SPRIN-D

What SPRIN-D does

SPRIND (Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen) is Germany's Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, established in 2019 as a private limited company (GmbH) under the Federal Ministry for Research. Modeled on DARPA, the agency identifies and supports breakthrough technologies through challenge-based competitions, direct project funding, and equity investments. Headquartered in Leipzig with a secondary office in Berlin, SPRIND serves deep-tech startups, academic research teams, and European cross-border collaborators working on radical innovation across sectors including energy, life sciences, quantum, AI, aerospace, and defence. The agency's primary beneficiaries are startups and spin-offs that cannot access patient capital through conventional VC or bureaucratic grant pathways, with 230+ projects supported to date.

SPRIND's core offerings consist of five interconnected instruments. (1) SPRIND Challenges — multi-stage competitive contests awarding up to €3 million per stage, with the flagship Next Frontier AI challenge at €125 million. (2) SPRIND Funken — faster, lower-threshold competitions with up to €350,000 per team. (3) Direct financial instruments including Gründungsfinanzierung (seed funding up to €1M), Beteiligungen/Wandeldarlehen (equity/warrant investments alongside private co-investors who must contribute ≥30% and lead the round), and F&E Förderung (R&D funding typically in single-digit millions, up to €35 million in exceptional cases, repayable only upon exit/IPO/profit). (4) A portfolio of 230+ long-term projects across ten technology sectors. (5) Strategic projects including the EUDI-Wallet (Germany's national digital identity ecosystem under eIDAS), Quantum Sensing Initiative, Law as Code, IP-Transfer, and SPRIND.SOCIETY. Outreach assets include the SPRIND Podcast (128+ episodes as of June 2026) and the Made in Germany Awards.

SPRIND operates on a government-funded non-commercial model — it sells no products or services and generates no commercial revenue, instead deploying federal appropriations through grants, equity investments, and pre-commercial procurement contracts. The agency differentiates itself from traditional German public funding bodies via 14-day application reviews (versus a typical 6-month process), milestone-based disbursement, bespoke deal structures enabled by the SPRIND-Freiheitsgesetz, and an explicit mandate to operate with startup-like agility. Internationally, SPRIND is advising France (via a Bpifrance-aligned expert commission whose findings were delivered to Presidents Macron and Merz at VivaTech 2026) and the Netherlands on establishing analogous agencies, and has been endorsed as a model in the Draghi Report on European competitiveness.

Name

SPRIN-D

Legal name

SPRIND GmbH

Website

https://www.sprind.org/en

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SPRIND is Germany's Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, funding breakthrough deep-tech projects through challenge-based competitions, direct equity investments, and non-dilutive R&D grants. It serves European startups, spin-offs, and research teams across AI, quantum, energy, biotech, and defence sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Innovation Funding Agency

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Project Finance Capital Raising Intermediation (FSAEALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Regulatory Reporting & Compliance Automation (FinCEN/CTR/SAR, EMIR/MiFID, etc.) (FSAGAFAG)

Keywords

• Innovation funding agency
• Breakthrough technology grants
• Deep-tech venture funding
• Challenge-based R&D
• Federal research grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Leipzig

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government-funded innovation agency (non-revenue-generating): SPRIND is a German federal agency funded by public budget. It does not sell products or services commercially. It deploys government appropriations to support breakthrough innovation through grants, equity investments, and pre-commercial procurement contracts. It has no commercial revenue streams of its own.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SPRIND is Germany's Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen), modeled on DARPA. It identifies and funds breakthrough technology projects through multi-instrument programs: seed founding financing up to EUR 1 million, equity/warrant investments, R&D funding up to EUR 35 million, and time-limited competitive Challenges (up to EUR 3 million per stage) and faster Funken/Sparks competitions (up to EUR 350,000 per stage). It also operates strategic projects such as the EUDI-Wallet digital identity ecosystem, Law as Code, IP-Transfer, and SPRIND.SOCIETY, plus a project portfolio of 230+ supported breakthrough innovations across energy, AI, biotech, quantum, defense, and advanced materials.

