ViennaUP 2025: Well-Connected Internationally

A busy calendar, exciting discussions and greetings in several languages pervaded the lobby of the Vienna Economic Chamber. Founders coordinated the final details and investors focused on scrolling through the profiles of the participants. When the doors of the B2B Matchmaking event opened, the cacophony of voices briefly died down. Everyone was quiet when the first matchmaking began. Every single meeting could potentially initiate a collaboration. 

The Connect Day is seen as the key matchmaking format of ViennaUP. With more than 1,400 participants, it was the biggest of the 69 individual events held at the startup festival at different venues in Vienna over the course of one week. International participants came together at meetings coordinated in advance, discussed market strategies, and examined new business models. The Austrian Business Agency (ABA) was a ViennaUp partner on site, supporting international guests by providing know-how on business location issues, funding possibilities and networking.  

Thematic depth and an international stage 

Startups presented their solutions in four thematically oriented sessions i.e., Deep Tech, GreenTech, MedTech & Life Sciences as well as B2B Software-as-a-Service. Awards were also given in these categories for the very first time. The companies selected were 2nd Cycle FlexCo (GreenTech), Fibionic (DeepTech & Spin-off), Diamens FlexCo (MedTech & Life Sciences) and Bigthinx 3DAI (B2B SaaS & AI). On balance, there were more than 300 pitch submissions.  

The Corporate Reverse Pitch, co-designed by the ABA, offered firms such as NVIDIA, Eli Lilly, and AVL a platform to share their specific innovation needs and search for suitable startup partners. In addition, ABA experts were also involved in panels and pitch sessions, for example focusing on the areas of life sciences, deep tech and B2BSoftware. 

Apart from these items on the agenda, ViennaUp was also a place to hold open discussions. Event guests came together to talk in a relaxed atmosphere at the informal coffeehouse sessions. People continued their discussions into the night at a sundowner in front of Charles Church. The combination of international relevance and a Viennese atmosphere turned the ViennaUP into a platform with depth – and a strong signal highlighting Austria as a business location. 

First State Secretary for Startups in Austria Plans a Fund of Funds for Investments 

The new Austrian Federal Government plans to intensify its efforts to promote startups. For the very first time, there is a state secretary for startups and thus a clearly designated contact person – an initial sign that the concerns of young companies are important to the government. 

“The Austria fund of funds for startup investments is a highlight for startups in our government programme. The fund mobilizes capital from national and international sources and could be supported by the European Investment Fund (EIF) as well as public investors. In this way, startups, scaleups and spin-offs will be able to indirectly access growth capital more easily,” explains Elisabeth Zehetner, State Secretary for Energy, Startups and Tourism. Furthermore, the government programme includes plans to accelerate the formation of companies and fully digitize the required procedures, enabling founders to register their new firms in five working days. You can read more about the plans of the Austrian Federal Government and developments in the startup sector in this press releasethis press release (). 

According to the Austrian Startup Monitor 2024Austrian Startup Monitor 2024 (), more than 3,400 startups have been established in Austria since the year 2012, most recently to the tune of about 370 startups p.a. IT and software development accounted for about one-third of the newly-founded companies in 2024. The field of life sciences is also continuing on its growth path. 14% of the young companies operate in this research-based field. The share of deep tech startups is 17%. At the same time, the level of internationalization and diversity is rising. 

Since 2022, the share of international female founders has risen by four percentage points to 19%. 22% of all newly established companies in Austria were founded by women last year and at least one woman was involved in establishing 37% of the startups. Overall, the Austrian startup sector employs a workforce of about 30,000 people, comprising a clear sign of its economic relevance and developmental strength. 

By the way, the next ViennaUP will take place from 18 June to 22 June 2026. Of course we will inform you about this in a timely manner.  

Here you can receive more information on Austria as a startup locationHere you can receive more information on Austria as a startup location ().