Five “highly ambitious” Scottish tech university spinouts have been granted half a million pounds between them to grow their businesses.
The startups, all supported by Edinburgh University’s commercialisation service – Edinburgh Innovations – have been awarded around £100,000 each through SMART:SCOTLAND grants.
The recipients are bennu.ai, developers of “the world’s smartest bin” which sorts waste automatically for a net zero circular economy; Danu Robotics, a cleantech startup focused on advanced and dedicated technological solutions for the benefit of the environment; BioLiberty, creators of a soft robotic glove and a digital therapy platform aimed at helping sufferers of hand weakness; eMoodie, a mental health digital platform which facilitates early screening; and Black Goblin Audio, a “transformative” audio design and technology company.
Awarded by Scottish Enterprise to Scottish-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), SMART:SCOTLAND grants are offered to “qualifying high-risk, highly ambitious projects with a commercial focus”.
Lorna Baird, student enterprise manager at Edinburgh Innovations, said: “We’re so pleased with the success of these emerging companies, all founded by University of Edinburgh students or graduates, in securing their grant awards from SMART:SCOTLAND.
“These startups are deserving of their significant funding awards as they are all focused on developing innovative solutions to some of the key challenges facing society.
“As an organisation which is committed to helping University of Edinburgh-linked start-up businesses reach their full potential, Edinburgh Innovations is proud of its role in supporting these budding entrepreneurs.”
Jim Watson, director of business growth at Scottish Enterprise, said: “SMART:SCOTLAND grants are an effective way of encouraging Scottish businesses to innovate and helping them attract additional funding.
“The cutting-edge products and services being developed by these five companies are great examples of the pioneering work supported by SMART and the economic, environmental and societal benefits associated with the programme.”