Product overview

SPRIND (Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen) is Germany's Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, modeled on DARPA. It is not a single-product company but a multi-instrument innovation agency operating a portfolio of interconnected programs. Its core offerings consist of: (1) Financial instruments — Gründungsfinanzierung (seed funding up to €1M), Beteiligungen/Wandeldarlehen (equity/warrant investments), and F&E Förderung (R&D funding up to €35M) for breakthrough projects; (2) SPRIND Challenges — large competitive innovation contests (e.g., Next Frontier AI at €125M, Continuous Hormone Monitoring, Orbital Bioworks) where teams receive up to €3M per stage; (3) SPRIND Funke (Sparks) — faster, lower-threshold competitions with up to €350,000 per team; (4) Project Portfolio — long-term support for over 230 innovation projects across ten sectors; and (5) Strategic Projects — including the EUDI-Wallet (digital identity ecosystem), Quantum Sensing Initiative, Law as Code, IP-Transfer, and SPRIND.SOCIETY. SPRIND also runs outreach programs including the SPRIND Podcast and the Made in Germany Awards. The agency does not offer a public-facing product with API integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SPRIND Challenges Large competitive innovation contests where teams solve specific societal or technical problems within defined timelines, receiving up to EUR 3 million per competition stage. Challenges span sectors including AI, biotech, defense, energy, quantum, and advanced materials. Open to teams from EU, EFTA, the UK, and Israel.
• SPRIND Funken (Sparks) Faster, lower-threshold innovation competitions with up to EUR 350,000 per competition stage. Includes Funken such as Quantum-Driven Intelligence, QuantumSense Exploration, Anti-Drone Response 2.0, and Next Frontier AI Concepts for breakthrough innovators.
• Funding Instruments (Founding Financing, Equity Investments, R&D Funding) Multi-stage financial support for breakthrough innovations: Gründungsfinanzierung (seed funding up to EUR 1M), equity/warrant co-investments alongside private VCs, and R&D funding typically in single-digit millions up to EUR 35M, repayable only upon exit, IPO, or profit. Available to deep-tech startups, spin-offs, and research teams.
• SPRIND Projects Portfolio Long-term project support for visionary ideas, with 230+ supported projects across ten sectors: Computing & Semiconductors, Energy & Sustainability, Manufacturing & Robotics, Advanced Materials, Agriculture & Food, Life Sciences & Biotech, Aerospace, Mobility & Infrastructure, Security & Resilience, and Software & AI.
• EUDI-Wallet Project A German digital identity ecosystem project developing a secure EUDI Wallet for all European citizens, featuring digital ID storage, credential management, qualified electronic signatures, pseudonymous login, and payment authorization. Commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation (BMDS).
• Law as Code A paradigm shift initiative publishing legal norms not only as legal text but also in official machine-readable and executable form, enabling automated compliance and digital legal processes.
• IP-Transfer SPRIND initiative to improve the transfer of research results to the economy and society, developing strategies and concrete assistance for simpler, faster, and fairer IP transfer in partnership with politics, research, and universities.
• SPRIND.SOCIETY A strategic initiative promoting radical different thinking beyond technology and business — in government and society itself. Focuses on civic digital participation modeled after Taiwan's e-governance approaches, led by SPRIND together with the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs.
• Quantum Sensing Initiative A long-term initiative establishing a framework for bold ideas, technological breakthroughs, and application-oriented innovations in quantum sensing. Initial Funken include Quantum-Driven Intelligence and QuantumSense Exploration, aimed at building a strong European quantum sensing ecosystem.
• Next Frontier AI Challenge SPRIND's largest-ever AI competition (EUR 125 million) aimed at accelerating Europe's competitiveness in the global AI race by identifying disruptive AI approaches and helping Europe build its own frontier AI labs. SPRIND has committed to raising and spending EUR 3 billion to establish three European Frontier AI labs.
• Orbital Bioworks Challenge Innovation challenge seeking breakthroughs in microgravity-based drug development and cell therapy manufacturing. Offers up to EUR 250,000 per team in Stage 1 and up to EUR 1.4 million in Stage 2, plus access to microgravity platforms including parabolic flight and orbital missions to VAST Haven-1 in partnership with YURI.
• Continuous Hormone Monitoring Challenge Multi-stage innovation challenge seeking breakthroughs in continuous hormone monitoring for women's health using next-generation biosensors. Teams can receive up to EUR 1.5M in Stage 1, EUR 2M in Stage 2, and EUR 2.5M in Stage 3.
• Anti-Drone Response Challenge (Joint SPRIND-Vinnova) Joint challenge with Sweden's Vinnova innovation agency to develop autonomous systems capable of detecting and neutralizing small UAVs (up to 25 kg and 200 km/h) autonomously, precisely, and non-destructively in real time without weapons effects, external communication, or human intervention.
• Tech Metal Transformation Challenge Challenge co-designed with the U.S. National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation and Partnerships directorate to recover critical metals from waste streams, running in parallel in Germany and the U.S. to strengthen supply chains for critical and strategic metals.
• Made in Germany Awards A cross-media awards showcase for technological excellence in Germany across five categories: Energy, Society, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, and Mobility. Organized with science creator Dr. Jacob Beautemps, BMFTR, and Breaking Lab (34M+ follower network). Submission deadline June 30, 2026; awards ceremony November 23, 2026 in Berlin.
• SPRIND Podcast A weekly podcast hosted by Thomas Ramge exploring breakthrough innovations and interviewing innovators, scientists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Deezer, and RSS feed with over 128 episodes covering topics including hypersonic weapons, nuclear fusion, AI, and quantum technology.

