How Leipzig became a hub for energy and medical tech startups with IRL and SpinLab support

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When three students from a Swiss university joined SpinLab, a startup accelerator based in Leipzig, Germany, they hoped to grow their startup and as entrepreneurs. However, they were in for a pleasant surprise when their startup – Mementor – went from being dubbed the future of sleep medicine to being acquired by ResMed, a $36B global leader in sleep technology, digital health and connected medical devices.

“This is how an ecosystem starts to grow,” says Eric Weber, CEO and founder of SpinLab.

There is neither a dearth of startups nor ecosystems where they can thrive but Mementor is the story not every startup ecosystem can tell. As one of the fastest-growing cities in Germany, Leipzig is not only brimming with opportunities but aims to be the hub for medical, energy, and related high-tech startups. If being geographically located in the heart of Europe is one cog and having educational institutions such as HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, University of Leipzig, Lancaster University Leipzig, and others are another cog and people like Weber and accelerators like SpinLab are also important in making Leipzig truly attractive.

SpinLab

SpinLab
SpinLab was started in 2014 to accelerate startups and scaleups in Leipzig | Image Credit: SpinLab

Weber started SpinLab in 2014, when there were around 20 accelerator programs, mainly in cities like Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg. He says for startups in cities like Leipzig, Dresden, Dortmund or those with a population of around 500,000, there weren’t any comparable programs to join. While at the HHL, Weber saw a lot of startups originating from one of the best entrepreneurship schools in Germany, but lacked access to comparable accelerator programs.

Right when Weber saw the need to set up an accelerator in Leipzig, Spinnerei, an old cotton mill was looking to expand beyond artists and galleries. Spinnerei looked for a creative venture that complemented residencies of artists and galleries and Weber saw an opportunity to complement their knowledge of art and real estate with HHL’s knowledge about startups. Thus SpinLab was born.

Weber admits that a great story would have been one where he had a vision for an accelerator and he accelerated on that vision but in reality, he says the opportunity to start SpinLab came to him while he was a research assistant and startup advisor at HHL and he decided to establish it. Now, SpinLab is a decade-old accelerator with alumni like Mementor and a worldwide vision.

Even though Spinnerei came to HHL looking for something to complement the creative work already happening on its campus, SpinLab remains independent of the business school. Weber says they work with HHL, support spin-off projects from the university and do “a lot of joint things” but the goal remains to support the best startups that are relevant to their network of dozens of corporate partners including big players like Porsche, AOK Plus or SachsenEnergie and financial institutions such as Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, LBBW or Grazia Equity.

Science & tech

SpinLab accelerator
A file photo of SpinLab accelerator | Image Credit: SpinLab

In Leipzig, SpinLab is focusing extensively on startups in the fields of energy, smart cities, and health. They also help hardware startups grow, which makes their Leipzig office an epicentre for science and technology startups. They also have an office in Hannover called RootCamp, which helps the agricultural bioeconomy while an office in Dresden called ExciteLab helps startups working on semiconductors, robotics, and sensors.

The diversified offices and their diverse focus, Weber says, allow them to grow their resource base while also growing their brand and corporate network. “So it makes us much stronger altogether as an ecosystem of different locations,” he argues.

In its 10 years of existence, SpinLab has seen more than 190 startups graduate from its accelerator program. Interestingly, 86 per cent of these startups are still alive and they have collectively raised over €400M million to create thousands of jobs in the process. Every year, Weber says 15 to 20 startups graduate from SpinLab while another 15 to 20 graduate from Rootcamp and ExciteLab.

However, Weber is proud of the fact that startups come from all around the world to join SpinLab. “They come from all around Germany and from neighbouring countries. We had startups from Spain and South America while a couple have come from the UK as well,” he explains.

Once SpinLab shortlists the startups participating in its program, it brings them to its locations and helps them learn and develop through the industries and the networks they have built across Leipzig, Dresden, and Hannover.

Leipzig

Leipzig Skyline
Leipzig is geographically located in the heart of Europe | Image Credit: Tom Thiele

When Weber talks about Leipzig, he talks with a certainty not usually seen. He says Leipzig is the place to be, especially for startups in the fields of energy, smart cities, and health tech. Why? He says they have an excellent talent ecosystem and a lot of companies working in the area.

