Josephs

What Josephs does

JOSEPHS is an open innovation laboratory operated as JOSEPHS GmbH from a flagship physical location in the Augustinerhof in Nuremberg city center, with a registered seat in Erlangen. The company originated from a joint research project between Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Fraunhofer IIS, and operates as a publicly accessible, free-entry venue where citizens can explore, test, and provide feedback on prototypes from companies and research institutions. Its core offerings include the Innovationserlebniswelt (innovation experience world), curated Test Spaces / Co-Creation Spots for prototype evaluation, the Fraunhofer IIS KI-Showroom (featuring AI, audio codec evolution, the Metro Driver simulation, and the TEUKEN-7B European language model), the Future Retail Store concept (holographic advisors, VR product exploration, AR furniture models) developed with Cairo AG, meeting and event room rentals, and consulting services covering open innovation process design, ideation challenges, and innovation management training.

Underlying technology combines physical exhibition infrastructure with interactive layers including AI demonstrations, virtual and augmented reality, holographic live-streamed consultations, and structured user-testing environments. Booking, ticketing, and event delivery are operationalized through third-party platforms Spacebase (room rental), Anny (workshops), and Eventbrite (event registration), with selected events livestreamed via YouTube and Microsoft Teams.

Commercially, JOSEPHS runs a hybrid revenue model: the public-facing experience is free, creating a captive community of voluntary co-creators, while monetization occurs through B2B engagements. Revenue streams include corporate consulting and innovation services, paid room and event space rental, workshop and event hosting fees, and participation as a consortium partner in publicly funded research projects (e.g., ResiKomp under BMBF, IIP Ecosphere). Customer segments span Mittelstand and large enterprises (retail, manufacturing, insurance, public-sector IT), research institutions and universities (FAU, Fraunhofer, EELISA), and the general public. Named anchors include the IT-Systemhaus der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (a long-standing repeat government client), Fraunhofer IIS, FAU, Cairo AG, Eurapco, and the ResiKomp consortium (Siemens, Schaeffler, Bechtle, WIBU-Systems).

Name

Josephs

Legal name

JOSEPHS GmbH

Website

https://josephs-innovation.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

JOSEPHS is an open innovation laboratory in Nuremberg where companies and research institutions test prototypes with citizens free of charge, monetizing via corporate consulting, room rentals, workshops, and funded research project participation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting and Co-Creation Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Product & Innovation Summits (Roadmap, Launch Readiness, Innovation Days) (THAHAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual/Hybrid Conference Production & Platform Management (THAHACAM), Research Collaboration & Joint Labs (International Partnerships) (EDAIABAC)

Keywords

• Open innovation laboratory
• Prototype user testing
• Co-creation services
• Innovation consulting
• Agile innovation processes

Headquarters

HQ city

Nuremberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Room/Event Space Rental: Rental of meeting rooms and event spaces in Nuremberg city center. Spaces are booked via Spacebase GmbH. Pricing varies: standard rates during business hours, reduced rates after 17:00 and on weekends. Catering and overnight accommodation referrals to neighboring partners.
2. Corporate Consulting & Innovation Services: Advisory services for companies and research institutions including setup of open innovation locations, structuring of agile innovation processes, ideation challenge facilitation, and innovation management training.
3. Event Hosting & Workshop Delivery: Hosting of workshops, expert talks (e.g., 'Kraft der Algorithmen' series), conferences, networking events, and corporate events. Revenue from ticket sales (via Eventbrite) and event sponsorship.
4. Research Project Collaboration: Active participation in funded research projects (e.g., ResiKomp, IIP Ecosphere) as a partner consortium member, contributing to communication, knowledge transfer, and user interaction activities.
5. Visitor Admission: Free admission for general public visitors to the open innovation laboratory. This creates a pool of co-creation participants for B2B partners, generating indirect revenue through partnership arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

JOSEPHS operates a publicly accessible open innovation laboratory in central Nuremberg where companies and research institutions test prototypes, gather unbiased citizen feedback, and co-create innovations. Revenue comes from renting meeting/event spaces, hosting workshops and events, and providing innovation consulting services, while public visitors enter the Innovationserlebniswelt free of charge to participate as co-creators.

