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The Vienna Region is a modern and innovative place. Geographically at the heart of Europe, not only national and international companies, but also startups from all over the world appreciate among other things the excellent infrastructure, the international network, the high quality of life as well as the high level of personal security, political stability and legal certainty of the Vienna Region.
Apart from the above-mentioned reasons for an attractive market, there are several jump start programmes as well as accelerators young entrepreneurs can participate in. All these offers focus on the support of startups, helping them with setting up shop, gaining prominence or finding investors. You are ready to take off with your new business venture? Have a look at these programmes and accelerators in the Vienna Region.
Situated in Vienna, Austrian Startups is a neutral and independent platform that helps startups all over Austria and beyond the borders to get inspired by their large community and help them to connect and expand their business. They offer two entrepreneurship programmes called Cirlce17 and the entrepreneurial leadership program. Furthermore, startups can be nominated and hopefully win the annual awesomeness award. There are also hackathons, the most recent one focussing on “hacking the crises” that followed the corona epidemic.
In the heart of Vienna’s city centre, the accelerator weXelerate offers the biggest open innovation hub within Austria. Startups can choose between three different programmes, each of which has a different focus. The programmes can be chosen according to your own individual needs.
Being a worldwide and the world’s largest network for startups, Impact Hub Vienna provides support and programmes for startups. They have a worldwide network and community for the exchange of innovative ideas.
Startups in Lower Austria can expand and innovate in the IST Cube in Klosterneuburg. There, startups focussing on deep tech solutions in science, engineering and technology can get support and coaching. Both early stage and later stage startups are welcome. Individual coaching and mentoring as well as support in business development and strong technical expertise can help startups to continue their way to success. IST Cube has also experts that help startups or companies from universities and research organizations to turn their science projects into commercial ventures. Furthermore, they help them in the areas of technology transfer and patenting affairs.
In March 2021 the startup accelerator Südhub will open its doors to startups and company founders. In an eight months programme participants will get financial support and profit from 1-to-1 coaching as well as various workshops. Hereby, the programme focuses on the startup’s individual needs. Participants will also be able to get consulting in how to best turn their innovative business ideas into a working business venture. Experts will help the participants to validate their prototypes as well as to develop a marketing strategy and find investors. Furthermore, participants can use the office infrastructure. The co-working and event space is situated in Güssing in the South of Burgenland.
According to the Austrian Startup Monitor study more than 2000 startups have been founded in Austria in the past 10 years. Looking at the numbers for the Vienna Region, approximately 1100 of these startups were founded in Vienna, 170 in Lower Austria and 30 in Burgenland within the last 10 years. Most startups focussed on new technologies and innovation trends that are considered important for the near future. Examples of these areas are artificial intelligence (AI), big data, green technology and the internet of things (IoT). According to the above-mentioned study, startups have been founded most in the sectors of software and hardware followed closely by consumer goods.
Some of the startups that have been most successful in the last 10 years have started their journey in the Vienna Region. Great examples of these successes are Shpock Finderly GmbH, Bitpanda, Lithoz or Covid Fighters.