Startup Ecosystem Austria

In recent years Austria has gone from sleeping beauty to innovation and progress. The country welcomes startups and its founders with open arms.

Austria has emerged as a startup hub, especially in the fields of information technology, media and life sciences as well as creative industries. The American business magazine Forbes selected Austria as one of seven startup hotspots in Europe, not least due to projects such as the Pioneers Festival, where 1,600 startups from more than 90 countries meet with 400 investors from all over the world in Vienna’s Hofburg Palace.

What’s In It For Your Startup?

The interaction of several factors comprises the basis for this dynamic development, giving the business location a good reputation and enhancing its attractiveness:

The very high educational level from a technical perspective, guaranteed by the universities of technology and many universities of applied sciences.
The differentiated funding system, in which financial startup assistance is provided to high-tech founders based on specific programs and startup funds implemented by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (AWS).
The self-organization of the startup scene in startup clusters and coworking spaces, and its promotion through activities and large events such as the Pioneers Festival.
The supporting network of early-stage investors, incubators and accelerators, business angels and VC´s , organized in the organisations of Austrian StartUps (AS), Austrian Angel Investors Association (AAIA) and Austrian Venture Capital and Private Equity Organisation (AVCO).
The “public limited company with a privileged amount of share capital“, facilitating the setting up of companies by requiring only EUR 5,000 as a minimum cash contribution instead of EUR 17,500.
The investment-friendly tax system featuring a twelve percent tax credit for investments in research and a unified corporate tax rate of 25 percent.

First point of contact for foreign startups

We are the national investment promotion company and the first point of contact for foreign companies aiming to establish their own business in Austria. The company is owned and operated by the Republic of Austria and we directly report to the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs – hence you can get all relevant info at one place.

We also consult international investors on all location-related issues, provide information about Austria as a business location and proactively target potential investors, which is how we have established a broad pool of contacts including investors, accelerators and incubators – and this pool is ready for you to jump into it.

Get in touch