Niki McKenzie, David Ovens, Dan McKiddie, Sarah Hardy and Shaolei McKie | Photography © Jamie Williamson
Archangels-Crowned Angel Group of the Year at the UK Business Angels Awards.
Archangels, has leveraged £17.9 million of investment in Scottish scale-ups in the first half of 2026, backing some of Scotland’s most promising early-stage technology and life science companies.
Adding to a strong start to the year, Archangels was also named Angel Group of the Year at the UK Business Angels Association awards ceremony on 10th July, recognising the syndicate’s contribution to the UK’s early-stage investment ecosystem.
The total investment for the first half of 2026 includes £7.2 million invested directly by Archangels’ members, alongside £10.7 million of co-investment secured from partner investors. During this period, Archangels has supported several high-growth Scottish technology and life science companies through significant funding rounds, with deals including Biocaptiva and Bioliberty.
University of Edinburgh spin-out Biocaptiva raised £1.58 million to commercialise its patented msX platform, which extracts cell-free DNA directly from whole blood without centrifuges or additional reagents – improving the speed, reliability and scalability of liquid biopsy sample preparation for cancer research and diagnostics. The company has also launched its first product in the US.
University of Edinburgh spin-out Bioliberty secured £6.2m in a Series A round led by the Scottish National Investment Bank, with participation from Archangels and co-investors including Eos Advisory, Old College Capital, Hanna Capital SEZC and new investor Conduit Connect. The round is part of £7.7m ($10.5m) raised over the last 10 months and will support product development and manufacturing in Scotland, as well as further commercial expansion in the US, where its AI-powered soft-robotic wearable platform is already in use across several leading rehabilitation facilities.
These investments reflect Archangels’ continued commitment to backing Scotland’s most ambitious early-stage technology and life science companies, providing both capital and hands-on expertise to help them scale.
The activity comes as Scotland’s early-stage investment market continues to demonstrate resilience. In what was a challenging year globally, 2025 was a record year for Scotland, with a total of £1.15 billion raised.
David Ovens, Joint Managing Director at Archangels, said: “The first half of 2026 has been another active period for Archangels, with the syndicate backing some genuinely exceptional companies. Biocaptiva and Bioliberty are each addressing significant global challenges, and the quality of co-investment we’ve been able to attract alongside our members reflects just how compelling these opportunities are to the wider investor community.
“Scotland’s early-stage ecosystem continues to punch well above its weight, and while the macroeconomic backdrop remains uncertain, the pipeline of innovative companies coming through gives us real confidence, going into the second half of the year. Archangels has been backing Scotland’s best founders for over 30 years, and the ambition and quality we’re seeing today is as strong as it’s ever been.”
“To be named Angel Group of the Year by our industry peers is a huge accolade and is testament to the strength of our board, team and syndicate members, who consistently invest £10m-£15m of their own money each year into Scotland’s most promising technology and life sciences companies, as well as providing access to their networks and experience.”
