Science Park Graz — Austria's leading publicly funded high-tech incubator with 700+ alumni companies

Science Park Graz (SPG) was founded in 2002 as the high-tech start-up incubator for Graz and the Styria region, operating as Science Park Graz GmbH with public funding through Austria's AplusB (Academia plus Business) national incubation network. SPG is anchored to Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and draws its pipeline from academia, supporting founders of early-stage, high-tech start-ups in an 18-month structured programme (the AplusB high-tech incubation programme) covering advisory, coaching, infrastructure, and financing through interest-free R&D loans. Since inception, the park has supported 700+ start-ups and consistently generates 35+ new companies per year. Approximately 90% of incubated companies remain active — a survival rate that is publicly documented. SPG also operates the ESA BIC Austria node, which since 2016 provides a dedicated environment for space-based technology ventures. Financing is co-provided by Steiermärkische Sparkasse (interest-free R&D loans) and through facilitation of subsequent investor rounds. The park's role in Austria's national AplusB network demonstrates explicit replicability: the model has been deployed across six other Austrian university cities.

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