Futury - The Future Factory
Support of research-driven start-ups across the region
Four higher education institutions—the Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Technical University of Darmstadt, and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management—together with the start-up ecosystem Futury, ushered in a new era of academic start-up support for the Rhine-Main region with the establishment of the Future Factory in March 2025. Through the Future Factory, they pool their strengths and optimize the interface between academic teaching and research and entrepreneurial practice.
The aim of Futury – The Future Factory is to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit at higher education institutions, support students and researchers on their path to becoming entrepreneurs, and translate their innovative business models into market-ready companies. Drawing on Futury’s many years of experience and expertise, founders receive early-stage support and coaching in venture creation, product development, market access, connections to relevant industry partners, and access to the necessary funding.
In July 2025, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) selected Futury as one of the winners of the EXIST Lighthouse Competition “Startup Factories.” As a result, Futury is officially one of Germany’s central Startup Factories that, with substantial federal support, will help transform the start-up landscape in Germany between 2026 and 2030.
The activities aim to establish cross-university, regionally anchored, and internationally visible start-up ecosystems that create sustainable business models and strong connections to existing national and supra-regional value chains over the long term. The BMWE matches the privately raised funds from industry and philanthropic sources of up to €10 million. For Futury, this means that the €10 million raised has been increased to up to €20 million through BMWE funding.
Futury convinced the jury with its unique approach to establishing an industry-driven start-up ecosystem in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region, closely integrating academia, industry, politics, and capital providers.
