chemstars
chemstars is a non-profit public-private partnership ecosystem platform that accelerates transformation of Germany's chemical industry by supporting European founders, corporate innovation teams, investors, and researchers through startup programs, flagship events, and a Getro-powered job board.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersFrankfurt am Main, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What chemstars does
chemstars is a non-profit public-private partnership that operates an ecosystem platform to accelerate the transformation of Germany's chemical industry through entrepreneurship and innovation. Launched in April 2021 in Düsseldorf and legally operated by Chemie Wirtschaftsförderungs-GmbH (CWFG) based in Frankfurt am Main, chemstars is co-financed by the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), alongside a consortium of corporate partners that includes Bayer, Covestro, Currenta, Evonik, Henkel, OQEMA, Siemens, Yncoris, VCI NRW, and RAG-Stiftung.
Its core offerings are organized around four service lines: a Startup Support Program providing industry-specific mentorship and corporate introductions; Innovation Services that facilitate open innovation partnerships with corporates; an Ecosystem Platform that aggregates startups, researchers, corporates, investors, and policymakers; and a Getro-powered job board at jobs.chemstars.de aggregating 120+ roles from portfolio companies. Three flagship annual events — From Lab to Market Challenge (FLTMC), Chemical Industry Disrupt (CID), and Chemistry Ecosystem Night (CEN) — drive community engagement and pipeline generation. Reported outcomes include 75+ startups supported, 500+ connections facilitated, 30+ million EUR raised by FLTMC participants, 9 incorporated ventures, and 10 successful EXIST-Transfer of Research applications.
chemstars does not develop proprietary technology and operates without a commercial revenue model; its go-to-market is community- and event-led, with programs offered free to participants and the 8-person team funded through public-private co-financing rather than fees, venture capital, or equity rounds.
chemstars firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- chemstars
- Legal name
- Chemie Wirtschaftsförderungs-GmbH
- Website
- https://chemstars.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- chemstars is a non-profit public-private partnership ecosystem platform that accelerates transformation of Germany's chemical industry by supporting European founders, corporate innovation teams, investors, and researchers through startup programs, flagship events, and a Getro-powered job board.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
chemstars industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Chemical Industry Innovation Ecosystem / Startup Accelerator
- akta.pro primary industry
- Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs (FSANAHAD)
Keywords
Where chemstars is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Frankfurt am Main
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
chemstars business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Public-Private Partnership Funding: chemstars is a public-private partnership co-financed by government ministries (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of NRW, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) and corporate partners from the chemical industry.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
chemstars product offering
Product offeringCore offering
chemstars is a public-private partnership that runs a Startup Support Program providing industry-specific know-how and networks to European founders, Innovation Services that help corporate partners run open innovation with startups, and an Ecosystem Platform that connects startups, academia, corporates, capital providers, and government stakeholders. It delivers this through flagship events (From Lab to Market Challenge, Chemical Industry Disrupt, Chemistry Ecosystem Night), direct application-based onboarding, and a Getro-powered job board for chemical industry talent.
Product overview
Chemstars is a public-private-partnership that accelerates the transformation of the chemical industry in Germany through entrepreneurship and innovation. Rather than a unified software product, it offers a portfolio of ecosystem services including: a Startup Support Program providing industry-specific know-how and networks, Innovation Services for open innovation facilitation, an Ecosystem Platform connecting startups with corporates/investors, a Job Board powered by Getro for chemical industry talent, and three flagship event programs (From Lab to Market Challenge, Chemical Industry Disrupt, and Chemistry Ecosystem Night). The organization was launched in April 2021 and partners with visionary founders, corporations, and investors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Startup Support Program Structured program that helps European founders in the chemical, biotech, and materials science space navigate the complex chemical industry, providing industry-specific know-how, networks, mentorship, pitch training, and introductions to corporate partners and investors.
- Innovation Services Open innovation service for established chemical corporates, providing access to bright entrepreneurs, exploration of emerging technologies, and support in building a strong innovation culture.
- Job Board (powered by Getro) Self-service job board connecting talent with companies in the chemstars chemical industry ecosystem, featuring opportunities from lab to leadership positions across portfolio startups.
- From Lab to Market Challenge (FLTMC) Annual idea competition for scientists at universities and research institutions working in chemistry, industrial biotech, or material science, featuring workshops, pitch training, business model development, and cash prizes to support lab-to-market commercialisation.
