Port F

Corporate Innovation Servicesportf.net

Port F is the corporate innovation center of K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH, operating from Hamburg as an internal co-innovation hub that runs a 'Call for Innovation' program and engages startups, research institutions, and companies to identify sustainable technologies and business models for the Feddersen Group's industrial verticals.

Company typePrivate
Founded2021
HeadquartersHamburg, Germany
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Port F does

Port F is the corporate innovation center of K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH, a privately held German conglomerate headquartered at Wendenstraße 18, 20097 Hamburg. The unit operates independently from day-to-day operations and is chartered to navigate future trends over a 5–15 year horizon, with a stated focus on identifying innovative technologies and business models that contribute to the sustainable transformation of the Feddersen Group's industrial verticals: engineering plastics distribution, specialty chemicals, plastics production, toll compounding and masterbatches, twin-screw extruder manufacturing, and stainless steel trade.

Port F does not build or sell a discrete product or technology platform. Instead, it functions as an internal co-innovation hub that runs a 'Call for Innovation' program and engages startups, research institutions, companies, and other impulse generators as collaboration partners. Port F's role is to scan markets, trends, and technologies and convert future topics into tangible opportunities that benefit the broader Feddersen Group, leveraging the parent organization's resources, market access, and global network of 1,100 employees across 21 countries.

The business model is not commercial in the conventional sense: Port F is a cost center funded by K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH, which is in turn wholly owned by the K.D. Feddersen Foundation (established by company founder Karl Detlef Feddersen and operating a senior living facility in Hamburg since 1984). There are no disclosed pricing models, no paying external customers, and no revenue attribution to Port F. The visible team comprises approximately six named members (Director Corporate Innovation, People Lead & Project Management, and Innovation Management roles) supported by an intern, with hiring routed through the Feddersen Group career portal. Volker Scheel serves as Managing Director of the parent K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH.

Port F firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Port F
Legal name: K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH
Website: https://portf.net
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2021
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: Port F is the corporate innovation center of K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH, operating from Hamburg as an internal co-innovation hub that runs a 'Call for Innovation' program and engages startups, research institutions, and companies to identify sustainable technologies and business models for the Feddersen Group's industrial verticals.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Where Port F is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Hamburg
HQ country: Germany
HQ region: Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

Port F business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

Corporate Innovation Services: Port F operates as part of K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH, functioning as the corporate innovation center for the Feddersen Group. Revenue model is not explicitly disclosed as they focus on identifying and developing innovations for the parent company rather than generating direct revenue.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Port F product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Port F is a corporate innovation center that scouts, evaluates, and co-develops innovative technologies and business models contributing to sustainable industrial transformation. Through its Call for Innovation program and direct outreach, Port F engages startups, research institutions, and companies in collaborative innovation projects, sharing the Feddersen Group's resources, market access, and global network.

Product overview

Port F is a Corporate Innovation Center operated by the K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH. Rather than offering a traditional software product or platform, Port F functions as an innovation hub that searches for and evaluates innovative solutions, particularly technologies and business models, that can contribute to sustainable transformation in the Feddersen Group's industries (engineering plastics, specialty chemicals, plastics production, twin-screw extruders, stainless steel trade). The organization operates independently from day-to-day operations to anticipate changes over the next 5 to 15 years and actively shapes future challenges through collaboration with startups, research institutions, and companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Call for Innovation Program
Co-Innovation Partnerships

Companies that use Port F

Customer profile

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Port F technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Port F partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Port F competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Emerging players

Highline Beta: Highline Beta is a corporate venture studio that partners with large corporations to launch and co-build startups. Its corporate-innovation-as-a-service model overlaps with Port F's mandate and is a relevant emerging comparable for how corporate innovation could be externalized.

Broad incumbents

Evonik Innovation Hub: Evonik operates a specialty-chemicals innovation platform combining internal R&D, open innovation, and venture activities. It is highly comparable to Port F given the chemicals overlap with Feddersen Group's specialty chemicals distribution business.
Henkel Innovation: Henkel runs open-innovation programs and partnerships targeting sustainable materials and chemistry adjacencies. The German corporate base, sustainability focus, and open-co-innovation model align with Port F's positioning.
Covestro Ideation Hub: Covestro's open-innovation program actively scouts partnerships with startups and research institutions in sustainable materials and circular-economy themes. The materials/sustainability thematic overlap and open-innovation GTM make it a direct conceptual peer.
Volkswagen Innovation Center: Volkswagen Group runs an extensive corporate-innovation and startup-engagement ecosystem around mobility, materials, and sustainability. The scale and open-innovation orientation make it a relevant incumbent benchmark for evaluating Port F's relative positioning.
BASF Innovation Hub / Creation Center: BASF runs an established corporate innovation ecosystem spanning venture capital, accelerator programs, and open scouting across chemistry and sustainable materials. As a much larger peer in chemicals (a Feddersen Group vertical), it competes with Port F for the same sustainability-focused startup mindshare in Europe.
Siemens next47: Siemens' corporate venture and innovation arm invests in and partners with startups across industrial automation, sustainability, and digitalization. Its industrial focus and German headquarters make it a relevant benchmark for Port F's open-innovation approach to manufacturing-adjacent verticals.

Direct peers

SAP.iO: SAP's corporate innovation and startup-engagement arm runs venture client programs that match startups with SAP use cases. Like Port F, SAP.iO is an in-house corporate vehicle designed to surface external innovation for a parent industrial/technology business, making the operating model and stakeholder mix directly comparable.
BMW Startup Garage: BMW's in-house startup-engagement program integrates pilots and proof-of-concepts into BMW operations. It is the prototypical corporate-innovation unit with a co-innovation GTM motion structurally analogous to Port F's Call for Innovation program.
Robert Bosch Venture Capital / Bosch Startup Platform: Bosch's combined corporate venture capital and open-innovation platform partners with startups across industrial, mobility, and sustainability themes. The CVC-plus-open-platform structure closely mirrors Port F's hybrid of strategic sourcing and selective collaboration with external innovators.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Port F compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance1 record

Port F financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Port F leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Port F funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

Port F M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Port F

What does Port F do?

Is Port F a public or private company?

Port F is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Port F founded?

Port F was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Port F based?

Port F is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, in the Europe region.

How does Port F make money?

One revenue line is on record: corporate Innovation Services.

Who are Port F's main competitors?

Highline Beta is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Evonik Innovation Hub, Henkel Innovation, Covestro Ideation Hub, Volkswagen Innovation Center, BASF Innovation Hub / Creation Center and Siemens next47. Direct peers are SAP.iO, BMW Startup Garage and Robert Bosch Venture Capital / Bosch Startup Platform.

Does Port F have an API?

No public API is recorded for Port F.