News out of the world of Fraunhofer startups

The microspeakers for wireless in-ear headphones from Arioso Systems GmbH, a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, are up to ten times smaller than conventional microspeakers and are made entirely from silicon. Currently at the prototype stage, the energy-efficient MEMS speakers may in future play a role in expanding the range of functions offered by miniaturized headphones – such as instant translations and health monitoring features. This is made possible by an innovative sound transducer principle that dispenses with the membrane, the central element of a conventional speaker.

NexWafe GmbH (NexWafe) today announced the induction of Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (Reliance) as a strategic lead investor in its EUR 39 million ($45 million) Series C financing round with an investment of EUR 25 million ($29 million) in phase one.

On July 1st, 2021, Ceravis AG and the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP founded a collective joint venture, the »E-VITA« GmbH. The Fraunhofer spin-off is dedicated to the chemical-free, sustainable treatment of seeds and feedstuffs to free them from pathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses.

There are many ways to reshape the economy and society with technology partnerships – but there’s only one way to find out if a tech match has what it takes: Work it out and try. Just fill out our matching-deck and pitch for our next CoLab Kick-off on July 06, 2021.

A researcher team from industry and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS is spinning off a high-tech company called “Fusion Bionic”. The company aims to bring lotus effects and other functional microstructures from nature to technical surfaces such as air wings and implants using globally cutting-edge solutions for laser interference technology. The team received support from Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s AHED project, which specializes in technology transfer.

Grimmen, 27.04.2021 - The European market leader in plant-based lupine protein food and beverages is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Denayer to the position of CEO. Paul brings with him more than 20 years of relevant experience as business leader in the Food Industry. Paul served most recently as CEO of Crop’s, market leader in Europe in frozen vegetables, fruits and meal solutions.

Heidelberg/Würzburg, March 31, 2021 - Multiphoton Optics GmbH has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Heidelberg Instruments Mikrotechnik GmbH. The pooling of development capabilities and technologies for producing microstructures further underscores the global importance of research, development and production of direct-writing laser systems “Made in Germany”. The merger also extends the company’s market position in the micro-optics sector.

NexWafe GmbH wins the Fraunhofer Founder Award 2020 endowed with 5000 euros. The start-up convinced the high-caliber panel from Fraunhofer Venture and High-Tech-Gründerfonds with a revolutionary new approach for the photovoltaic industry.

Threedy is a spin-off from Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt, Germany. It has now raised early-stage venture capital to commercialize its instant3Dhub platform. This platform primarily supports visualization, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications, and will initially serve companies in the automotive, aerospace and energy industries, as well as users of building information modeling (BIM) solutions. The investment is led by the Industrial Technologies fund of btov Partners, in association with High Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Fraunhofer.

Although periodontitis is a widespread infectious disease affecting around 30% of the global population, there are currently no effective treatments available — yet. PerioTrap Pharmaceuticals, a Fraunhofer IZI spin-off, has developed a novel treatment strategy that works to specifically eradicate the major bacterial pathogens of periodontitis, thereby tackling the root cause of the disease. With the help of bmp Ventures AG (through the IBG-Fonds), i&i Prague, Fraunhofer Venture and a strategic partner, PerioTrap now plans to advance its drug development programs.