Startup Stories

Quick Ticket
Quickticket Wins the 2026 Minerva Award
The Styrian company was honored at the 2026 Minerva Awards. Founder Katharina Feiertag received the “Shooting Star” award. The SFG supported the startup through the “Ideen!Reich” and “Welt!Markt” funding programs.
Ecolyte
The Terror of the Dark Calm
A sustainable energy supply from renewable sources depends heavily on storage capabilities. Ecolyte is currently working on a sustainable revolution in this area.
AVL/ARTI Traktor
AVL & ARTI
Driverless farm machinery in the fields
The technology company AVL and the Graz-based startup ARTI Robots are developing a modular system to make tractors driverless. This allows both new and existing machines to be equipped with autonomous driving capabilities regardless of the manufacturer and without major modifications.
TACEO-Founders
TACEO
$5.5 million for data protection technology
Taceo has already won over several key figures in the international crypto and tech scene with its product—including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In a recent seed funding round, the company has now secured an investment of $5.5 million.
cyclebee
The Travel Agency for Strong Calves
cyclebee is an all-in-one tool for cycling enthusiasts that provides information on route maps, elevation profiles, road surfaces, and bike path networks, making it easy to professionally plan and document cycling trips. It also benefits from startup and internationalization funding from the SFG.
FIVSEN
The "Pause" Megatrend
A truly unique Styrian installation: an innovative technology module is deployed in settings such as spas, boutique hotels, yachts, and pop-up events, creating a meditative oasis in an increasingly noisy and fast-paced world.
smaXtec
Breakthrough at smaXtec: Investment by KKR
The investment in smaXtec by the international heavyweight KKR is also a huge success for the Styrian startup ecosystem. From its founding at Graz University of Technology to global success—smaXtec and Styria are proving what a positive economic ecosystem can achieve.
Hidden Champion
Graz ranks 10th among top startup locations
The American business magazine Fortune recognizes Graz as a leading emerging hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe.
Das Team von BRAVE Analytics.
BRAVE Analytics
“Startup life here is worth its weight in gold!”
Life sciences affect us all. And they require long development cycles, significant capital, and even more expertise. How the Graz-based spin-off BRAVE Analytics navigates this balancing act and what support it relies on.
Aurox
Where Design Meets Anti-Aging
The Graz-based company Aurox has developed another innovative product in the field of anti-aging: Temprastones. Fifteen seconds of targeted heat and cold are designed to naturally lift the skin around the eyes.
Flasher
Flasher
The smart turn signal for bicycles and e-scooters
CIS member Georg Wanker Industrial Design wins the "Grand Prix" at this year's BIG SEE Product Design Award for "Flasher." The BIG SEE Award is presented annually in Ljubljana.
Circulyzer
An idea shouldn't be left in a library shelf
When it comes to environmental and recycling technologies, you should take a look at Upper Styria. That’s where the elite of the green high-tech scene is based, encouraging researchers to leave the lab and start their own businesses. Among them is Markus Bauer and his startup, Circulyzer.
Charlotte Ohonin
Norganoid
Life Sciences Infrastructure at the ZWT
The Graz-based life sciences startup NORGANOID cultivates cell tissue to test drugs and therapies. At ZWT, life sciences companies like this one find the ideal infrastructure for growth, reports founder Charlotte Ohonin.
SimVantage
SimVantage has the medical turbo
We have all come to realize in recent years just how important it is to develop drugs quickly. SimVantage’s technology significantly accelerates the development of new active ingredients.
greendrive
Find the right ride-share
Find a convenient ride-share to work quickly and easily while doing your part for climate protection. That’s how greendrive got started. Today, the company operates throughout the DACH region and even in Kenya, where it is testing digital ticketing with the goal of rolling it out here soon.
Kuh mit smaXtec
smaXtec
A Revolution in Cow Health
AI in the barn: The Styrian sensor system smaXtec is in use internationally, from the U.S. to the U.K. and New Zealand. Farmers, animals, and the environment all benefit equally.
Ulrich Weigelt
RobotDreams
“I've never seen a network like this before.”
From the Baltic Sea to the Graz Science Park: RobotDreams CEO Ulrich Weigelt on their revolutionary AI-based system for diagnosing heart attacks and Styria as their new home for startups.
Enzyan
Building with Lego and enzymes
The university spin-off Enzyan equips bacteria with DNA blueprints so that they can produce custom-made enzymes that do not occur naturally. The result: an efficient and sustainable process for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
„Busfinder“-Geschäftsführerduo: Andreas Konrad und Christoph Berdenich
Bus Finder
SFG & Partners invests venture capital
The coach booking platform “busfinder,” based in Raaba-Grambach, has brought new investors on board, including SFG. Investments in the mid-single-digit millions of euros have been made to support further expansion.
Campingbus vor Hütte und Berg
Look out over the countryside
Camping among chickens and grapevines
Sustainability is a top priority for the digital campsite finder “Schau aufs Land.” By listing campsites on farms, the app aims to foster greater communication between providers and travelers.
Eologix
More energy in no time
The Graz-based company Eologix manufactures sensor systems for measuring the surfaces of wind turbines (ice detection, temperature measurement, etc.) worldwide. Its recent merger with the Australian company Services Pty Ltd. combines resources and increases efficiency.
Yacht on the sea from top view. Turquoise water background from top view. Summer seascape from air. Travel concept and idea
Seasy
The Airbnb for sailboats
Seasy is a booking platform for sailboats and motorboats looking for berths in marinas and yacht harbors. With 10 million page views, the Graz-based startup of the same name is filling a real gap in the market.
Container von oben
S2 Data & Algorithms
Playing Tetris on the truck
How this Graz-based startup is turning the world of logistics upside down and saving millions of tons of CO2 by tackling the problem of empty truck runs.
Thomas Zipper bei einer Testfahrt mit Fahrradanhänger.
stop-in-time
A boost for new bicycle brakes
What might transportation look like in the future? With its modern electromechanical brakes designed to make cycling safer, stop-in-time is turning a long-held vision into reality. The journey from an innovative idea through prototype development to production.
Patrick Ratheiser
Leftshift One
SFG Invests in AI Pioneer Leftshift One
The European answer to “ChatGPT”: Leftshift One, a Styrian pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI), is currently launching a data-privacy-compliant and transparent AI service for businesses, modeled after the well-known U.S. chatbot. The company is currently receiving growth capital to support this initiative.

Contact Persons

Katharina Menzel
Katharina Menzel

Projektmanagerin Standortentwicklung & Standortmanagement

+43 316 7093 303
Portrait Doris Paier
Doris Paier

Projektmanagerin Standortentwicklung & Standortmanagement

+43 316 7093 312