University of Edinburgh has joined forces with corporate-run incubator Wayra UK to start an artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain accelerator that will accept 20 local businesses a year from September 2018.
The Edinburgh program will be Wayra’s first in Scotland and will receive assistance from state-owned economic development agency Scottish Enterprise. It will be open to spinouts and startups, and is expected to generate up to 400 jobs.
Wayra UK, started by telecoms firm Telefónica in 2012, currently consists of five accelerators training approximately 50 portfolio companies per year.
Participants in the accelerator will have access to Telefónica’s UK and global businesses to improve the chances of scaling their businesses. More than 200 UK and Ireland-based startups have taken part in Wayra UK so far, which raised more than $198m in funding between them.
The UK Tech Nation Report, cited by the university, indicated 363 startups were incorporated in…
