Entrepreneurial future made in Central Germany: The Central German consortium "boOst Startup Ecosystem gGmbH" is one of ten projects nationwide that was selected as part of the EXIST lighthouse competition "Startup Factories" organised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). This was announced by the BMWE at a press conference in Berlin. This outstanding success is associated with millions of euros in funding from the federal government, which will be supplemented by at least the same amount of funding from the project partners from industry.
The Central German universities are participating in the "boOst" with the "Startup Campus Alliance", which was founded in April. In addition to TU Bergakademie Freiberg, this includes Chemnitz University of Technology, Leipzig University, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden University of Applied Sciences, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Ernst Abbe University Jena.
With a clear focus on areas such as semiconductor technology and chip design, photonics and health tech, "boOst" is laying the foundations for the next generation of high-tech companies "Made in Germany".
The TU Bergakademie Freiberg has been successfully involved in the SAXEED start-up network for more than 15 years. Its leading role among small universities was recently confirmed in the current Start-up Radar 2025. The Startup Factory boOst now also enables Saxony-wide activities in close coordination with SAXEED and complements SAXEED's services, especially in the later start-up phases.
Voices on the start-up centre
"With SAXEED, the universities and non-university research institutions in south-west Saxony have an effective network for start-ups from science. The Startup Factory boOst gGmbH is another building block for jointly promoting the innovation ecosystem in Central Germany even more effectively. TU Bergakademie Freiberg sees it as an important contribution to structural change to further improve the conditions for innovation and spin-offs from universities and research institutions in Saxony and Thuringia."
"With around 700 active start-ups, over one billion euros in investment since 2020 and two unicorns, Saxony is on the upswing as a start-up location. There are great opportunities in the deep tech and B2B sectors in particular. The successful application of the Saxon-Thuringian network boOst is a further booster for Central Germany and the entire Eastern business location. The boOst initiative brings together the various innovation ecosystems such as microelectronics, medical technology, optics and photonics and thus sets a new start-up dynamic in motion. With the tailwind from the successful application, Saxony will be decisively strengthened in its ability to position itself more internationally, attract skilled workers and start-ups nationwide and provide new impetus for growth."
"The federal government's decision in favour of our Startup Factory boOst is a great success for TU Dresden and our partners in Central Germany. Following TUD's outstanding performance in the current THE Impact Ranking in the areas of transfer, start-up funding and cooperation with industry, this is further impressive confirmation that our efforts to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation are bearing fruit. With the newly founded TUD|excite Centre of Excellence and the intensified partnerships with the semiconductor industry in Dresden, Taiwan and beyond, we have created a strong foundation for this. boOst now enables us to further develop this potential and, in particular, to raise start-ups in the deep-tech sector to an internationally competitive level. We want to continue along this path together with our partners - and establish TU Dresden as a driving force for sustainable regional development and the expansion of regional innovation ecosystems."
"Today's success is very pleasing and valuable. By founding the Startup Campus Alliance in Leipzig in April, we have created a basis for significantly increasing the number of start-ups in Central Germany as part of the Startup Factory boOst. Our alliance aims to strategically combine the strengths of the universities in Saxony and Thuringia in the area of start-up support and to establish innovative support programmes for talented people and teams interested in founding a company together with boOst through joint teaching formats, shared infrastructure and interdisciplinary collaboration. In this way, we are also helping to strengthen the business location in challenging times when, for example, plant closures are being announced."
Ambitious goals: Doubling the number of start-ups in the coming years
The "boOst" initiative aims to double the number of knowledge-based start-ups in Saxony and Thuringia from the current 100 to 200 start-ups per year by 2030 - at least 50 of them with a deep-tech focus.
In addition to the universities, Infineon, ZEISS, Bosch, ESMC and X-Fab, companies with top European production sites for microelectronics in Central Saxony are participating in the Startup Factory. Other high-calibre partners include Volkswagen and the MADSACK media group. The shareholders of boOst Ecosystem gGmbH include TUDAG, SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator and the Thomas Kirchner Foundation (YETI), which together with the Startup Campus Alliance form the management team of boOst Ecosystem gGmbH based in Dresden under the leadership of Marco Weicholdt (CEO), Juliane Elsner and Felix Hagleitner.
Marco Weicholdt, CEO of boOst Startup Ecosystem GmbH: "We want to establish a new start-up culture in eastern Germany. By bringing together the Startup Factory, we are empowering people to translate their own ideas and technologies into marketable products, facilitating access to industry and capital, building powerful interdisciplinary teams and promoting the establishment of high-growth technology companies. Our aim is to build start-ups that excel in international competition and keep value creation in the region in the long term.
Background: EXIST lighthouse competition "Startup Factories"
The of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) promotes the establishment of ten privately funded startup factories at university locations in Germany. The aim is to create regional innovation centres with international appeal that systematically support technology-oriented start-ups - from research to global market success. The funded projects were selected by an independent jury in the summer of 2025 and implementation is scheduled to begin on 1 October 2025.