UK backs Dundee creative-tech cluster with £20M Tay Create partnership
What's the deal? UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has launched the Tay Create Innovation Partnership, backed by up to £20 million, to grow the creative technology, design and digital sectors across the Tay Cities region. Led by Abertay University, it brings together the region's three universities, industry and public bodies.
Who's involved? Core partners include Abertay University, the University of Dundee, the University of St Andrews, V&A Dundee, Creative ScotlandDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Techscaler, Interface, UK Games Talent and Finance CICDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, 4J StudiosDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Chroma DevelopmentsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Biome CollectiveDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? The partnership turns a funding award announced in March into a delivery vehicle. It is funded by the UK government as part of UKRI's £500 million Local Innovation Partnerships programme to boost regional economic growth.
What's the endgame? Tay Create aims to tackle barriers limiting the sector — access to prototyping facilities, growth capital, specialist skills and commercialisation support. It will build a pipeline from early idea to scale-up, focusing on games technology and "Createch," where companies combine creativity with AI, real-time 3D, extended reality and digital twins.
The partnership also wants to apply that expertise beyond games, encouraging adoption of creative technologies in manufacturing, health, energy and the wider digital economy.
Where? Activities will run from new purpose-built facilities at Camperdown Dock, Dundee, with co-investment from Chroma Developments. The site sits next to the existing Water's Edge development, which already houses multiple games studios and tech companies.
The signal: This is a substantial, place-based bet on Dundee's established creative base — including the UKRI-backed InGAME project and the £9 million CoSTAR Realtime Lab. The city's creative and digital industries recorded £353 million in turnover in 2022; the test now is whether the funding converts that expertise into new companies and jobs.
Read more: creativescotland.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