- Chemical Industry Disrupt (CID) In-person annual conference bringing together startups, industry leaders, and investors for panels, keynotes, and pitch sessions to catalyse collaboration and open innovation in the chemical industry.
- Chemistry Ecosystem Night (CEN) Annual ecosystem networking evening bringing together startups, corporates, and investors for informal connections and conversations across the chemical industry innovation ecosystem.
Quantifiable outcome
- 75+ startups supported since 2021 launch
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use chemstars
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
chemstars technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
chemstars partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional partner and founding/flagship.
- BayercoreJoined as corporate partner after initial launch. Major life science company expanding the ecosystem's reach into pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
- SiemenscoreJoined as corporate partner after initial launch. Provides technology and industrial digitalization expertise to the ecosystem.
- YncoriscoreJoined as corporate partner. Industrial services company for chemical industry.
- OQEMAcoreJoined as corporate partner. Chemical distribution company expanding the ecosystem's value chain reach.
- RAG-StiftungcoreJoined as supporter. Foundation focused on structural change in mining regions and education/science.
- Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE)coreSecured additional federal funding beyond the state-level support. Government partner providing public financing.
- greenCHEMregional partnerBerlin-based initiative advancing Green Chemistry. Regional partner for From Lab to Market Challenge, supporting translation of academic research into market-ready solutions.
- koalaregional partnerEmpowers researchers in Green Chemistry fields to bring research into application. Regional partner for From Lab to Market Challenge with broad network in NRW.
- Forum Rathenauregional partnerNon-profit ecosystem intermediary moderating and facilitating businesses and society through circular economy and chemistry transformation questions. Regional partner for FLTMC.
- TUM Venture Lab ChemSPACEregional partnerEarly-stage startup incubator and innovation center for chemistry-, biochemistry-, and materials-science ventures at Technical University of Munich. Regional partner for FLTMC with focus on drug design, catalysis, and energy.
- Covestrofounding/flagshipFounding corporate partner when chemstars launched in April 2021. One of the initial five corporate partners (along with Currenta, Evonik, Henkel, and VCI NRW) that established the initiative.
- Currentafounding/flagshipFounding corporate partner. Currenta manages chemical parks in Germany and provides infrastructure services to chemical companies.
- Evonikfounding/flagshipFounding corporate partner when chemstars launched in April 2021. Major specialty chemicals company providing industry expertise and networks.
- Henkelfounding/flagshipFounding corporate partner. Major German chemical and consumer goods company contributing to ecosystem and hosting events.
- VCI NRW (German Chemical Industry Association, North Rhine-Westphalia)founding/flagshipFounding partner and co-financer. The regional chemical industry association representing chemical companies in NRW.
- Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of NRWfounding/flagshipGovernment co-financier and founding supporter. Provided initial funding along with corporate partners to launch chemstars in April 2021.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
chemstars competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- TUM Venture Lab ChemSPACE: A chemistry-, biochemistry- and materials-science-focused startup incubator at the Technical University of Munich. Direct peer: chemstars already lists ChemSPACE as a regional partner for FLTMC, and both serve the same European chemistry-startup founder segment with overlapping programs (mentorship, pitch training, investor introductions).
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
chemstars social profiles
Digital presencechemstars financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
chemstars leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
chemstars funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
chemstars M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about chemstars
What does chemstars do?
chemstars is a public-private partnership that runs a Startup Support Program providing industry-specific know-how and networks to European founders, Innovation Services that help corporate partners run open innovation with startups, and an Ecosystem Platform that connects startups, academia, corporates, capital providers, and government stakeholders. It delivers this through flagship events (From Lab to Market Challenge, Chemical Industry Disrupt, Chemistry Ecosystem Night), direct application-based onboarding, and a Getro-powered job board for chemical industry talent.
Is chemstars a public or private company?
chemstars is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was chemstars founded?
chemstars was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is chemstars based?
chemstars is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does chemstars make money?
One revenue line is on record: public-Private Partnership Funding.
Who are chemstars's main competitors?
TUM Venture Lab ChemSPACE is listed as a direct peer.
Does chemstars have an API?
No public API is recorded for chemstars.
What industry is chemstars in?
chemstars's product category is Chemical Industry Innovation Ecosystem / Startup Accelerator. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAHAD, Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs.