Edinburgh has been courting the spotlight this last year. In November, 49 years after Peter Higgs identified the Higgs boson particle, the Edinburgh physicist won the 2013 Nobel prize. Last month, the University of Edinburgh climbed to its highest ever place in a global rankings list to be named the 17th best university in the world. Amid such positivity, it is perhaps not surprising that the energetic Scottish capital has also become a hotbed of tech innovation and young startups.

Although a relatively small city – its population stands at half a million – in terms of startups, it is punching well above its weight. The intellectual creativity of an ancient university city has been complimented by generous government-backed schemes, while a successful incubator programme, TechCube, which provides office space, networking opportunities and mentoring support to promising young digital firms, is helping evolve ideas that began as pet projects and distractions from day jobs into commercially robust ventures.

However, the contemporary tech revival has not come easy. Following the dot com bust the local tech scene faltered, requiring initiatives such as TechCube and established companies to kickstart the scene. "We host events at our offices, we sponsor tech meetups and we talk at events," says Gareth Williams, co-founder of Skyscanner, the flight search site that employs more than 350 people and is valued at $1bn. "I don't see other startups as competition, really. The larger the number of startups based in Edinburgh the better for all of us."

FANDUEL

Lesley Eccles co-founder and Nigel Eccles co-founder and CEO

Founded 2009 Headcount 62

What is it? A fantasy sports tournament operator, whose customer base is entirely in the US.

How does it work? "Take a fantasy football league, curtail it into one week or a day, pay an entry fee, and at the end of the day you know whether they've won or lost," say Lesley. "It's all about instant gratification, rather than waiting for a whole season."

How did it come about? 36 million people play fantasy sports; Fanduel wanted to make it faster and more immediate.

How are they doing? It's growing fast. "We initially operated only from Edinburgh and then two years ago moved the headquarters to New York," explains Nigel. "We go there every other week. Personnel wise, it's a 50-50 split between the US and Edinburgh."

QUORATE TECHNOLOGY

Nick Rankin co-founder

Founded 2012 Headcount seven

What is it? Software that makes audio searchable using technology that converts speech into text.

How does it work? "Our system automatically generates a transcript of what has been said in a conversation and makes the audio searchable by key words," explains Rankin. "So for example, we can automatically generate the transcript of a police interview and so if you wanted to find out the bit in the interview that talked about a white shirt, say, you can type in white shirt and find all the chunks in the conversation where it was mentioned."

Why Edinburgh? Quorate is a spin-out from the Centre of Speech Technology Research at Edinburgh University. A group of eight researchers spent eight years developing the system. They work very closely with the research team in order to keep in line with all the latest developments.

Who is it for? "Our target markets are policing, defence, aerospace, troops on patrol and air-traffic control, but the technology can be used for anything, webcast meetings, university lectures and much more," says Rankin.

BLIPFOTO

Joe Tree CEO and co-founder

Founded 2008 Headcount nine

What is it? A photo-sharing site that only lets people upload one photo a day. "It's a website, it's an app, it's the full gamut. We've got our fair share of cats, but people tend to record some of the most poignant moments of their lives," says Tree.

How does it work? "Generally, people write about their photos too and subscribe to each other and comment so they form new connections all the time," explains Tree. "We've had at least one wedding that we know of – just from people on the online community meeting each other."

How did it come about? "I decided to take a photograph every day. At the end of 2009 it won a Bafta Scotland award and I thought this has to become a thing in its own right," he says.

Who is using it? Users include Scottish MPs and the Scottish police force, who use it to record everything from crimes that have been committed to events they are attending. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has signed up. It has more than 400,000 users in 180 countries.

DISTRIFY

Peter Gerard co-founder

Founded 2011 Headcount 12

What is it? A film distribution platform. "People see a movie trailer on the web or on a blog and we put a buy button on the trailer so you can click, pay and watch the film," says Gerard.

How did it come about? "I started making films with my dad as a kid and I've been producing and directing documentaries for well over a decade," says Gerard, who is best known for his multi-award winning film The Shutdown and the graffiti documentary Just to Get a Rep.

"The idea came about because my co-founder, Andy Green, and I are both film-makers and the problem with YouTube was that people watch it but there is no way to turn them into a customer."

Why Edinburgh? Originally from Missouri, Gerard came to Edinburgh in 2000. "Edinburgh has a strong documentary and animation team and Scotland provides excellent support for new business. There is a really dynamic scene here."

TIGERFACE GAMES

Kate Ho managing director

Founded 2012 Headcount four

What is it? The award-winning TigerFace games build collaborative learning games on tablet devices, which aim to get two or more kids around a device playing and learning together.

