. The awards which total more than £540,000 will help accelerate the transformation of world-leading university research into innovative industries of the future.

The investment is part of the Scottish Government's £2.9m Proof of Concept (POC) Fund, which supports projects from Scottish universities at various stages of technological and commercial development. The fund enables crucial early-stage activities, including market exploration and validation; business model development; prototype demonstration and testing.

CRYSTAL-Q has been awarded £247,225 to support development of a pathway towards future widescale adoption of quantum computers – a groundbreaking new approach to computing that has the potential to revolutionise solving complex problems across a wide range of fields including material discovery, pharmaceuticals, finance and cryptography.

A project led by the Critical Technology Accelerator team will receive £125,000 to develop an optical coupler – a technology with the potential to lower costs and increase performance and energy efficiency across a broad range of optical interfacing challenges, including the development of AI data centre and the deployment of fibre-to-the-home internet.

Funding of £168,824 has been awarded to a project aiming to develop next-generation precision peptide medicines targeting diseases with the greatest unmet clinical needs by leveraging its proprietary drug discovery platform, ‘DisrupTR’, which will deliver safer, more effective therapies faster and more cost-efficiently than current industry standards.

The projects, which span sectors of national economic importance, are expected to conclude their funded activities by the end of March 2026, moving them significantly closer to market readiness.

Uzma Khan, Vice Principal for Innovation and Economic Development, said: ‘This funding is a tremendous endorsement of the talented and ambitious researchers at the University of Glasgow. They are translating our world-class research into practical solutions to address major societal challenges, create high-value jobs, and build a stronger economy for a more innovative Scotland. We are incredibly proud of our innovators and look forward to seeing these ventures flourish."

The funded projects are supported throughout their commercialisation journey by the University of Glasgow’s Tech Transfer Office, which provides expert guidance to help researchers bring their innovations to market. University of Glasgow researchers with promising commercialisation ideas are encouraged to get in touch for support.

For enquiries, please contact:

Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences: Rachel.Colman@glasgow.ac.uk, Andrew.Bowen@glasgow.ac.uk 
Med Tech projects: Natasha.Tian@glasgow.ac.uk 
Science & Engineering: Darian.Brookes@glasgow.ac.uk 
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: Morven.Fraser-Walther@glasgow.ac.uk 

First published: 7 October 2025

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