EXIST: fund your spin-off from research.
EXIST supports founders coming out of universities and research institutions, from a living stipend for an early team to multi-phase funding for research-heavy startups. We help you scope and apply.
Funding for university-based founders
EXIST is a BMWK programme that helps founders from universities and research turn an idea into a company. The Gründerstipendium covers a living stipend, coaching and material costs for an early founding team.
For research-intensive ventures, EXIST-Forschungstransfer funds the development and spin-out in two phases. Applications run through your university’s start-up support. We help scope the project and build the case. See who qualifies further down.
Two EXIST routes for founders
Where you are decides the track. An early idea fits the Gründungsstipendium; a research-heavy spin-out fits Forschungstransfer, which runs in two phases.
Gründungsstipendium
Living stipend, materials and coaching for a founding team turning a knowledge-based idea into a viable business.
Develop the basis
Funds a research team to mature the technical foundations and prepare the spin-off from the institution.
Build the company
Supports the newly founded company through further development and the first steps to market.
The Gründungsstipendium, in numbers
A non-repayable grant covering your living costs plus materials and coaching, for up to a year. One condition is non-negotiable: the link to a university.
You apply together with a German university or research institution, with a professor as mentor. The hard gate, we help find the anchor if you don't have one.
A technology-oriented or knowledge-based venture that builds on scientific insight.
Students (past half their studies), graduates and ex-researchers (up to five years out), max one student per team.
Filed via Projektträger Jülich before the project begins; can't be combined with other income or stipends.
Indicative monthly living stipend per founder (PhD €3,000 · graduate €2,500 · student €1,000), plus €150/child. Materials up to €10,000 (single) / €30,000 (team) and coaching up to €5,000 are added on top.
EXIST-Forschungstransfer, in two phases
A separate line for research-intensive, technically demanding high-tech projects with long development times. It runs in two phases, from the lab to a funded young company.
up to €250k
team of up to 4 · up to 18 months
Funds personnel for up to four people plus material costs up to €250,000 (up to 36 months in special cases) to mature the technology and prepare the spin-off. Applied for through the research institution.
up to €180k
grant · up to 18 months
A grant of up to €180,000 towards further development and market preparation once the company is formed, applied for by the newly founded company. The bridge from research result to a fundable business.
A non-repayable grant. You apply through a university or research institution and before founding; Phase I is assessed at three cut-offs a year (31 March, 31 August, 30 November).
For academic founders, before founding
EXIST is built around the moment before the company exists, and it always runs through an academic host.
Students past the halfway mark, plus graduates and former researchers up to five years out, and scientists from universities and research institutions.
You apply through the institution, which administers the funds and gives you a workplace, infrastructure and a mentor.
The company must not be founded when you apply for the Gründungsstipendium or Forschungstransfer Phase I. Apply before you start.
A dedicated, low-threshold line for women founders in the pre-foundation phase, with a path onward to the main lines.
Rolling for the stipend, fixed cut-offs for transfer
Run by Projektträger Jülich via the easy-Online portal, co-financed by the European Social Fund.
Apply any time
No deadline, submitted through your university whenever the idea is ready.
31 Mar · 31 Aug · 30 Nov
Continuous submission, assessed at three annual cut-offs.
The stipend is taxable
Holders pay their own tax and social contributions; it is living-cost financing, not a percentage grant.
See if your venture qualifies for EXIST
Tell us about your project. A funding advisor reviews your case by hand, then either comes back with feedback or a few follow-up questions. No obligation.
- Whether EXIST is the right fit
- A first read on the funding amount
- What to prepare before you apply
From first call to funding
Four steps. You stay focused on the work; we handle the funding end to end, on a success-based fee.
Eligibility check
We review your project against the programme's criteria, confirm it qualifies and give you a realistic figure before you commit any time.
Application
You tell us what you are working on; we build the application, write the technical case and manage the entire submission for you.
Submission & review
We file with the responsible authority in your name and handle every query through to the funding decision.
Funding
Once approved, we prepare the required reporting so the funding is released to you, accurately documented and on time.
EXIST in practice
Real projects we have taken through EXIST, from first scoping to the funding decision. Anonymised, figures as orders of magnitude.
How a university founder team secured the EXIST founder stipend to turn a research-based software idea…
Read the story
How a newly formed deep-tech spin-off secured EXIST funding for the step from a validated research…
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How a deep-tech university spin-off secured EXIST research-transfer funding for the founder team and…
Read the storyIndustries we fund
We've secured German and EU funding across the innovation economy. If you're doing genuine development, your field almost certainly fits.
EXIST guides
Long-form explainers from our knowledge hub, for teams who want the detail before they talk to us.
Stipendium vs. Forschungstransfer
Which EXIST route fits your stage.
Read more → GuideWhat you get
Stipend, materials and coaching, the full breakdown.
Read more → GuideThe university link
Why you apply with a university, and how to find one.
Read more → GuideA winning application
What the jury looks for in an EXIST proposal.
Read more → GuideStipendium vs. Forschungstransfer
Which EXIST route fits your stage.
Read more → GuideWhat you get
Stipend, materials and coaching, the full breakdown.
Read more → GuideThe university link
Why you apply with a university, and how to find one.
Read more → GuideA winning application
What the jury looks for in an EXIST proposal.
Read more →EXIST questions, answered
The basics on tracks, who qualifies and how to apply.
Students, graduates and researchers planning to found a company out of a university or research institution. A link to a participating institution is required.
The Gründerstipendium covers a monthly founder stipend plus coaching and material costs. EXIST-Forschungstransfer additionally funds research and development for spin-outs.
A non-repayable grant/scholarship. You do not pay it back, and you give up no equity.
Together with your university's start-up or transfer office. We help scope the project and prepare the case.
Nothing upfront, our fee is success-based and only due once funding is secured.
Ask us anything
Tell us about your project and we'll assess your case by hand. No prep, no obligation. Prefer to talk?