hei_Innovation Startup Hub Offers Entrepreneurs a Space for Collaboration and Networking
18 July 2025
New offering from the transfer agency hei_INNOVATION – offices and co-working spaces with modern infrastructure
Heidelberg University’s new hei_INNOVATION Startup Hub provides purpose-built facilities and infrastructure for entrepreneurs on the Im Neuenheimer Feld campus, providing state-of-the-art offices and co-working spaces. The Hub welcomes startups, spin-offs, EXIST-funded teams, and young enterprises connected to the university, including those originating from its Medical Faculties in Heidelberg and Mannheim.
“With the Startup Hub, hei_INNOVATION, the university’s transfer agency, is creating a professional and creative environment for dialogue on entrepreneurial topics and an open, accessible space for networking,” explains Prof. Dr Katja Patzel-Mattern, Vice-Rector for Innovation and Transfer. Half of the 55 workspaces have already been allocated. In addition to infrastructure support, hei_INNOVATION is planning events aimed at specific target groups and offerings using new delivery formats.
At an internal launch event, startups that have registered their company headquarters in the new Hub showcased their businesses. These presentations were accompanied by contributions from EXIST teams that have already moved into their offices or are set to move in over the summer. EXIST-Women scholarship holders also offered insights into their business ideas. The range of ideas discussed covered everything from digital diagnostics and biotechnology to medical innovations and AI-powered applications. The EXIST funding program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy supports startups resulting from academic research.
To conclude the event, Angela Queisser from the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing gave an overview of TechLäb4U, which is set to begin operating in summer 2025, expanding the facilities of the hei_INNOVATION Startup Hub. It is one of four technology laboratories of the 4EU+ European University Alliance and will in future provide startups with access to innovative infrastructure such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and virtual reality equipment. Within this European alliance, eight universities, including Heidelberg, have joined forces to strengthen their collaboration in study, teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and administration.
The official opening of the hei_INNOVATION Startup Hub, following its soft launch on 23 June 2025, is scheduled for autumn this year. The premises are located at Tiergartenstrasse 15.