Industry and government place high value on the institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in their role as a nucleus promoting the foundation or relocation of companies within their respective regions.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft supports this aspect of the institutes’ work by actively encouraging the formation of startup companies as offshoots of the institutes and supporting cooperative ventures between spin-off companies and Fraunhofer Institutes by a variety of means.

To further reinforce the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s support for young entrepreneurs, and provide professional backing for their activities, the Munich-based Fraunhofer Venture offers an extensive range of complementary consulting services.

Fraunhofer Venture maintains a network of contacts to business consultants, certified public accountants and public and private venture capital firms, who are in a position to offer new companies targeted support during the early investment phase. Emphasis is placed on reviewing and optimizing business plans, obtaining access to equity and risk capital, providing assistance with the drawing-up of partnership agreements between the new companies and the associated institutes, and direct support by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft to guarantee the smooth launching of business activities.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is in the process of setting up a private investment fund that will be able to offer professional investment management of venture capital for the launch and initial growth phases of startup companies. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft offers the ideal conditions for taking the step to independence:

• The Fraunhofer Institutes are breeding grounds for the development of new technological concepts and products.

• The aforementioned partners provide an ideal support network within which to set up new business ventures.