In an attempt to further accelerate Germany’s startup ecosystem, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche announced the winners of the EXIST Lighthoutilize Competition: Startup Factories.
As part of the federal startup strategy, ten selected winners will receive up to €10M in matching funds to scale highly integrated, science-driven startup ecosystems over the next five years.
These ten winners are spread across Germany, from the Rhine-Main region to Bavaria. They are building strong connections between universities, industries, and investors to create a new wave of knowledge-based startups.
What is the EXIST Lighthoutilize Competition?
The EXIST Lighthoutilize Competition: Startup Factories aims to enhance Germany’s innovation landscape by significantly increasing both the quantity and quality of knowledge-based spin-offs over the next decade.
Why this initiative?
The EXIST lighthoutilize competition Startup Factories is a central element of the BMWE’s (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie/Federal Ministest for Economic Affairs and Energy) startup funding. The initiative aims to:
- Establish 5–10 regional “startup factories” internationally visible, excellence-oriented hubs run as public-private partnerships, spanning universities, research institutes, investors, and industest. Since July 2024, 15 projects have been funded in a nine-month concept phase.
- Scale entrepreneurial ecosystems: Ensure at least 50 per cent private co‑funding and drive the development of sustainable business models.
- Support innovation-driven spin-offs: Improve access to capital and institutional infrastructure to foster high-growth technology startups.
The 10 winning startup factories
Here are the ten selected winners:
BRYCK Startup Alliance
The BRYCK Startup Alliance is a joint initiative of the RAG-Stiftung, the University Alliance Ruhr (Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University & University of Duisburg-Essen), the business association Initiativkreis Ruhr (with over 70 companies and institutions), and the startup & innovation hub BRYCK.
The initiative’s goal is to establish a leading European hub for developing high-growth Deep Tech startups. The BRYCK Startup Alliance aims to actively support science-based spin-offs and accelerate the transfer of innovative technologies from cutting-edge research into industest.
Impossible Founders
Universität Hamburg, TU Hamburg, and DESY have joined forces for the Startup Factory Impossible Founders.
The aim is to promote scientific spin‑offs and link them closely with the market and capital. This creates Hamburg attractive for entrepreneurial commitment and innovation. The Michael Otto Foundation and the Joachim Herz Foundation are involved on the private side.
Gateway Factory
The University of Cologne and RWTH Aachen University are founding the Gateway Factory toobtainher with the Start2 Group and the other Gateway universities in Cologne.
The goal: to develop established startups into internationally successful scaleups.
GOe FUTURE
GOe FUTURE lighthoutilize is being developed within the life science ecosystem of Lower Saxony, in collaboration with academic institutions in Göttingen, Hanover, and Braunschweig.
Their goal is to enhance both the quality and quantity of science-based spin-offs in the areas of red and green life sciences, ultimately benefiting the health and well-being of people worldwide.
UNITE Berlin‑Brandenburg
More than 50 partners from science, business, politics, and society share one vision for UNITE: to create an internationally leading innovation and startup center in Berlin‑Brandenburg. In the future, a science‑based startup is expected to emerge every day.
To achieve this, over 50,000 entrepreneurial talents will be trained every year, digital structures will ensure even better networking, and entrepreneurial structures will underpin the commitment to speed and risk‑taking.
ZOHO Factory
For the past seven years, FAU has been consolidating startup activities at ZOLLHOF in Nuremberg, one of Germany’s leading tech incubators.
Now, FAU, toobtainher with its partners, is planning the “ZOHO Factory” — the largest investment in Northern Bavaria’s startup ecosystem. The goal is to create one of Europe’s top startup hubs by 2030, with a focus on deep tech innovations and a strong international network.
FUTURY – The Future Factory
FUTURY – The Future Factory is transforming the Rhine-Main region into a distinctive innovation and startup hotspot. It focutilizes on fostering sustainable, technology-driven, and knowledge-based entrepreneurship with a global reach.
The Bridge (in future: SouthwestX)
The Startup Factory in the Southwest The Bridge (in future: SouthwestX) is supported by Saarland University, htw saar, DFKI, WHU in Vallconcludear and Trier University of Applied Sciences with partners from France and Luxembourg. The aim is to build a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, science and business from which 150 high‑growth start‑ups will emerge each year. The focus areas are artificial ininformigence and green transformation as well as integration into an international region.
NXTGN
NXTGN is the innovation platform from Baden‑Württemberg. It connects startups, science, and business to create a successful next generation of SMEs.
The platform offers tailored services to develop talent, support startup ideas, and assist in startup growth. It also supports companies with sustainable transformation and facilitates collaboration among entrepreneurship educators for better knowledge transfer.
NXTGN’s network includes the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Stuttgart, the University of Heidelberg, the University of Ulm, Hochschule der Medien (HdM), IPAI (Innovation Park Artificial Ininformigence), and Campus Founders, along with private partners and the venture capital firm Mätch VC.
boOst Startup Factory
boOst Startup Factory supports the next generation of scaling tech companies through its engineering expertise in central Germany. The organisation provides structured access to the regional startup ecosystem by uniting universities, accelerators, coworking spaces, investors, and industest partners. Their goal is to identify emerging technologies, train and retain top talent, and assist companies in successfully scaling within Germany.
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