Edinburgh University has launched 41 student startups and three spinouts over the 2014/15 academic year, bringing the university’s total haul to over 400 new firms since it launched its first spinout four decades ago.
Edinburgh also reported £237m ($372.1m) invested into its startups and spinouts over the past year, £175m of which came via sports predication startup Fanduel. Formerly known as Hubdub, the Edinburgh firm closed $275m in its series E, which was backed by Google, numerous media companies, venture firms, and owners of NFL and NBA teams.
Another success story emerging from Edinburgh over the past year has been PureLifi. The communications technology spinout, which is currently in the process of bringing its internet-of-things connectivity framework to market, secured £1.5m at the start of the year, shortly after GUV tipped it as one of the spinouts to watch in 2015.
During the year, Edinburgh’s university venturing arm Old College Capital also received a shot in the arm, raising an extra £6m to invest in the institution’s spinouts, bringing its total firepower to £8m.
Edinburgh’s startup generation is one of the leading lights in Scottish university entrepreneurship, which is leading the rest of the UK. As part of its latest annual report, Spinouts UK noted the continuing trend of Scotland trumping the rest of the UK in spinout generation. However, its lead has dipped to 20% of all UK spinouts coming from Scotland, with London on 14% and south-east England on 12%.
Edinburgh is tied with Imperial College London for second place on most spinouts generated in the past ten years, with both at 35. Oxford University is top of the table with 48.
Grant Wheeler, head of company formation at Edinburgh Research and Innovation, the tech transfer unit for Edinburgh, said: “Edinburgh is now emerging as the largest technology hub outside London, and at the heart of that phenomenon is the university and its enterprise scene. Whether it’s from the world-class research base or from the student entrepreneurs, we’re seeing new companies being formed here and in record numbers. And more and more have the potential to develop further.”
