New figures show that the University of Edinburgh (
www.ed.ac.uk/home)supported 44 start-ups and three spin-outs last year — a record number.
Over the past five years, 184 companies have been created by the university, adding to the 400-plus established since its first recorded spin-out more than 40 years ago.
Investment in university-founded companies has also hit a record high — £237 million in 2014-15. The university said that research innovation was helping the city to become the UK’s largest high-tech hub outside London.
Recent commercial successes include Pure-LiFi, whose light-enabled Internet technology is being incorporated in the home of the Golden State Warriors basketball team in San Francisco.
Grant Wheeler, head of company formation at Edinburgh Research and Innovation (the university’s commercialisation arm), said: “Whether it is from the world-class research base or from the student entrepreneurs, we
are seeing new companies being formed here in record numbers — and more and more of them have the potential to develop further.”
Sir Timothy O’Shea, principal of the university, said: “The first-class support provided by the university and the wider enterprise support network play an important role, not only in the student experience but also in delivering impact for the world-class research coming out of our university.”