Seven entrepreneurs from the University of Edinburgh have raised almost £900,000 to develop their research into commercially viable businesses, with around £625,000 coming from Scottish Enterprise's Smart awards.
The recipient companies include Krotos, which can convert a voice into a monster sound in real time, ShotScope Tehnologies which tracks a golfer's performance, Parkure which is tackling Parkinson's Disease, and Pling which has an innovative maths learning tool for under-sixes. The others are Kajeka (data analysis) Two Big Ears (interactive audio) and Particle Analytics.
The Smart programme can provide funding of up to £100,000 for technical and commercial feasibility studies, and up to £600,000 for research and development projects that aim to develop a pre-commercialisation prototype of a new product or process.
The university supports around 30 start-ups annually through LAUNCH.ed, an award-winning information, advice and mentoring service established by Edinburgh Research and Innovation (ERI), the commercialisation arm of the university.
Grant Wheeler, ERI's head of company formation, said securing awards for seven of the 13 projects it was supporting this year was a record for ERI. Six jobs would be secured and a further 13 created, providing an immediate economic impact.
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