VERBUND X Ventures invests in the Noctua Science Ventures fund

VERBUND X Ventures, VERBUND’s corporate venture capital unit, has invested in the Noctua Science Ventures fund. This specialised pre-seed fund for investment in scientific spin-offs successfully held its first close, raising €15 million. Backers include Erste Bank, Allocator One, aws and other institutional and private partners. The fund has a clear focus on spin-offs from Austrian universities and helps to bridge the financing gap between excellent research and successful commercialisation.

Noctua Science Ventures bridges the gap between research and the market

Austria is one of Europe’s leading countries in terms of research and is renowned for the high quality of its scientific publications and patents. Despite this robust scientific basis, a significant proportion of the resulting intellectual property remains untapped and the number of successful start-ups is low by EU standards. This is due, in particular, to the lack of specialised financing instruments for early-stage startups. This is precisely where Noctua Science Ventures comes in. The fund invests in promising technologies at the pre-seed stage, providing early-stage support for the transition from excellent research to scalable companies. Noctua Science is backed by Speedinvest and five leading technical universities in Austria: TU Wien, Graz University of Technology, Technical University of Leoben, BOKU University and Johannes Kepler University Linz.

Michael Strugl, CEO of VERBUND, underlined the fund’s importance:  “Austria produces excellent research, but it is crucial to translate this strength into marketable innovations and business start-ups. Through our investment in Noctua Science Ventures, we are making a tangible contribution towards ensuring that excellence in science and research leads to economic success and sustainable value creation.”

For VERBUND X Ventures, this investment is important not only for Austria as a business location, but also from a strategic perspective.

Early access to innovations from cutting-edge research

With its investment, VERBUND X Ventures is pursuing a clear strategic approach: the fund provides early access to a curated portfolio of technology-driven spin-offs emerging directly from cutting-edge research. This is particularly relevant in the fields of climate tech, artificial intelligence and industrial deep tech, which are closely aligned strategically with VERBUND’s core business and defined focus areas. Spin-offs in these fields can make a direct contribution to the further development of key areas such as the energy transition, grid stability, storage technologies, digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence. Noctua’s broader approach also provides insights into adjacent technological fields.

“Through our investment in the Noctua Science Ventures fund, we are strategically strengthening Austria as a hub for innovation. Together with strong partners, we’re creating the foundation for a high-performing spin-off ecosystem and aim to establish structures based on international examples such as the UnternehmerTUM model in Munich,” explained Franz Zöchbauer, managing director of VERBUND X.

Focus on building a strong spin-off ecosystem

Noctua Science Ventures plans to make up to ten investments a year in technology-driven spin-offs from universities and research institutions in Austria. As the lead investor, the pre-seed fund can commit up to €500,000 in capital per spin-off in the first financing round. Noctua has made several investments since the first close, two of which are already public: Turn-Motion, based in Vienna, and Dilt Analytics, based in Graz.

In addition to financing, a key focus is on building a sustainable ecosystem that more closely integrates research, entrepreneurship and capital in order to significantly increase the number of successful spin-offs in Austria in the long term.

“Successful spin-offs need more than just capital. It is also crucial to have strong partners who bring expertise, a network and a strategic outlook to the table. With VERBUND X Ventures, we have exactly that kind of partner on board,” said Philipp Stangl, investment lead at Noctua Science Ventures.