Scottish angel syndicate Archangels backs £41M into scale-ups in 2025, up 50% year-over-year

Archangels is having a huge year, and the numbers tell a clear story.

The Edinburgh-based angel investment syndicate has helped channel £41.1 million into Scottish scale-ups in 2025, marking a sharp jump from £27.3 million the previous year. Roughly £12.8 million came straight from Archangels’ own members, with another £28.4 million pulled in through co-investors. That 50 percent lift matters, especially at a time when early-stage funding across the UK has felt tight and selective.

What stands out is how consistently the syndicate has stayed active. Archangels didn’t just write checks. It helped crowd in capital from a long list of partners, including the Investment Fund for Scotland, the Scottish National Investment Bank, Old College Capital, Scottish Enterprise, Par Equity, Mercia, and several other angel groups. That flow of money indicates confidence in the backed companies, rather than blind optimism.

The year delivered a solid exit, too. Ideagen, a global compliance and risk management software firm, acquired Edinburgh-based wearable tech company Reactec. For Archangels’ members, that deal added to a growing return profile. Over the last four years, exits have sent about £40 million back to investors. Patient capital is paying off.

Several funding rounds during 2025 show where Archangels has been placing its bets. CSignum, which develops underwater communications technology, closed a £6 million Series A round to scale production of a device that wirelessly transmits data from water to air using patented electromagnetic field signaling. Neuranics, a deep-tech semiconductor company, raised £6.1 million in seed funding to accelerate global growth and commercial adoption of its magnetic-sensing technology. Calcivis, a dental imaging technology company, secured £3 million to support its U.S. expansion plans: different sectors, same theme: technical depth with global ambition.

These deals land against a mixed backdrop for Scotland’s angel market. Data from Angel Capital Scotland shows the number of angel investments dipped slightly, from 94 to 91, year over year. Yet total private capital committed moved in the opposite direction, rising from £100.6 million to £106.4 million. Fewer deals, bigger checks. That trend says investors are picking carefully and backing companies they believe can scale.

David Ovens, Joint Managing Director at Archangels, framed the year as proof of momentum rather than luck. He said:

“The level of activity we have seen from our members and partners in 2025 reflects the strength of Scotland’s scale-up ecosystem and the quality of Archangels’ portfolio. The growth ambition demonstrated by Scotland’s scale-ups continues to impress, and the near £30m of co-investment we’ve been able to leverage alongside our investments demonstrates the appeal of these companies among the wider investor community. Our exit this year from Reactec is a great example of how patient angel capital can deliver strong returns for our investors over longer investment cycles.”

Ovens added, “The early-stage deal market in 2026 looks set to remain challenging but we’re confident that we’ll continue to see a healthy pipeline of innovative scale-ups hungry for funding to fuel their ambitions. Archangels will be ready invest in the very best of those young tech and life science companies.”

Founded in 1992, Archangels has become one of the UK’s best-known angel syndicates by sticking to a simple formula: experienced investors, careful selection, and long-term backing. The group now has around 120 members, supported by a 12-person board and executive team, and more than 20 companies in its active portfolio.

Over its lifetime, Archangels has invested close to £200 million into early-stage Scottish companies. That capital has helped create roughly 5,000 jobs and generated about £1.5 billion in economic value for Scotland. Twenty-six portfolio companies have achieved successful exits to date, returning gross proceeds of well over £400 million to shareholders.

For Scotland’s startup scene, the message is straightforward. Capital may be harder to secure, yet strong teams with real products and clear markets are still finding backing. Archangels’ 2025 run suggests that disciplined angel investing remains very much alive north of the border.