FRAUNHOFER
COMPANY BUILDINGPARTNERING OPPORTUNITIES
FRAUNHOFER: THE EUROPEAN POWERHOUSE OF INNOVATION
§ Exocad, a dental CAD/CAM software, sold to Carlyle Group in 2016
§ Novaled, producer of OLEDs, soldto Samsung in 2013 for 260 Mio. €
§ Fraunhofer is the most successfulspin-off factory in Europe*
Fraunhofer holds 6500+ active patentsand ranks among the top 100 global innovators. Here are some impactfulinnovations:§ white LED light (with OSRAM)§ world record of productivity for solar
panels§ truck tires made out of dandelion
(with Continental)
Lupine-based ice cream, Johann Lafer‘s Table d'Or, or the famous mp3. Many Fraunhofer innovations are part of our everyday life.
*when compared to the relevant peer group (Helmholtz, MPG, VTT, TNO, etc.) in terms of # spin-offs per researcher and per year
FRAUNHOFER VENTURE: TRACK RECORD
500+
70+
38%
successfully spun-off high-tech ventures
startups in Fraunhofer‘sshareholding portfolio
tech transfer rate throughincubation activities
by AHEAD’s predecessor FDays®
30 spin-offs in 2018, 70+ exits since 2001
2019: A MAJOR UPGRADE FOR COMPETING ON A GLOBAL-SCALE
Fraunhofer‘s central platform for companybuilding, venture incubation and cooperation
with the startup ecosystem
+Fraunhofer Tech
Transfer Fund (FTTF)60 Mio. early-stage VC dedicated to Fraunhofer
spin-offs
We‘ve built in..
.. best practices fromaround the world
.. the expertise of havingsupported 500+ high-techspin-offs & pushed 200+ ventures through ourprevious incubation system
.. our own thoughtleadership on the futureof technology transfer
AHEAD: EMPOWERING HIGHTECH VENTURES
AHEAD’s mission is to build entrepreneurial teams around high technology. Bycreating an environment tailored to science-backed innovation that brings out the
best in team, market and product, we are taking tech transfer to the next level.
TEAMS FIRSTprofessional team developmentand team completion with ournetwork of psychologists and
serial entrepreneurs
MARKET CLARITYentrepreneurial and customer-oriented incubation programfor sizing and de-risking your
market opportunity
TAILORED TO OUR TEAMSa 2-24 month process tailoredto our teams‘ specific needsand challenges to get them
market- and investment-ready.
AHEAD: PROCESS STRUCTURE
4 DAYS
Bootcamp
§ Stress test for the team and project
§ Create an individual roadmap
§ Apply for funding and tailored support
MAX. 6 MONTHS
Phase 1
§ Strengthen the team, understand and validate the market, shape the IP and product strategy
§ Define the tech transfer concept and negotiate its fundamental terms
MAX. 1,5 YEARS
Phase 2
§ Get the team, business model and technology market-ready
§ Execute the tech transfer concept with minimal time-to-market
€ 50.000 flexible funding
OutputSpin-off or
licensing deal!
AHEAD: HOW DOES IT WORK?
3x / year
AHEADBusiness Model-, Product-, Team-Development
Intense startphase Check-ins (2 days every 3 weeks)
BOOTCAMP PHASE 1 PHASE 2
SPRINT
our highly entrepreneurial and achievement-driven process guarantees the survival ofonly the fittest and enables them to become high-performing teams, de-risk their
business models and turn science into actual solutions.
T E A M D E V E L O P M E N T
AHEAD: ENTREPRENEURS NETWORK
I N V E S T O R S & C O M PA N Y B U I L D E R
E V E N T S & F A I R SA S S O C I AT I O N SM B A / E M B A / A L U M N I
B U S I N E S S S C H O O L S O N L I N E P L AT F O R M S
We select and match serial entrepreneurs / entrepreneurial talents with our ventureprojects and also assist them in getting
access to Fraunhofer technology for theirown business visions
C O M PA N Y B U I L D I N G
T E A M C O M P O S I T I O N
AHEAD: MARKET VALIDATION
provides access to Germany’s rich ecosystem of MNC, hidden champions, family-owned businesses and Mittelstand
companies
§ use case exploration§ customer discovery§ market validation§ first revenues
AHEAD: DATA-ENABLED
The AHEAD management has attached sensors to all vital functions of the process and thereby enables the efficacy
of the program by true data science.
§ continuous monitoring of all ventures regarding their challenges, activities and progress
§ allocation of attention and resources based upon data
§ measuring the overall efficacy of the program and all of its facets
PARTNER BENEFITS: IN A NUTSHELL
1. Instantly inject two decades and 500+ spin-offs of experience in deep tech venture building into your technology transfer system
2. Get access to the world’s most innovative economy* and world-leading companies for business development purposes
3. Data-enable your technology transfer efforts in order to continuously optimize your system and keep it future-proof
*according to: World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Report,
HOW TO BECOME AHEAD..
FOR INSTITUTIONS
§ send your own teams through AHEAD and benefit from our top-notch process, support structure and network
§ build bidirectional & international soft landing programs for our ventures
§ Get our help to set up your own entrepreneurial tech transfer program
FOR ENTREPRENEURS
§ get your “Fraunhofer inside” deep tech upgrade and thereby increase the value of your startup
§ become a co-founder of a Fraunhofer spin-off – we match you to our most promising pre-seed ventures