What Science & Startups does

Science & Startups is a Berlin-based, publicly funded startup support ecosystem that operates as the joint startup service of Technische Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Freie Universität Berlin, in cooperation with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The legal operating entity is Humboldt-Innovation GmbH. The organization serves science-based founders, researchers, and students, providing free-of-charge and equity-free incubation, advisory, training, and matchmaking services from idea validation through funding and scale.

Its service portfolio spans multiple structured funding programs (EXIST Women, Berliner Startup Stipendium at €2,500/person/month for up to 12 months, EXIST Startup Grant at €3,000/person/month, AI NATION Grant up to €54,000 per team, EXIST Transfer of Research with up to €250,000 Phase I funding, and GO-Bio Next providing at least €2.5M over 30 months for life sciences), acceleration programs (AI NATION Accelerator, New Space Launchpad in partnership with ESA-BIC), and the Science & Startups Academy workshop series. It also operates four thematic sector clusters — AI NATION, Leap Quantum Technology Hub, 6G/xG-Incubator, and greenCHEM — and the matchem matchmaking platform for co-founder pairing. Technology use is operational rather than product-facing: matchmaking (matchem.science-startups.berlin), event management (congeno), and program administration platforms.

The business model is non-commercial and entirely publicly funded: Science & Startups is financed through grants from the European Union / European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises (SenWEB) of Berlin, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). All founder-facing services are free and take no equity. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging embedded university channels (Profund Innovation at FU Berlin, Humboldt Innovation at HU Berlin, Centre for Entrepreneurship at TU Berlin, BIH Innovation at Charité), workshops, info sessions, and direct advisory. It is recognized in the FT 'Europe's Leading Start-Up Hubs 2026' ranking as Top 12 in Europe, Rank 6 in Track Record, Top 2 University Startup Hub in Germany, and Rank 1 in Berlin.

Name

Science & Startups

Legal name

Humboldt-Innovation GmbH

Website

https://science-startups.berlin

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Science & Startups is the publicly funded joint startup service of TU Berlin, HU Berlin, and FU Berlin (with Charité), providing free, equity-free incubation, structured funding programs, accelerators, and thematic clusters for science-based founders in Berlin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubation & Acceleration

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures) (FSANAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM), Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)

Keywords

• Startup incubation services
• University entrepreneurship programs
• Early-stage founder support
• Science-based venture creation
• Public grant funding programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin-müggelheim

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: Science & Startups is publicly funded by the European Union, the State of Berlin (Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises), and German Federal Ministries (BMWK, BMBF). Services are free of charge and equity-free for founders. The organization operates as a non-profit association.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Science & Startups is the joint startup service of Technische Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Freie Universität Berlin (in cooperation with Charité), operating a publicly funded incubator that delivers free, equity-free incubation, grants, accelerator programs, advisory, academy workshops, and co-founder matchmaking for science-based founders from idea to scale.

Product overview

Science & Startups is a Berlin-based startup support ecosystem serving as the joint startup service of Technische Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Freie Universität Berlin, in cooperation with Charité. The organization offers a portfolio of funding programs (EXIST Women, AI NATION Grant, Berliner Startup Stipendium, EXIST Startup Grant, EXIST Transfer of Research, GO-Bio Next), acceleration services (AI NATION Accelerator, New Space Launchpad), educational workshops through the Science & Startups Academy, and specialized sector clusters (AI NATION, Leap Quantum Technology Hub, 6G/xG-Incubator, greenCHEM). Services are free of charge and equity-free due to public funding. The ecosystem supports founders from idea validation through funding and scale, complemented by co-founder matchmaking and investor network access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AI NATION: A cluster focused on advancing artificial intelligence with a focus on entrepreneurship. Formerly known as K.I.E.Z.
• Leap Quantum Technology Hub
• 6G/xG-Incubator
• greenCHEM

Products and services

• EXIST Women

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ESA BIC (European Space Agency Business Incubation Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience & Startups is the operational partner for ESA BIC's expansion to Berlin. ESA-supported space startups go through the Science & Startups incubation program. The partnership provides access to the full Science & Startups network: incubation infrastructure, investors, industry partners, and the Berlin startup ecosystem. ESA-BIC is one of Europe's most successful startup incubation networks.
• Start2 GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNetwork partner for Rise & Scale program, bringing together startup hubs and ecosystem builders from across Europe to exchange knowledge on startup support.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• ESMT Berlin Entrepreneurship & Innovation programs: Berlin-based business school offering entrepreneurship programs, founder support, and corporate innovation initiatives. Comparable as a Berlin-based, publicly engaged entrepreneurship hub, though anchored in a private business school rather than the public university system.

Direct peers

• Heidelberg Startup Partners: Joint startup support network of Heidelberg University, SRH, and the EMBL. Comparable as a German university-clustered, publicly funded incubator serving science and life-science founders in a major research hub.
• RWTH Aachen Startup Unit: Startup and entrepreneurship activities at RWTH Aachen, including EXIST funding administration and deep-tech incubation. Directly comparable as another major German technical university running publicly funded science-based founder programs.
• Cambridge Judge Business School Entrepreneurship Centre: University of Cambridge's entrepreneurship and startup support hub. Comparable as a top European university-backed entrepreneurship center offering incubation, mentoring, and seed funding to research-driven founders.
• Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE): Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences' entrepreneurship center, offering innovation programs, accelerator tracks, and startup support. Comparable as a German public-funded, university-anchored entrepreneurship hub running structured programs.
• SpinLab - HHL Accelerator: Leipzig-based accelerator co-founded with HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. Comparable as a German accelerator serving science and tech founders with public and corporate backing.
• Imperial College Enterprise Lab: Imperial College London's entrepreneurship and startup support unit. Comparable as a leading European technical university offering structured incubation, accelerators, and co-founder matchmaking for science-based founders.
• ETH Zurich Pioneer Fellowship: ETH Zurich's fellowship program supporting science-based founders from the university. Highly comparable model — free, equity-free fellowship for researchers-turned-founders at a leading European technical university, often considered the gold standard in the space.
• UnternehmerTUM: TU Munich's central innovation and startup center offering incubation, programs, and maker spaces for science-based founders. Closest direct peer as a German university-backed startup hub serving a major technical university, with comparable public funding and program structure.

Broad incumbents

• ESA BIC (European Space Agency Business Incubation Centres): Pan-European network of ESA-backed business incubation centers supporting space-tech startups. Directly relevant as Science & Startups is the operational partner for ESA-BIC Berlin, but operates as a broader network spanning 20+ countries.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/science-startups

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Science & Startups