From ZOLLHOF to ZOHO Factory: Scaling an Entrepreneurial Vision
For the past seven years, FAU has been consolidating startup activities at ZOLLHOF in Nuremberg, one of Germany's leading tech incubators. Now, FAU, together with its partners, is planning the "ZOHO Factory" — the largest investment in Northern Bavaria's startup ecosystem. The goal is to create one of Europe's top startup hubs by 2030, with a focus on deep tech innovations and a strong international network.
The Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) aims to establish a Startup Factory for Northern Bavaria. The foundation for this entrepreneurial vision is ZOLLHOF – Tech Incubator. As one of the fastest-growing startup hubs in Germany, ZOLLHOF has supported over 100 startups since its founding in 2017, with 70% of these startups being sustainably successful. ZOLLHOF is a key pillar of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, both in the region and beyond.
The initiative will especially encourage scientists to pursue IP-based startups and will support their scaling efforts through a central prototyping lab and the appropriate venture funding.
- PRE-INCUBATION: Entrepreneurial consolidation and broad scaling of talent development through entrepreneurship scholarships
- INCUBATION: Central hub for prototyping with both physical and digital formats in a tech space. Focus area will include AI and Industrial Metaverse
- POST-INCUBATION: Funding for early-stage, science-based startups through a dedicated VC vehicle
Together, we are unlocking the potential of over 160,000 students and 17,000 researchers in Northern Bavaria.
Zollhof Betreiber GmbH
Zollhof 7
90443 Nuremberg