The Medical University of Graz, University of Graz and TU Graz are partnering to launch iHub Graz, a tech transfer centre that will accelerate particularly promising spinouts towards VC funding.
The hub fills a critical gap: the 12-to-18-month runway between company formation and venture capital investment, during which fledgling spinouts need operational support and investor-readiness coaching.
Rather than forcing investors to negotiate with three separate university tech transfer offices, iHub Graz will serve as a single point of contact for external partners.
Once venture capital funding is secured, iHub Graz will become a passive shareholder.
Each institution will have scouts who identify high-potential projects against standardised criteria, including IP maturity, staff structure, and market viability.
The three universities have founded roughly 200 spinouts over the past decade, proving there’s a substantial pipeline for the hub to work with.
Each institution owns one-third of iHub Graz and will contribute €6 million over three years. A managing director is being recruited internationally.
This is not the first collaboration among the three institutions; since 2013, they have jointly advanced biomedical research through BioTechMed-Graz.
