Caroline Dinenage, UK Minister for Digital TECHNOLOGY firms across Scotland raised a collective £345 million in venture capital funding last year, according to new research highlighting the sector’s continuing strength despite the Covid pandemic. Data compiled by Tech Nation and search engine Adzuna shows that the number of funding rounds rose from 87 in 2019 to 96 last year. Among the most significant deals was a £25.5m funding in January by rocket company Skyrora, and £50m raised by Edinburgh biotech firm Roslin Technologies in July. At 2,442, Scotland also had a higher number of verified tech start-ups in 2020 than anywhere else in the UK except London and the southeast of England. IT-related roles make up more than 15 per cent of current job vacancies, with 4,414 unfilled posts as of December.