Planet DDS brings smiles to Glasgow with £10m software investment

Glasgow is to benefit from 75 new software jobs being created, thanks to Californian dental software company, Planet DDS, choosing to locate its technology development and support centre in Scotland. 

Planet DDS is a leading provider of cloud-enabled dental software serving over 10,000 practices in North America with over 60,000 users. The company’s AI and data management applications are specifically designed to enable dental practices to transition to a completely digital approach to operating and delivering their business. 

The company was welcomed to Scotland during a visit by Scottish Government Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray to the company’s offices at The Garment Factory, in the Glasgow City Innovation District. 

Mr Gray said: “This £10 million investment is a vote of confidence in Scotland’s economy and will help create 75 good quality jobs.

“Inward investment worth £1 billion was supported by the Scottish Government and its enterprise and skills agencies from 2018 to 2021 and today’s announcement shows we are maintaining momentum towards building a more sustainable and prosperous future.

“EY’s recent independent Annual Attractiveness Survey highlighted Scotland as the most attractive foreign direct investment location outside of London, a position held for the last eight years.

“Scotland has huge opportunities and assets. Businesses are increasingly taking investment decisions based on factors such as our progressive approach to fair work, our net zero ambitions and the skills of our workforce. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation aims to capitalise on these strengths and create a wellbeing economy.”

Scottish Enterprise and its international arm, Scottish Development International (SDI), worked closely with Invest Glasgow and Team Scotland partners to build a strong and long-term relationship with Planet DDS.  

Scottish Enterprise chief executive Adrian Gillespie met the company during a US business trip at the start of the year, with the company’s CTO and CEO both visiting Scotland and meeting with a range of key partners and potential employees. 

A compelling package of support and funding from Scottish Enterprise has been created for Planet DDS, including a grant of £985,000 as a contribution towards the company’s £10.4m investment in its Scottish operations. 

Reuben Aitken, Scottish Enterprise managing director of International Operations, commented: “Planet DDS opening its technology development centre in Scotland is testament to the vibrant business environment and tech talent we offer inward investors. The company had a choice of three global locations, with Scotland winning due to our skilled workforce, world-class universities and stimulating innovation districts.

“Companies like Planet DDS are great examples of our continuing success at attracting foreign direct investment, with EY’s Attractiveness Survey recently naming Scotland as the number one UK location for FDI projects outside of London. Alongside our partners, we’ll continue to promote the wealth of business benefits our country offers to international companies and investors.” 

Angelina Hendricks, chief technology officer at Planet DDS, said: “I am thrilled to be here in Glasgow today to open our new technology centre and formally welcome our new local team members. We chose Glasgow based on the technical expertise of the people as well as the passion for innovation we see in the community. We are excited about expanding our Glasgow team in support of our company’s growth objectives and starting to contribute to the local technology community.”

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, commented: “I’m delighted that a pioneering company with the global reach of Planet DDS has selected Glasgow as its first UK base. This is a real vote of confidence in Glasgow’s talented and skilled workforce and our growing reputation as city of innovation, ambition and opportunity. Creating dozens of high-quality jobs within such a hi-tech sector will help drive that reputation further. And located within our world class City Innovation District, Planet DDS is perfectly placed to secure the benefits of Glasgow’s energy, ingenuity and creativity.”

The 75 new high quality jobs will be created over the next few years, with nine new staff already recruited for the company’s software engineering team. The location advisor to Planet DDS for this project is Crosshaven Partners.  

Meanwhile, new research shows £1 billion of inward investment was secured with support from the Scottish Government and its enterprise and skills agencies from 2018/19 to 2020/21. An evaluation of the Team Scotland inward investment support published today shows half of new investments definitely or probably would not have happened without this assistance. Approximately nine in ten survey respondents said the support had increased or safeguarded jobs in Scotland.

Notes to Editors 

The Scottish Government commissioned the Enterprise Research Centre and Centre for Business Prosperity at Aston University to undertake an independent evaluation into inward investment support provided by its delivery partners. In total, 51 investors responded to the business survey.

www.gov.scot/isbn/9781835210901

About Scottish Development International (SDI) 

Scotland’s global trade and investment agency and the international arm of Scottish Enterprise, SDI has offices in more than 30 locations in the world. These in-market specialists bang the drum for Scotland on a daily basis, delivering international economic opportunities for our communities. For more information, please visit: https://www.sdi.co.uk/ 

 About Planet DDS 

Planet DDS is the leading provider of cloud-based dental software solutions serving over 10,000 practices in North America with over 60,000 users. The company delivers a complete platform of solutions for dental practices, including Denticon Practice Management, Cloud 9 Practice Management, Apteryx XVWeb Cloud Imaging, and Legwork Patient Acquisition. Planet DDS is committed to creating value for its customers by solving the most urgent challenges facing today’s dental practices in North America. To learn more, visit planetdds.com.