{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-29/unsw-tops-spinout-ranking-fifth-year","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-29/unsw-tops-spinout-ranking-fifth-year.md","title":"UNSW Tops Australia Spinout Ranking for Fifth Year","headline":"UNSW Named Australia's Top University for Spinouts Again as 2025 Cohort Reaches 25 Companies","description":"UNSW led Australia's spinout rankings for a fifth straight year with 25 new companies and 75 patent filings, as the national survey counted 102 new firms.","section":"Business","published_at":"2026-10-29T23:24:41+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-29T23:24:41+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["UNSW was named Australia's top university for startups and spinouts for the fifth consecutive year by the SCOPR survey.","UNSW's 2025 cohort of 25 spinouts spanned quantum security, clean energy, health and AI, with 75 new patent filings.","Quantum Lock has received $400,000 in grant funding and is in talks with a major US financial institution and an Australian data centre operator."],"companies":[{"name":"UNSW","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0009mjc/unsw","website":"https://www.unsw.edu.au"},{"name":"Quantum Lock","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00qvx72/quantum-lock","website":"https://www.quantalsecurity.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"Mirage News","title":"UNSW Tops Spinout Rankings for Fifth Straight Year","url":"https://www.miragenews.com/unsw-tops-spinout-rankings-for-fifth-straight-1769223/"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Business","UNSW","Quantum Lock"],"body_markdown":"[UNSW](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0009mjc/unsw) has been named Australia's top university for startups and spinouts for the fifth year running, with a 2025 cohort of 25 spinouts and 75 new patent filings, [Mirage News](https://www.miragenews.com/unsw-tops-spinout-rankings-for-fifth-straight-1769223/) reported. The ranking comes from the Survey of Commercialisation Outcomes from Public Research (SCOPR), conducted annually by Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia.\n\n## UNSW's 25 Spinouts and 75 Patent Filings\n\nUNSW is a research-intensive public university in Sydney, Australia, founded in 1949, with seven faculties and six campuses and applied research strengths in renewable energy, space technology and open-source energy market analytics tools, according to [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data).\n\nThe 2025 cohort of 25 spinouts covered quantum security, clean energy, health and AI. KCA said the survey, which examined 2025 data, showed 102 new companies were created in Australia, generating almost $1 billion in industry contracts.\n\nDr Dax Kukulj, UNSW Deputy Director of Business Development and Commercialisation, said one in four spinouts from Australian universities came from UNSW, which also had the highest number of new patent filings at 75 in 2025. \"Being recognised as the top research organisation for spinout creation for the fifth consecutive year is a proud achievement for UNSW and reinforces our position as Australia's most entrepreneurial university,\" Dr Kukulj said.\n\n## CounterCurrent and Quantum Lock Raise Funds\n\nCounterCurrent, which describes itself as the \"Google maps of the sea,\" and [Quantum Lock](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00qvx72/quantum-lock), a device that protects critical infrastructure from tampering and cyber threats, have both raised funds this year.\n\nCounterCurrent combines onboard sensors, a genAI forecasting tool for localised weather predictions and a route optimisation tool that uses ocean currents and forecasts to recommend the most fuel-efficient route, helping ships cut fuel costs and carbon emissions.\n\nQuantum Lock uses quantum physics to verify that financial exchanges, power plants and data centres have not been tampered with. It has received $400,000 in grant funding and is engaged with a major US financial institution and an Australian data centre operator, among others, with a view to collaborating and potentially piloting its technology.\n\nEPIWATCH Global, an AI-driven infectious disease platform for spotting potential epidemics, is led by Professor Raina MacIntyre, who heads the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute at UNSW. Its software team works with epidemiologists to test and train the system with real-time tools.\n\n## Earlier UNSW Research Commercialisation Milestones\n\nIn September 2026, UNSW researchers received $64.8 million from ARENA for 12 solar projects, part of a $105.6 million investment and the largest single solar PV research investment by ARENA, Mirage News reported. That month, a $4 million UNSW-led project began turning a Bowral hotel into a community power plant using solar, battery storage and AI, Mirage News reported.\n\nIn October 2026, UNSW projects won awards at the Australian Good Design Awards, including a Gold Award for the Academic Success Monitor, an AI and machine learning tool that has reduced approximately 500 academic failures annually across 65,000 students, Mirage News reported.\n\n## UNSW's Bengaluru Campus Opening\n\nUNSW's Bengaluru campus is set to open in August 2026, strengthening international engagement and access to India's startup ecosystem, according to akta.pro company records.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}