Bavaria strong in Production 4.0

In addition, Bavaria offers a large innovation area for national and international start-ups that provide urgently needed solutions, as well as for companies that provide financial and strategic support for the start-ups. One example of this is the BMW Start-up Garage: start-ups with innovative concepts that are not ready for the market yet receive support in developing and marketing their products. If necessary, the BMW i Ventures venture capital company provides further financing. This symbiosis between innovation and users makes Bavaria the ideal environment for Industry 4.0.
 

Huge potential for start-ups

Examples of successful start-ups such as ProGlove, Konux and Magazino also underline the good collaboration between innovative start-ups and globally active Bavarian industrial corporates. But it’s not just the companies that support start-ups, more than 50 start-up centres in Bavaria, which are being continuously expanded in all Bavarian regions, also help young companies. Centres with high-tech workshops in particular, also known as maker space or FabLab, make a valuable contribution to promoting start-ups in the Industry 4.0 sector. For example, brigk in Ingolstadt, ZDI in Würzburg, Innovationspark Augsburg and UnternehmerTUM in Munich have their own FabLabs. The start-up centres are partners in the Ois Easy Start-up Package, which Invest in Bavaria uses to support international start-ups setting up in Bavaria – from free co-working space to assistance with formalities and visa issues and valuable contacts with potential customers and partners.
 

New technologies thanks to cross-industry innovation

Cross-industry innovation also plays an important role for the user industry. After all, why should companies and start-ups forego the creative potential of other sectors in their own innovation phase, if networking beyond the boundaries of their own sector can lead to efficient partnerships? The pronounced diversity of industries and the mix of traditional companies and disruptive start-ups create the best conditions for cross-industry innovation in Bavaria.

Numerous research institutions and initiatives are also providing cross-sector impetus by collaborating with industry. For example, the Zentrum Digitalisierung Bayern (ZD.B), a network supported by the Bavarian state government, is being created in Bavaria. The aim is to create synergies by networking research institutions with companies, universities and start-up centres and therefore to drive digitalisation forward in Bavaria in a wide variety of areas.