Royal Bank of Scotland and University of Edinburgh unveil new alliance to support Scotland’s boldest entrepreneurs
“Scotland is full of talent and bold ideas and through our new alliance we’re focused on helping founders turn them into real businesses” – Heidi Simpson, RBS
Royal Bank of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh have sealed a new partnership to support Scotland’s boldest start-up ventures.
The tie-up between the bank’s business accelerator and the university’s AI Accelerator aims to pool the two initiatives’ expertise. It will look to build on Royal Bank of Scotland’s commitment to support 5,000 Scottish start-ups in 2026.
A dedicated member of banking staff will work with the university’s AI Accelerator programme team to provide “strategic coordination” between University of Edinburgh entrepreneurs, academic innovation teams and the Royal Bank’s accelerator community.
Building on years of collaboration and a shared commitment to entrepreneurial and research-led growth, the new alliance and facilities will bring an expanded programme of support for Scottish entrepreneurs, as well as for alumni, staff and student founders.
For founders working at the intersection of entrepreneurship and advanced research, the bank has also announced that it will provide £30,000 to the University of Edinburgh’s AI Accelerator, enabling participants to boost their offering by accessing support from academics, PhDs or other resources from across the institution.
The AI Accelerator programme has supported more than 100 companies so far to collectively raise in excess of £120 million in funding and is currently recruiting for its tenth cohort. RBS already engages with university students across departments, supporting initiatives that promote employability and career development.
Heidi Simpson, regional accelerator director, Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “Scotland is full of talent and bold ideas and through our new alliance with the University of Edinburgh, we’re focused on helping founders turn them into real businesses. This partnership strengthens accelerator support where innovation is already thriving within the university environment.
“Building on a foundation of years of collaboration, we’re supercharging our partnership to support the innovators of the future. We’re putting a complete support system in one place, with hands-on coaching, expert insight and a community that founders and students can tap into.”
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She added: “This is about making it easier for start-ups and scaling businesses across Scotland to move faster, think bigger and turn ambition into growth that in turn benefits the Scottish economy.”
Douglas Graham, director of innovation clusters at Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, said: “This new alignment of entrepreneurship expertise and resources between the Royal Bank of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh is great news for the entrepreneurs across our cohorts.
“Offering our combined support to talented founders and their emerging ideas and technologies strengthens our regional and national innovation ecosystem, and helps harness data, digital and AI [artificial intelligence] for the good of all.”
The announcement comes as part of Royal Bank of Scotland’s commitment to supporting 5,000 Scottish start-ups and the broader NatWest Group’s commitment to launch accelerator hubs in ten universities throughout the UK over the next three years, with the universities of Oxford, Manchester, York, Brighton and Warwick signed up to the programme.
The University of Edinburgh partnership spans four key themes - accelerator, innovation, research, and student experience and recruitment.
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