Hamburg wins startup competition organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

A further 40 million euros are available from Hamburg foundations and companies, which are participating in the unique joint application together with the city's universities and research institutes. The initiative also has a high political profile, with both Economics Senator Leonhard and Science Senator Blumenthal wanting the project to succeed.

The Hamburg start-up factory “Impossible Founders” will specifically promote innovative spin-offs from science in the field of “deep tech,” with a focus on green technologies and the development of new materials in connection with AI and data science. Impossible Founders will officially begin its work on November 1. It will initially be based at the “Digital Hub” in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district.

Hamburg as a location for science and business is thus continuing to gain momentum: just at the end of May, the University of Hamburg and the Technical University were awarded the contract by the federal government for their cutting-edge research in five clusters of excellence. The Startup Factory is another important building block for Hamburg's innovative and economic future viability.

“Research in Hamburg in the field of deep tech is leading internationally. I know that there is enormous potential here for start-ups that could become global leaders. We, as part of this truly impressive alliance of Hamburg partners, are determined to unlock these treasures. Personally, I see winning the competition as a huge motivational boost. I'm really excited and all of us in Hamburg will give it our all to be successful!” says Dr. Arik Willner, designated Managing Director of the Startup Factory “Impossible Founders.” Willner will assume his position on October 1, 2025.

Beate Heinemann, Chairwoman of the DESY Board of Directors, explains: "This is the second ground-breaking decision by the Federal Government for Science and Innovation at DESY within a week. Together with strong partners, DESY will be part of this forward-looking project, which will now be funded as a start-up factory. For years, we have been creating ideal conditions for bringing science-based innovations into application more quickly. This not only strengthens Science City Hamburg-Bahrenfeld, but also Hamburg's role as a central innovation centre in the north."

"Hamburg has immense potential to be an international leader in deep tech innovations. Start-ups are the key to seizing this opportunity," explains Arik Willner, Chief Technology Officer at DESY and designated Managing Director of Impossible Founders from November 2025. "With Impossible Founders, we are establishing new structures that significantly accelerate the path from scientific knowledge to marketable technology. For DESY, this is a strategic extension of our innovation path - and an important lever for the Hamburg ecosystem to anchor science-driven start-ups in a long-term and scalable way."

The new company aims to make a significant contribution to the competitiveness and transformation of Hamburg's economy towards more technology companies. The aim is to increase the number of science-based start-ups and make the Hamburg metropolitan region one of Germany's leading locations for deep tech spin-offs. The focus is on technologies for the green transformation (“Greentech”), as there is internationally recognized research expertise in this area. With DESY, Science City Bahrenfeld, the Technical University, the techHub Altona, the future DESY Innovation Factories and TechCity Harburg, a new Greentech ecosystem is taking shape.

The target of the Hamburg Start-up Factory is to:
• impart entrepreneurial know-how to students and researchers through internationally proven entrepreneurship education programs,
• support innovative, growth-oriented spin-offs throughout all phases of company development,
• help make the legal transfer of intellectual property (called IP transfer) easier for new businesses—meaning quicker and making it more affordable,
• establish connections to the research-intensive economy with fields of application for Greentech—from aviation and logistics to energy, chemicals and life sciences,
• support the search for investors, and
• provide start-up teams with access to research infrastructure.

The Start-up Factory solves a major problem for deep tech spin-offs

Technologically oriented start-ups are exposed to numerous risks after they are founded, generally have significantly higher capital requirements than other start-ups, and must adapt their business model to changing social and economic conditions. The funding structures in Germany are weak in this respect. While there are good funding programs for basic research, there is little support for the risky phase of product development, prototyping, and scaling shortly before or during market entry. This is why this phase is also known as the Valley of Death, as venture capital only gets involved after this so-called Valley of Death has been crossed, when tech start-ups have already established themselves on the market.

This is where the Hamburg Startup Factory “Impossible Founders” comes in, offering a support structure for the first time to promote newly founded companies through all phases.