Dundee, Abertay and St Andrews universities have helped Scotland to the best record in the UK for producing spin-out companies.
Internet database Spinouts UK has compiled a list of all the businesses that have emerged from the fruits of academic research over the past decade.
It has found that Scotland’s universities produced 172 companies, well above the total for any other nation or region. London was second with 115 and the south-east third with 85.
Between them the three universities in Tayside and Fife accounted for 48 spin-outs.
The list covers a wide variety of technologies, such as the wearable medical light sources produced by Ambicare Health, which emerged from St Andrews University.
Computer games company Digital Goldfish came out of Abertay University, which is a leader in gaming and digital media research, while pioneering life sciences work at Dundee University was the spur to the creation of drug discovery and development firm Cyclacel.
The failure rate for new businesses is usually high, but Spinouts UK reckons that almost three-quarters of the Scottish companies are still operating.
Survey spokesman Jonathan Harris said, “Despite promising signs, the UK is not yet commercialising its tremendous intellectual property and innovation in the same way as the United States. I hope this survey and our annual updates will help to change that.”