Autism & Epilepsy are devastating genetic neurodevelopmental disorders affecting 2% of thepopulation. Understanding the roots of each patient’s disorder is exceptionally challengingand treatment options are very limited. By analyzing the patient’s own derived brain cells ournovel approach allows precisely diagnosing the disorder type as well as generating in-vitrodisorder models to develop personalized medicines. The resulting comprehensive datasetspermit advanced computational analytics to identify novel molecular drug targets and thecorresponding patient-specific disorder models enable high-throughput drug screening.Precision disorder diagnostics combined with personalized drug development creates anoptimistic future for patients with Autism & Epilepsy.

„Together with the mentors we created a business concept and devised a plan to put it intopractice.“

Many drugs have to be administered to patients via injections. NovoArc’s technology makesit possible to deliver many of those drugs orally via a pill and makes existing pills muchmore efficient. NovoArc developed and patented a biotechnological production process forspecial lipids, for encapsulating drugs, which protects the drugs from acid and enzymes inthe stomach and allows efficient uptake in the colon. NovArc already has a potential customerand their prototype will be ready by the end of 2020. They are currently incorporated in TUWien, have funding until 2021 and will found the spin-off NovoArc GmbH next year.

„In numerous 1:1 sessions with experts from the field, we learned to focus on the importantthings for starting a deeptech spin-off, which allowed us to boost our technology readinesslevel. Entering the big network of the LBG, IECT and NVS is a great asset and it was also veryuseful to get to know peers, who are at a similar stage and who face similar challenges. Thisprogram really helps scientist to bring the technology to the market and to learn necessaryskills, which are not taught at university, but are vital to founding a successful spin-offcompany.“

THT Biomaterials GmbH, a spin off from LBI Trauma, creates an affordable, personalizedmedicine! NOW is the time to switch from unprecise and unethical animal-materials in TissueEngineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERM) to more efficient and safer human-materialbased biomaterials from placenta, that is globally available in consistent quality, without anyethical issues! THT Biomaterials GmbH will launch its first two products around July 2020at the Vienna Biocenter Startup Labs (Vienna): hpS and COL-1/3, with many applicationsfor TERM (2D/3D/tissue ink/Lab-on-Chip/IVD/MPs). This novel Platform Technology willsoon make cell culture research more ethical, more precisely, and accelerate TERM! Humanplacenta: a “first aid kit”, rather than „medical waste“.

„Great program, 110 % fit to my current situation! Helped me through my pre-seed phase alot! Great network, although not listed/reflected yet for the participants. Great mentoring –power hours! Great support from IECT and NVS. All milestones reached: funding (FFG Basis+ small grants). Company foundation planned! Next milestone: product launch summer 2020.Most valuable thing: combination of the programme partners culture: focus & agile. I amalready missing it, how will we stay in contact after July 2020?“

PreGenerate uses our base technology of microfluidics, to offer platform solutions in arthritis(Organ-on-Chip) and viral detection (Lab-on-Chip). We believe that these diseases can bestbe disrupted by focusing on the individual patients, in a scalable and relevant way.

„In this program, we were so fortunate to work with amazing facilitators and gain access totheir outstanding networks in life science and entrepreneurship. We‘ve been able to expandour asset portfolio as a company and collaborate with corporate partners much faster thanwe ever imagined! “

CellEctric Biotech aims to advance invention into an innovative, high-throughputprototype, termed smart electrodynamic filter (smartEDF), which is suitable for industrial implementation. The first application for this smartEDF will be the fully automated, fast,and cost-effective isolation of pathogens from blood. This development, considered by the diagnostics industry as a „key enabling technology“, is to become the basis for an AITspin-off. Further patented applications, which have already been tested within the laboratory setting, will be transferred to the smartEDF, thus enabling future diversification strategies. The CellEctric Biotech project is envisioned to act as the trigger for a new generation of electrodynamic applications in biotechnology.

„The tremendous and highly professional approach of the Innovator‘s Road program helped meto get a clear picture of my path ahead. In-depth seminars, inspirational peer discussions andproductive 1-on-1 mentor sessions in combination with the relaxed atmosphere have provento be invaluable support when tackling the translational process from science to business.My biggest take-aways are the results gained by reflection with others, to know whom toask when help is needed and to get my business plan locked and loaded!“

Novasign supports pharma corporates to speed up the process development process of bothnew drugs and biosimilars. A hybrid modeling approach is chosen which combines state ofthe art machine learning tools with engineering process knowledge. As a result, the processdevelopment timelines and costs are significantly reduced while consistent manufacturingquality is granted.

„Realization how others deal with the same hurdles to overcome“

Evolve is a chip-level AI start-up specialized in machine learning, audio and acoustics. Bycombining AI with low resource computations, we have created powerful technology suitedfor the consumer electronic-, health- and automobile sector. Evolve is technology leader inacoustic noise cancellation. By learning acoustic sound landscapes, we remove unwantedbackground noise, enabling a crystal-clear sound experience when using your mobile, tablet,hearing-aid or when driving a car. In particular, traffic-, and other environmental noisesources, as well as radio and overlapping speech are filtered in real time. Our technologyadds a new value proposition – crystal clear communication - to your product. We helpcustomers worldwide boosting their revenue streams, designing communication to be moreeffective and efficient. In particular, our cloud, edge and upcoming chip-level solutionshelp customers to create noise robust and echo-free consumer electronic devices enablingnoise robust communication and noise robust speech recognition in adverse environments.Located in Graz, Austria/Europe, Evolve wants to position itself as market leader in noisecancellation, speech synthesis and edge ASR audio technology.

„The Innovator`s Road programme helped us to turn our vision into a realizable business case.“

The company designs softwares that allow autonomous drone swarm path planning, avoidingdeadlocks and collisions.

„I have learnt a lot about business planning. With the help of my mentors I was able tofurther clarify my idea. My mentors provided a large network of contacts in the marketwhich was also very valuable. I was able to meneuver through the problem of lack of marketinterest by deciding to perform consulting jobs for the companies of interest. So far, I havebeen successful to acquire one such job. I am still looking for a possibility for market entry.“

Gathered around professionals with decades of experience in engineering, innovation andtunnel maintenance, we are making sure to deliver high quality, automated, robotic solutionsfor tunnel drainage maintenance. Our first product is a novel automated system that allowsfor more efficient and safer maintenance of tunnel drainage. It uses a combination of severalnovel technologies to reduce the hazard to the employees, passengers and transported goodswhile reducing the costs related to drainage maintenance to railway, highway and infrastructureoperators. Our vision is to enable more efficient, safer and more environment-friendlymaintenance of tunnels through innovative, technology-based and sustainable solutions.

„Innovator‘s Road equipped us with tools and network to better manage our company DrainBotthrough the soon anticipated growth phase. As the programme shows a strong focus on thefounder`s needs I could gain input as well on CartiScaff, another project I am involved with.“

AutoMold increases the productivity of industrial manufacturing with an intelligentconstruction software for molds. Through automated design of different types of molds,AutoMold significantly reduces both cost and time of mold design – an otherwise laboriousmanual process. It not only increases the financial viability of small series productionand prototyping but also enables a new class of individualized products. AutoMold is aprotected invention by computer science researchers at IST Austria. It is currently developedinto a professional software solution together with international partners in mold-basedmanufacturing for various industrial sectors.

„Especially for a small technically oriented team, the program offers guidance on many aspectsof startup creation. Together with the mentoring by diverse experts, this helps greatly withfocusing efforts towards the things that matter.“