Welcome to our weekly South West Tech News roundup, where you can get all the headlines from the past week in one place.
What has our busy tech and digital community been up to this week? From award wins and innovative breakthroughs to unmissable events and capital raised, take a moment to reflect on the hive of daily activity taking place in our region.
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Bristol's Adaptavate secures £4m to scale carbon-storing wallboard
Adaptavate has secured a first close of £4m funding, combining equity investment with UK and European innovation funding, as the Bristol company moves from technology development into commercial deployment.
The package will accelerate Adaptavate’s commercial licensing strategy and manufacturing partnerships, helping existing wallboard manufacturers transition to competitive production of carbon-storing wallboard.
The announcement follows growing commercial momentum, including pilot deployments with Legal & General and Oxygen Asset Management, and a new licence option agreement with an international production partner. A second close targeting £1.3m remains open until the end of 2026.
Discover more here.
Science Creates opens deep tech training and networking to external founders
Science Creates is opening its Old Market Incubator to external founders, early career researchers and postgraduate students, with two free events on Thursday 15 October.
The day kicks off with a training session on hiring and team decisions in deep tech, followed by Coalesce, a regular mixer connecting researchers and companies across biotech, quantum, advanced materials, engineering and AI at Bar 1023.
Register here
Plymouth's Oshen banks £3.65m to triple its ocean-robot fleet
Oshen has secured £3.65m to scale up its fleet of ocean-sensing robots, already deployed by the US Navy, Royal Navy and Met Office to monitor the open sea.
The Plymouth startup is using the investment to triple its manufacturing capacity, turning production into what CEO Anahita Laverack calls “something closer to a fast-food kitchen than a shipyard.”
The round was led by Lunar Ventures, with AlbionVC, Twin Track and Concept Ventures also on board.
Read full news here
Devon's SageTech Medical secures £2.5m to scale green healthcare tech
SageTech Medical has secured a £2.5m funding round, including £1m from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund, to scale its sustainable healthcare technology.
The Paignton-based company has developed patented tech that captures waste anaesthetic gases before they reach the atmosphere, supporting the recovery and recycling of valuable agents across veterinary and human healthcare settings.
The investment will fund team growth and international expansion, as demand rises from major veterinary groups and tightening sustainability regulations drive adoption of greener healthcare solutions.
Read the full story here.
Bristol's Kelpi and Bower Collective launch plastic-free paper sachet
Bristol-based biomaterials innovator Kelpi has partnered with B-Corp brand Bower Collective to launch a world-first: a paper sachet for liquid products, coated with a biobased material derived from renewably sourced seaweed.
The sachets, filled on Guardpack’s existing production lines with no equipment changes required, hold Bower Collective’s bestselling Hand Wash samples without any fossil fuel-derived plastic lining.
Unlike traditional multi-laminate sachets, which are notoriously hard to recycle, Kelpi’s coated paper can go straight into household paper recycling and is designed to biodegrade safely in the natural environment.
Read the full story here.
Brazen Festival reveals Live Track and AI Day agenda!
BRAZEN Festival has announced its Live Track, powered by Yuup, bringing immersive experiences to this year’s event.
Alongside it, AI Day will bring together speakers from Google, Met Office, Open Bionics, nlighten and more passionate experts in AI, covering some of the biggest conversations shaping the sector today.
Get to know the full agenda here
