New companies created by Edinburgh Research and Innovation (ERI), the university’s commercialisation arm, in the past year include NGenTec, which creates light-weight parts for wind turbines, potentially making wind power generation more efficient. The company recently won an £800,000 contract from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Other new firms include Actual Analytics, which uses video analysis technology to help develop drugs for diseases that affect the central nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and Skoogmusic, which produces new musical instruments for disabled children.
The 40 companies spun out in the past year have together secured over £3 million in funding.
Derek Waddell, chief executive officer of ERI, said, “As well as the unprecedented increase in the number of companies formed in 2009/2010 by the university, the quality of the companies created is at a higher level than ever, and this is testament to the entrepreneurship and creativity of the university’s staff and students, and to the excellent support provided by ERI’s company formation team.
In the last 5 years, Edinburgh University has formed 131 companies, which currently employ over 300 staff. Over 85 per cent of the companies are still in operation.
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