Impossible Founders wins bid from Berlin and gets 50 million euros
From now on, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) will fund ten EXIST Startup Factories for the establishment of more deep-tech startups in Germany. The Hamburg-based Impossible Founders project was also awarded and now has more than 50 million euros at its disposal.
Impossible Founders has strong partners in Hamburg
A total of 126 universities and research institutions have come together behind the ten Startup Factories. 144 financing and cooperation partners from industry are providing a total of around 110 million euros in private funding. The BMWE awards up to 10 million euros per Startup Factory on the condition that the private players provide the same amount of funding. In Hamburg, this criterion is more than fulfilled: over 40 million euros come from Hamburg foundations and companies. Impossible Founders was initiated by the Michael Otto Foundation and the Joachim Herz Foundation and is being developed in close cooperation with the University of Hamburg, the Hamburg University of Technology and the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY). Corporate partners include Hamburger Sparkasse, the semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia and the Otto Group.
Impossible Founders is supposed to act as a central link between science and business. The aim is to get innovative spin-offs off the ground systematically, quickly and effectively - from idea development, prototyping and financing through to scaling. The number of science-based startups shall increase and make the Hamburg metropolitan region one of Germany's leading locations for deep tech spin-offs. The focus is on technologies for the green transformation, as there is internationally recognised research expertise in this area. The official launch of Impossible Founders is planned for 1 November 2025. It will initially be based at the Digital Hub Logistics & Commerce in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district. Dr Arik Willner, up to now CTO at DESY, will take over as Managing Director.