With three primary growth clusters – Greentech, Life Sciences, and Digital Technology – Leipzig is an energetic centre for innovation with the Eastern-German-Innovation Triangle of Leipzig, Magdeburg and Dresden forming a dynamic region known for its strong focus on life sciences, engineering, and digital technologies. The region fosters collaboration between academia, industry, and government to help the region become a driving force for economic growth and technological advancement in the region.

For energy startups, Leipzig is home to the European Energy Exchange as well as to VNG, the third-largest natural gas importer and the seventh-largest energy company in Germany. There is also Leipziger Gruppe, one of the biggest utility companies and enviaM, a regional energy provider supplying more than 1.2 million customers.

“I think in those fields the ecosystem is almost complete,” Weber quips. He adds, “We have startups, we have grown-ups in these sectors with talents in the sector coming from both the universities, but also out of other startups and grown-ups from the corporate side.”

While funding remains a challenge, Weber says Leipzig has seen a growing angel network with many founders exiting their startups to turn into angels. “We see it with the founders of Rhebo and Mementor,” says Weber, before adding, “There’s now a growing number of angels and with VCs headquartered in Berlin, the ecosystem and support system has grown.”

Among all these partners and companies supporting Leipzig, Weber says nobody plays an outsized role like the way Invest Region Leipzig (IRL) does. He says they are responsible for bringing new companies to Leipzig but not restricted to startups alone. The region saw Porsche start production in Leipzig in 2002, which Weber argues has allowed the city to work on infrastructure, smart city, industrial, and even energy.

Spinnerei Leipzig
Spinnerei is an old cotton mill that is home to artists and galleries | Image Credit: Phillipp Kirschner

For any ecosystem to grow, it needs to enrich itself with established companies and IRL makes that happen. “I always say my vision is to bring people here, help them in the industry and make them active here with our partners,” explains Weber.

He further adds that while he can do an emotional binding, there are other tools to make startups stay in Leipzig forever. Through grants, access to facilities, and infrastructure, he argues that Invest Region Leipzig works with a lot of partners to make that possible. The availability of skilled workers, several universities with specialised programs, vocational training and initiatives to attract and retain talent makes the region a great place to set up and scale your startup.

While it is easy to set up a business in Germany, Leipzig makes it a personal experience with individual support. IRL, Weber adds, is the key to have someone support entrepreneurs setting up business in Leipzig and since there is legal and business aspects of setting up a business, a dedicated support makes entrepreneurs overcome any cultural or network issues.

High level of specialisation

Weber is in a position where not many have been. He has seen how different startup ecosystems have evolved globally in the past 10 years and has played a key role in evolution of Leipzig. In the next decade, he says the most certain thing is that human beings will have demand for energy and medical solutions and Leipzig, he argues, is well positioned to cater to that demand.

“If I look into these different startup ecosystems globally and based on what I have seen, I think the most important thing will be to have a stronger development and that needs a very high level of specialisation,” he explains.

He further explains that the definition of state of the art has evolved from e-commerce being cutting edge a decade ago while fusion energy and cell therapies are the deeptech that shows high level of specialisation. “I think this is the crucial point for Leipzig, having these priorities, you need to find your own specialities where you as a city keep relevant on a global level.”

Weber makes one astute observation about the future of ecosystems. He says the size of a city won’t be relevant since specialisation in a field will make them leaders. The future that Weber envisions is akin to what IRL envisions as well – startups from around the world coming to Leipzig and eventually moving their business as well. If the startups choosing Leipzig as their base are innovating in the field of energy or medical tech then Weber says they already have a complete ecosystem to support them. He adds the network effect will allow them to have national and international relevance in the future.


Are you a Greentech, life sciences or digital technology startup looking to accelerate your growth? Click here to join SpinLab’s accelerator program and avail services of the Invest Region Leipzig for a soft landing in Leipzig.

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Karthek Iyer

Karthek Iyer is the Senior Editor and Content Marketing Lead at Silicon Canals, covering news and partner content. He leads our collaboration with clients like AWS, Remote, Flippa, Techleap, Startup Amsterdam, etc. Previously he was a personal technology writer reviewing consumer products at leading Indian newspaper and digital media outlets such as Indian Express, Digit, BGR India, and Pricebaba. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Engineering and lives in Mumbai.

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