Product overview

JOSEPHS is an open innovation laboratory in Nuremberg, Germany, operated as a GmbH (limited company). The company offers a portfolio of interconnected services centered around its physical innovation experience world where visitors can discover and test innovations for free. Core offerings include the public Innovationserlebniswelt (Innovation Experience World), room booking services, workshop facilitation, and the Fraunhofer IIS AI Showroom. The company provides innovation consulting and communication services for businesses and research institutions. JOSEPHS serves as an orchestrator of the regional FAU Innovation Ecosystem, hosting regular events including the #josephsTALKS expert series, workshops like Design Dash, and temporary Test Spaces for prototype testing. The space is open to the general public Wednesday-Sunday, with free admission, and also serves business customers through paid room bookings and consulting engagements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Innovation Experience World (Innovationserlebniswelt) Public exhibition space where visitors can discover, test, and provide feedback on innovative products and services from partner companies and research institutions. Free admission; open Wednesday-Friday 12:00-19:00 and Saturday-Sunday 12:00-17:00.
• Meeting Room and Event Space Rental (Raumbuchung) Rental of meeting rooms, workshops, and event spaces in central Nuremberg for creative meetings, workshops, and events, including hybrid formats. Booked via Spacebase GmbH and Anny.
• Design Dash Workshop Structured workshop offering for companies and groups focused on rapid innovation and design-thinking methodologies, booked through the Anny platform.
• Individual Tours and Group Visits Customized guided tours for school classes, company events, and other groups, led by JOSEPHS Innovation Guides through the Innovationserlebniswelt.
• KI-Showroom of Fraunhofer IIS AI showroom featuring interactive demonstrations including the 'da-da-da wall' showing mp3 audio codec evolution, the Metro Driver energy-efficient U-Bahn simulation game, and the TEUKEN-7B European language model.
• KI Explorer Day Educational event series focused on artificial intelligence exploration and understanding for visitors of all ages.
• Innovation Consulting and Communication Services Advisory services for companies and research institutions including setup of open innovation locations, structuring of agile innovation processes, ideation challenge facilitation, and innovation management training, plus visibility services for products and research through interactive public presentation.
• Test Spaces (Co-Creation Spots) Temporary exhibition spaces where partner companies and research institutions test prototypes and collect visitor feedback for product development, including VR experiences, holographic consultations, and chatbot testing.

