Thu, 19 Mar 2026 | MERGER
Filament, a product design agency based in Glasgow, has merged with software development company Arceptive. The deal is aimed at creating a full end-to-end IoT product development agency, which the companies describe as a unique offering in Scotland.
Filament was founded by Gregor Aikman, Craig Lynn and Danny Kane in 2015. The firm has built a strong reputation, working with clients ranging from international brands like IKEA and Hotel Chocolat to university spin-outs and early-stage companies.
Arceptive was founded by Stefan Raue and Cham Abeyratna in 2019 and specialises in software engineering, machine learning, cloud architecture and data science, working with clients spanning multinationals and start-ups across the UK and Europe.
The deal creates a business with a combined headcount of 29 and, following integration, is expected to double Filament’s turnover from the £1.75 million recorded in 2025 to more than £3.5 million by the end of 2027.
The two companies, which are both based at Skypark’s The Beyond co-working space in Finnieston, had previously collaborated on a number of projects, including Scottish Government-funded sustainability initiatives and work for Transport for Scotland.
The combined offering of the merged businesses will span mechanical, electronics and digital development, with the unified service helping clients to bring smart products to market more quickly, including in highly-regulated sectors such as medical technology.
Filament co-founder Danny Kane said: “For the past 10 years, we’ve focused on our core competencies and organic growth, but all of our projects have had a software element to them and more than 80% had an IoT or ‘smart’ aspect too. So, combining with Arceptive felt like the next natural iteration of the business.”
“We had aligned our systems and ways of working from sharing projects over the years, and this gives our clients the best of both worlds: a full-stack range of services and the agility of a boutique agency. The size of the combined business puts us in a real sweet spot, and it’s also an opportunity for us to scale, diversify our income streams, and develop our own IP.”
Kane added that merging the businesses would improve cost efficiency, enable quicker innovation and support a broader client base, while providing a strong platform for future growth.
Stefan Raue, co-founder and Head of Data and Analytics at Arceptive, said that the merger would create a “unique” full-stack engineering partner that works with clients “from early concept and design all the way through mechanical, electronics, and digital, under one roof.”
Mr Raue continued: “Arceptive has been building the digital infrastructure for smart device and product companies for over seven years, and we’ve always been most effective when working closely with founders who understand both the physical and digital sides of a product. That’s exactly what this merger brings to the market at scale.”
“We’re particularly excited about what AI means for our clients – as a practical tool for our clients to improve our internal processes, sharpen our tooling, and ultimately accelerate delivery.”
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