Startupmark

Welcome to Startupmark

Styria is Austria’s second-strongest start-up region and a leader in deep tech, academic spin-offs and manufacturing start-ups. Startupmark brings together the various players in the Styrian start-up ecosystem, fosters collaboration and boosts the region’s international profile.

Full Support for Startups and Scaleups in Styria

“With Startupmark, we’re bringing together the strengths of Styria’s innovative startup scene—to foster growth, increase international visibility, and create valuable jobs in Styria.”
Willibald Ehrenhöfer, State Minister of Economic Affairs

Startups inject new momentum into the economy with innovative technologies, products, services, and business models. They drive growth and create jobs, spur innovation, and make an important contribution to the region’s future viability.

Through the Startupmark initiative—launched by the Department of Economic Affairs and implemented under the leadership of the SFG—the regional startup ecosystem is being further developed in collaboration with strong partners. This creates a dynamic startup environment that supports startups from the initial idea through to international scaling and facilitates access to expertise, networks, funding, and capital.

What you can expect as a startup in Styria:

A strong network: Access to academia, research, industry, universities, clusters, incubators, accelerators, and investors
Comprehensive support: Services and guidance for various phases of business development, from the initial idea to international scaling
Concrete services: grants and financing, consulting and coaching, access to infrastructure, and international networking trips

What you, as an investor, can expect from the Styrian startup ecosystem:

Technological strength: A higher-than-average proportion of deep-tech startups and academic spin-offs with a strong technological focus compared to the rest of Austria
Innovative fields of the future: Innovative startups with motivated teams in key technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and data innovation, life sciences and biotech, energy and environmental technologies, as well as robotics and advanced production technologies
Growth-oriented companies: 31% of Styrian startups have already raised more than 500,000 euros in external equity capital (compared to 24.2% for Austria as a whole). This demonstrates the region’s potential for growth and scaling.

Working Together for a Strong Startup Hub

“A startup is a young, growth-oriented company with an innovative idea and the drive to create something new. That’s exactly why Styria is the ideal place: it has a strong research base, a well-connected business community, and is open to fresh ideas. Anyone who starts a business here has the best chances of success.”
Christoph Ludwig, Managing Director of SFG

Styria is characterized by the close interaction between research, business, and the startup scene. Universities, research institutions, COMET centers, incubators, cluster and network organizations, industry, and investors all contribute their expertise, experience, and contacts.

This provides startups with direct access to knowledge, technology, infrastructure, the business community, and capital—creating the ideal conditions for turning innovative ideas into successful companies.

Source: Austrian Startup Monitor 2025