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Fraunhofer IIScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Fraunhofer IIS (Institute for Integrated Circuits) is the co-originator of JOSEPHS, emerging from a joint research project. It hosts the KI-Showroom within JOSEPHS featuring AI demonstrations, audio technology (mp3), and the TEUKEN-7B European language model. Fraunhofer IIS also led the Future Retail Store project with Cairo AG. Fraunhofer IIS provides ongoing research collaboration and is a key anchor partner in the innovation ecosystem.
• Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013FAU is the co-originator of JOSEPHS alongside Fraunhofer IIS and serves as the central engine of the Erlangen-Nürnberg innovation ecosystem. JOSEPHS is an active part of this ecosystem. FAU hosts the KI PARK Satellite Erlangen-Nürnberg which collaborates with JOSEPHS on the 'Kraft der Algorithmen' lecture series and other AI events.
• ResiKomp Consortium (FAU, TU Chemnitz, WIBU-Systems AG, Schaeffler AG, Siemens AG, Bechtle GmbH, trilogIQa)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResiKomp ('Resilienz durch Kompetenzdepots in Wertschöpfungsnetzwerken') is a BMBF-funded research project on industrial resilience through digital competence repositories. JOSEPHS is an independent consortium partner responsible for public communication, knowledge transfer, and citizen engagement. Project partners include FAU, TU Chemnitz, and industrial companies WIBU-Systems AG, Schaeffler AG, Siemens AG, Bechtle GmbH, and trilogIQa. Managed by PTKA at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
• IT-Systemhaus der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe IT Systems House of the Federal Employment Agency operates as a long-standing cooperation partner of JOSEPHS. Multiple projects have been conducted including: voicebot design for BA's service hotline, chatbot testing and optimization for arbeitsagentur.de, Berufsinformationszentrum (BiZ) future concept development using Lego Serious Play, and testing of BA's homepage redesign. Current project involves user experience testing for 2-factor authentication in BA's online portal.
• Cairo AG EinrichtungsversandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCairo AG partnered with JOSEPHS and Fraunhofer IIS for the 'Future Retail Store' project, funded by the Günther Rid Stiftung für den bayerischen Einzelhandel. The project showcases holographic live-streamed sales advisors, VR product exploration, and AR 3D furniture models, aiming to digitize SME retail operations.
• EELISA (European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEELISA is a partnership of leading European technical universities. JOSEPHS hosted the winner of the EELISA Prototype Contest (Pauline Nöldemann, Yannick Wiesner, Kim Probst with the 'besserEssen' AI food/symptom diary app) for a test space. A four-day co-creation workshop and final Co-Creation Marketplace event took place in December 2024.
• Eurapco Lab Innovation TeamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEurapco is an alliance of European insurance companies (Localtapiola, Länsförsäkringar, Mobilière, REALE GROUP, achmea, Gothaer). The Eurapco Lab Innovation Team partnered with JOSEPHS for the Health Scanner proof-of-concept, testing health parameter monitoring for corporate health management among B2B clients.
• FAU KI PARK Satellite Erlangen-NürnbergmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe FAU KI PARK Satellite Erlangen-Nürnberg collaborates with JOSEPHS on the 'Kraft der Algorithmen' lecture series, hosting expert talks on AI topics (ChatGPT, AI & ethics, AI in production, AI in education, AI in industry). Moderated by FAU and JOSEPHS staff, events are free and streamed online.
• Nürnberger City WerkstattminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Nürnberger City Werkstatt is an initiative by IHK Nürnberg für Mittelfranken and Wirtschaftsförderung Nürnberg to make Nuremberg city center more vibrant. JOSEPHS participates as an innovation location, hosting projects like the Retail Pitch Jam to support local retail digitalization.
• Zukunftsmuseum (Deutsches Museum Nürnberg)minorOthersThe Zukunftsmuseum (Museum of the Future) operated by Deutsches Museum is located directly adjacent to JOSEPHS in Nuremberg city center. This creates a synergistic cultural cluster attracting visitors interested in innovation and future technologies.
• Karl-August Neighborhood Hotel & Brasserie NitzminorOthersThe Karl-August Hotel and Brasserie Nitz are neighboring businesses recommended by JOSEPHS for visitors requiring accommodation or dining. JOSEPHS cross-promotes these nearby establishments as part of its visitor ecosystem.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UnternehmerTUM: UnternehmerTUM is Munich's central innovation and entrepreneurship center affiliated with TUM, offering startup programs, corporate innovation, maker spaces, and ecosystem orchestration — the closest analog to JOSEPHS within the southern German academic-anchored innovation-lab ecosystem.
• Factory Berlin: Factory Berlin operates large open innovation campuses in Berlin (Görlitzer Park, Mitte) that combine coworking, event programming, corporate partnerships, and curated public events — closely paralleling JOSEPHS' mix of public access, corporate consulting, and ecosystem orchestration in Germany.
• The Trampery: The Trampery operates a network of innovation campuses and workspaces in London focused on social impact, public-sector innovation, and inclusive entrepreneurship — comparable in mission and SME/ecosystem focus to JOSEPHS' open-innovation positioning.
• Impact Hub: Impact Hub is a global network of impact-focused innovation hubs (including Berlin and Munich) that combine coworking, incubation, events, and corporate innovation programs — directly comparable to JOSEPHS' open-laboratory model linking citizens, SMEs, and research institutions.
• Science Gallery (Trinity College Dublin): Science Gallery is a university-anchored public space combining interactive exhibitions, citizen engagement, and research-communication programming — directly comparable to JOSEPHS' public-facing Erlebniswelt and Fraunhofer AI Showroom model of science-communication-as-engagement.
• Werkstatt N: Werkstatt N is a digital innovation center in Augsburg that combines an open public space with corporate and research-driven projects, citizen engagement, and SME digitalization programs — highly comparable to JOSEPHS' Bavarian open-innovation-laboratory positioning.
• betahaus: betahaus runs open innovation and coworking spaces in Berlin and Hamburg offering community events, workshops, and innovation programs for SMEs and startups — comparable to JOSEPHS' Test Space, Design Dash workshop, and community-led GTM model.
• Design Terminal: DesignTerminal is a Hungarian government-backed innovation agency operating open innovation programs, corporate acceleration, and citizen-facing initiatives — directly comparable as a publicly-supported open innovation laboratory model in continental Europe.

Emerging players

• Nesta: Nesta is a UK innovation foundation running public-interest R&D, prototyping, and innovation-method programs — comparable to JOSEPHS in combining research collaboration, citizen engagement, and methodology development for SME/corporate innovation partners.
• Hype Sports Innovation: HYPE operates open innovation programs and ecosystem events (HYPE Sports, HYPE City, HYPE Health) connecting corporates, startups, and citizens across European cities — comparable to JOSEPHS in the SME-and-citizen open-innovation-facilitator niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@josephsinnovation5276/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/josephs-open-lab
• Instagraminstagram.com/josephs_lab_nuernberg
• Xx.com/JOSEPHS_LAB

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Josephs