A fast-growing financial technology (fintech) developer has upped sticks from central London and relocated its headquarters to Aberdeen.
Zipzero is now run from One Tech Hub on Schoolhill.
The firm said Scotland – particularly Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow – was a “hotbed for UK tech talent”.
Its chief executive, Mohsin Rashid, added: “Scotland is the most fertile land for UK tech.
‘We’re very excited to be here’
“There are a number of programmes driving growth in the tech sector, and the connection between industry innovators and academia is particularly strong.
“This has all helped to create a thriving tech community; ideas are easy to share, inspiration is readily found and people are excited by the prospects of innovation.
“We’re very excited to be here.”
More than 200,000 app users
Zipzero – founded in 2019 – has nearly 30 employees scattered around the world. It currently has five people in Aberdeen.
Co-founder and chief operating officer Marcin Walaszczyk told The Press and Journal this would “change in the future as we expand our numbers this year.”
The company boasts more than 200,000 app users in the UK and says it has been “prolific” in shaping discussions on the cost-of-living crisis.
App users upload shopping receipts onto its platform and receive cash rewards they can put towards their utility bills. “This solution helps ease the burden of living costs and allows users to harness the power of their own data, ” Zipzero’s LinkedIn profile says.
It adds: “We’re currently developing cutting-edge AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities.
“Our vision is to analyse shopping data down to the SKU (stock keeping unit) level, curating comprehensive consumer profiles that provide profound insights into shopping behaviour. This rich data landscape will fuel our AI recommendation engine.”
Our ambitions extend beyond consumer savings and targeted advertising.”
The company says it is also creating an “AI recommendation engine” for advertisers.
“Our ambitions extend beyond consumer savings and targeted advertising,” it says, adding: “We’re envisioning ways to make these intricate shopping profiles more usable for our consumers – potentially enabling them to share their profiles with third-party apps in health or finance sectors.”
One Tech Hub is one of the “transformational” projects of economic development partnership Opportunity North East (One). The aim is to bring entrepreneurs, founders, innovative businesses and support organisations together under one roof.
One digital technology director Karen O’Hanlon said: “Zipzero has joined our growing digital tech community at One Tech Hub and I look forward to seeing what they will achieve in the years ahead.
“With One’s support, including networking opportunities at One Tech Hub, Zipzero has the prospect to scale within the region as the north-east tech sector continues to grow and strengthen its reputation, nationally and internationally.
“The region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and the support that’s available, not just from Opportunity North East, but across our partner networks, provides unique support and networking opportunities in Scotland for ambitious founders with disruptive tech from any sector looking to accelerate their growth.”
Zipzero has the prospect to scale within the region as the north-east tech sector continues to grow and strengthen its reputation, nationally and internationally.”
Karen O’Hanlon, Opportunity North East
Zipzero has received advisory support from Scottish Enterprise.
Leah Pape, head of high growth services at the economic development quango said: “Supporting the development of innovative digital scale-up businesses is very important to the Scottish economy. That supportive environment and access to Scotland’s deep pool of tech talent were important factors in Zipzero’s relocation.”
