exist Startup Factories

With the startup factories, exist is launching a new era of academic startup support. The initiative creates entrepreneurially driven, privately co-financed flagship projects that set new benchmarks for excellence, speed, and impact in technology transfer across Europe.

The exist Startup Factories are the newest and most ambitious programme line within the exist family. Their goal is to establish cross-university and internationally visible startup ecosystems in which science, industry, and private investors jointly scale innovation. From nine locations across Germany, the startup factories will shape the European startup landscape in the coming years – entrepreneurially managed, at least 50 percent privately funded, and clearly output-oriented.

The initiative embodies a new understanding of public funding: moving away from purely project-based approaches towards sustainable, growth-oriented innovation platforms. Each factory operates as a public-private partnership that combines academic excellence with market dynamics.

For investors, the exist startup factories offer an attractive environment to gain early access to highly qualified teams, validated technologies, and resilient business models. Their close links to universities and research institutions create spaces where talent, capital, and expertise systematically come together – transforming ideas into scalable businesses.

With their international outlook and strong focus on excellence, the startup factories serve as a model for all of Europe. They demonstrate how academic knowledge transfer and private investment can merge into a shared engine of innovation – made in Germany, designed for Europe.

Further information: startup-factories.com