Start-Up-Scouting

If your company wants to maintain and expand its competitive advantage, it is essential not only to continuously follow the latest technology trends, promising innovations and market changes, but also to make them operationally usable for your own company. The search for and selection of a suitable cooperation partner who has specific, innovative applications of a new technology or new business models is therefore an important factor in expanding your own innovative capacity with new ideas from an external perspective. This can significantly increase the speed of innovation and the implementation capability for your own company.

Start-up scouting enables you to identify suitable cooperation partners who offer innovation and expertise in an area that is relevant for your company. These partnerships can be strategically oriented as an intensive collaboration and cooperation as well as having a specific investment focus in these start-ups.

Methodology of the scouting process

The Fraunhofer IPT will guide you through the entire scouting process: from researching and contacting potential start-ups to drawing up the collaboration and helping with the implementation of pilot projects. On request, we can conduct a technological-commercial potential analysis as part of a due diligence process. In this way, we offer you support in making a well-founded decision for or against a collaboration or investment in companies.

You define the framework for your research of potential partners: from the technological field and development status to the company's size or geographical focus. We do the research. After our pre-selection, you will receive brief profiles and key facts on potentially interesting start-ups to prioritize them and select your preferences. We will then be happy to discreetly approach the companies and accompany you during the initial interviews to discuss a possible collaboration. Once a suitable partner is found, we will be happy to organize workshops or pilot projects with the selected companies. In the case of innovative project ideas, in addition to industrial cooperation projects, this can also mean support with public funding applications through research proposals.

Our services

• Research: We identify start-ups within a defined subject area using our wide network.
• Initial selection: You receive a brief overview of potential start-ups with the most important information about the respective company.
• Approach: We take care of the initial contact.
• Prioritization and specification: We analyze how your company can make optimum use of the start-ups' expertise.
• Pilot project: We are happy to support initial joint projects. For innovative project ideas, we also provide support in applying for public funding through research applications.