Quantifiable outcome

• 230+ breakthrough innovation projects supported since inception
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability12 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bpifrance (France)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026Co-chaired the Franco-German expert mission on breakthrough innovation with SPRIND Director Rafael Laguna de la Vera. The mission recommends France create a domestic agency modeled on SPRIND under Bpifrance's leadership. The report was handed to Presidents Macron and Merz at VivaTech 2026.
• Nobel laureate Philippe Aghion and Max Planck Institute director Dietmar HarhoffcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026Key economists on the Franco-German expert task force on breakthrough innovation, advising on the design of a potential French SPRIND equivalent.
• Netherlands government (advising on Dutch Arpa)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026SPRIND is advising the Netherlands on creating its own national ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), sharing its operating model and methodology.
• US National Science Foundation TIPminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026NSF's Technology, Innovation and Partnerships directorate co-designed the Tech Metal Transformation Challenge with SPRIND, running in parallel to Germany's own Tech Metal Challenge to recover critical metals from waste streams.
• YURI (space infrastructure provider)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026Partner for the Orbital Bioworks challenge, providing flight-qualified experiment platforms and technical/biomedical coaching for teams selected for Stage 2. Yuri supplies the hardware and mission integration support for parabolic flight campaigns and orbital missions to VAST Haven-1.
• Vinnova (Sweden's innovation agency)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025SPRIND and Vinnova launched a joint anti-drone technology challenge to develop autonomous systems for detecting and neutralizing hostile UAV threats to critical infrastructure (energy, communications). Formalized via MoU before summer 2025. Part of a deliberate effort to address Draghi's findings on European innovation speed. One funded team is led by Martin Saska at Czech Technical University in Prague.
• Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernisation (BMDS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMDS commissioned SPRIND to lead development of Germany's national EUDI-Wallet and the broader digital identity ecosystem, in compliance with the revised eIDAS Regulation.
• Federal Office for Information Security (BSI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBSI is a key project partner in the EUDI-Wallet initiative, contributing cybersecurity expertise and regulatory guidance for Germany's digital identity ecosystem.
• Bundesdruckerei (Federal Printing Office)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBundesdruckerei is a technology partner in the EUDI-Wallet project, contributing expertise in secure credential production and digital identity infrastructure.
• Fraunhofer AISECcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFraunhofer AISEC contributes security analysis and technical research expertise to the EUDI-Wallet project, ensuring high security standards for the digital identity ecosystem.
• PwC GermanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPwC is a consulting partner in the EUDI-Wallet project, contributing to architecture, business model design, and ecosystem governance for Germany's digital identity infrastructure.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vinnova (Swedish Innovation Agency): Sweden's national innovation agency and SPRIND's most active international partner, jointly running the Anti-Drone Response Challenge. Operates with similar challenge-based funding instruments and shares SPRIND's mission of funding breakthrough deep-tech at the national level.
• Bpifrance: France's public investment bank, designated by the Franco-German expert task force to host France's SPRIND-equivalent. Bpifrance already co-invests with SPRIND in deep-tech rounds (Focused Energy) and shares the public-capital, equity-and-grant toolkit; the closer partnership will likely make Bpifrance the most directly comparable peer in continental Europe.
• ARIA (Advanced Research and Invention Agency, UK): UK's ARPA-equivalent created in 2022 with a statutory remit to fund high-risk, high-reward research with programmatic flexibility. Closest European peer to SPRIND in terms of legal structure, funding instruments, and challenge-based breakthrough model.
• European Innovation Council (EIC): The EU's flagship deep-tech funding instrument, co-investing in rounds like Focused Energy's $240M Series A alongside SPRIND. Shares SPRIND's challenge/grant/equity toolkit and breakthrough technology focus, and is the most natural EU-level partner for SPRIND's pan-European ambitions.
• ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy): US Department of Energy agency funding high-potential, high-impact energy technologies through milestone-based programs. Directly comparable to SPRIND's energy portfolio (Focused Energy fusion, elementarhy hydrogen, Subra superconductors) and its challenge-based, program-manager-driven funding architecture.
• DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency): The US federal agency on which SPRIND is explicitly modeled. Both agencies fund breakthrough R&D through challenge-based competitions with milestone-based contracts, program manager autonomy, and a tolerance for high-risk/high-reward bets. SPRIND's Freiheitsgesetz and rapid review process are direct adaptations of DARPA's operating model.

Emerging players

• Israel Innovation Authority: Israel's national innovation funding agency, comparable in scale and mission to SPRIND on a per-capita basis. Funds breakthrough and deep-tech ventures through grants and conditional loans, with a track record of seeding successful deep-tech exits. SPRIND has explicitly cited Israel as a model.

Regional players

• Research Council of Norway: Norway's national research funding agency with mandate and instruments comparable to SPRIND's, including challenge-driven calls and innovation funding for breakthrough technology. Comparable at the level of national agency mission rather than direct partnership.
• JST (Japan Science and Technology Agency): Japan's principal national R&D funding agency, operating programs analogous to SPRIND's challenge-based funding (e.g., JST-Mirai, CREST). Comparable in mission and public-mandate structure, though it does not directly co-invest or partner with SPRIND today.

Broad incumbents

• US National Science Foundation (NSF): US federal agency funding fundamental research and (via its TIP directorate) translational deep-tech innovation. SPRIND co-designed the Tech Metal Transformation Challenge with NSF's TIP directorate, indicating operational overlap in cross-border challenge-based R&D funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SPRIND
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SPRIND_Bundesagentur
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sprind
• Instagraminstagram.com/sprind_bundesagentur

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments29 records

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Frequently asked questions about SPRIN-D