Hamburg wants to further expand its position as a centre of innovation and is taking part in the nationwide ‘Startup Factory’ lighthouse competition. With the formation of a strong consortium and the successful application for the next round, the support for founders and start-ups in the region will be expanded and they will be supported in all phases of founding and developing a company in Hamburg. The application for the Hamburg Metropolitan Region is a consistent further development of the Startup Port’s successful activities. The aim is to significantly increase the number and success of start-ups, particularly in future-oriented fields such as new materials, AI and data science.
Startup factories are intended to make the transfer from research to industry, especially through startups, even faster and more successful than before. In order to realise this potential and make it commercially viable, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) has launched the ‘Startup Factories’ lighthouse competition. The aim is to establish 5-10 startup factories nationwide as independent, entrepreneurially managed units in close cooperation with the scientific community. The BMWK is funding this structural development with up to 10 million euros over 5 years with a private investment of at least the same amount.
Consortium for innovation
Together with the Hamburg University of Technology and the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), the University of Hamburg has successfully qualified for the final round of the lighthouse competition. This brings the consortium a big step closer to the Startup Factory Hamburg.
Goals of the Startup Factory Hamburg
The Startup Factory Hamburg pursues these goals, among others:
- Significantly increasing the number of science-based start-ups in the Hamburg metropolitan region
- Establishment of Europe’s most successful hub for start-ups and scale-ups in selected focus areas (new materials, AI and data science)
- Rise of the metropolitan region into the top 10 most successful start-up ecosystems in Europe
Success of the Startup Port, commitment of the foundations and initial positive results
The application for the Hamburg Metropolitan Region is a logical development of the successful PIER PLUS and Startup Port activities. The aim is to make Hamburg an attractive location for innovation and entrepreneurial commitment. To this end, scientific institutions and industry are working together in a variety of ways and will intensify this in the coming phase.
One initial result is the strong commitment of the Michael Otto Foundation and the Joachim Herz Foundation, which are supporting the entire application process and intend to contribute financially to the Startup Factory to be established in the Hamburg metropolitan region. Hamburg is already starting to pilot individual offers in the concept phase, which is another strong sign of the unique conditions in Hamburg.
Link to Startup Factory Hamburg
More about Startup Factories:
Startup Factories are intended to develop, implement and scale support services for innovative, growth-orientated startups, particularly from the world of science. The number of technology-based start-ups is to be significantly increased through the transfer of knowledge and research results. It thus complements the existing support programmes within universities and research institutions. The aim is not only to increase the number of start-ups, but also to help young companies grow and internationalise even more successfully. Technology-orientated start-ups in particular are exposed to numerous risks once they have been founded, generally have significantly higher capital requirements than other start-ups and have to adapt their business model to changing social and economic conditions. As universities and research institutions are only in a limited position to support and accompany their spin-offs in the long term, there is generally a lack of professionally organised, market-oriented support units for this type of start-up. The Startup Factories lighthouse competition is a central and long-term element of the German government’s startup strategy.