How does it work? "One of the things parents say is their eight-year-old is doing their times tables and the parent wants to help, but can only really look over their homework," says Ho. "With this, they can play the game together. Parents and teachers love what we are doing."

Future plans They have just signed a big distribution deal in the US.

Why Edinburgh? Born in Hong Kong, Ho came to Edinburgh to study computer science and has lived there ever since. "I plan on sticking around," she says. "There's always the temptation to go to San Francisco, but the best thing about Edinburgh is the engineering talent – we're as good if not better than them, plus we try to support each other a lot."

SKYSCANNER

Gareth Williams co-founder

Founded 2003 Headcount 350

What is it? A search site that compares prices on flights, hotels and car hire.

How did it come about? Back in 2003, Williams was travelling a lot in Europe and found it difficult to find the right flights, so he spent a week programming a tool to help. "Having done that, I decided that it would make a great website for other users," he says.

Why Edinburgh? Originally based in Edinburgh because Williams got married there, the company has been resolutely growing in part because of the links to the computer science department at Edinburgh University. "After the dot-com bust there didn't feel like there was much of a tech scene here, but it's gradually built up," says Williams. "Since then, we've tried to do our bit. We host events at our offices, we sponsor tech meetups and we talk at events. I don't see other startups as competition really. The larger the number of start-ups based in Edinburgh the better it is for all of us. "

Advice for new startups? "Have a programmer on your founding team," he says.

Ones to watch? "FanDuel and Blipfoto are doing really good things and Quorate could potentially be a mass-market product."

RELAYMED

Neil Farish managing director

Founded 2012 Headcount nine

What is it? A software solution for GPs in the US to connect test devices to electronic records to save them having to transcribe patient's test results.

How does it work? "At the moment, if you do a blood test, a till receipt will come out and that will be passed on and transcribed, whereas with this, as soon as you run the test, it is done," explains Farish.

Why Edinburgh? There are lots of opportunities for government backing in Scotland – earlier this year RelayMed secured £300,000 in public funding to develop the software.

Future plans For the time being they are focusing on the US. "In the UK when you get a test done it gets sent to a lab and you have to wait for the results whereas in the US the tests are done in the doctor's office so there's never any waiting," says Farish. "There, every doctor is like an entrepreneur. They bill the patient (or the customer as they call them) or the insurance company or the government and every test costs. Our aim in five years' time, is to be in about 20% of physician practices in the States."

FLOAT

Colin Hewitt CEO

Founded 2010 Headcount five

What is it? Cashflow forecasting software for businesses.

How does it work? "Float hooks into your accounting software, lets you set up a bunch of budgets and keeps track of how you're doing against those budgets. It's forward-looking so you always know when you're going to run out of money – or not," says Hewitt. "So many businesses go under because of cashflow and this is an easy way to see how you're doing."

How did it come about? It grew out of Hewitt's bad experiences of running a business using spreadsheets.

Why Edinburgh? "There's such a good startup environment here," says Hewitt, who is originally from Belfast. "New computer science graduates are coming in and other startups are really helpful with giving advice if there are ever any other issues."

MIICARD

Stuart Fraser CTO

Founded 2012 Headcount 13

What is it? A digital verification identity service that lets you prove who you are online.

How does it work? "It's primarily to be used in the buying and selling of regulated financial services," says Fraser. "With use of an identity such as Facebook and Twitter people are used to signing in, but the identity of miiCard is much stronger; we tie you to your accounts."

Future plans miiCard is currently doing a deal with a company in the States which will enable you to buy a house and mortgage it purely online. "The technology is maturing and so is our understanding of the market," says Fraser.

INSIGHT ARCADE

Allan Lloyds founder and managing director

Founded 2012 Headcount six

What is it? An online platform to connect training providers and organisations for adult learners.

"We're like an eBay or airbnb for training providers," says Lloyds, who has been working on the concept for three years, building the team and working towards the launch next year.

Why Edinburgh? "Edinburgh gives us access to the right kind of talented people, access to space and resources and the chance to learn from successful local startups such as Skyscanner," says Lloyds. "Plus there is a real sense of community here."

TECHCUBE

Jamie Coleman managing director

Founded 2012 Headcount 35 businesses

What is it? A technology incubator programme that provides office space, networking opportunities and mentoring support to young digital companies. There are now 35 businesses ranging from early-stage companies through to really large ones. "Most of them are growing and doubling in size each month," says Coleman.

Why Edinburgh? "Many, but not all, of the companies were started at the university by computer science graduates, and the sorts of graduates that are coming out of here have expertise that are driving the interesting companies that are coming through locally," says Coleman. "We've got the biggest, tightest-knit tech scene in the country - it's not Cambridge, it's Edinburgh."