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EXIST founder grant

Programm · 3 minutes

EXIST supports founding teams from universities with a living allowance, coaching and materials. Up to €3,000 a month per person, up to €30,000 for materials, over 12 months.

Financial security for founding teams in the critical pre-incorporation phase.

The EXIST founder grant is aimed at founding teams from universities and non-university research institutions pursuing innovative technology-led business ideas. It covers living costs, materials and coaching in the pre-incorporation phase, **before** the company is formally founded.

Eligibility

  • A venture with a clear technological or knowledge-based innovation.
  • The company must **not yet be founded**. EXIST is strictly a pre-incorporation grant.
  • An affiliation with a university or research institution in Germany (an EXIST founder network has to be in place).
  • Team: at least one person with a degree (university or university of applied sciences master's) from the last 5 years, or a doctorate.
  • A realistic business plan with market, technology and delivery analysis.
  • Ideally a mentor from the university's EXIST founder network.

Eligible costs

  • Living costs for the founding team members (graded by qualification).
  • Materials: hardware, software licences, materials for prototypes, IP rights, consultancy services.
  • Coaching by certified EXIST coaches.
  • Entry fees for start-up competitions and trade fairs.

Common pitfalls

The company is already founded

EXIST is **not** a boost for an already registered GmbH or UG. Anyone already entered in the commercial register before applying is rejected. This hurdle is often overlooked when teams hastily set up a UG in order to serve a first customer.

No university affiliation

Without an active EXIST founder network at the home university, the application is not passed on. Talk to the start-up office before applying.

Overlooking the de minimis ceiling

Materials fall under de minimis. Anyone who has previously received other de minimis funding can blow the ceiling of €300,000 over 3 years. Clean documentation of all de minimis aid is required.

No follow-on funding planned

EXIST runs for exactly 12 months. Anyone who doesn't plan follow-on funding (EXIST research transfer, INVEST, VC) is left without a budget when it ends. The follow-on has to be in focus from day one.

The application process

  • 1. Contact the start-up office. Get in touch with the EXIST start-up advisers at your home university. The university is the formal applicant; the team sits inside it.
  • 2. Business plan and application. Develop the business plan with the start-up advisers. Submit through the PtJ's easy-Online portal.
  • 3. Assessment. Technical review by the PtJ's external assessors. Criteria: degree of innovation, market potential, team capability, delivery plan.
  • 4. Funding decision. If the decision is positive: approval for a 12-month term. It normally starts on the first day of the following month.
  • 5. Delivery and completion. Monthly payment of the grant, six-monthly status reports, a final report after 12 months. Then: incorporation and ideally EXIST research transfer or seed funding.

How upsmart helps

We structure the EXIST business plan around the PtJ assessors' criteria: innovation, market, team, delivery. We track de minimis exposure, plan the follow-on funding (EXIST research transfer, INVEST) in parallel, and watch for the classic grounds for rejection: incorporating too early, missing university affiliation.

Combining it with other programmes

After EXIST: EXIST research transfer (for R&D-intensive ventures), the INVEST grant for business angel funding, ZIM after incorporation, and the Forschungszulage as soon as R&D staff are hired.

Frequently asked questions

No. EXIST is strictly a pre-incorporation grant. Once you are entered in the commercial register, EXIST is ruled out. Anyone who has already set up a UG to serve a first customer has forfeited the EXIST option.

€1,000 a month for students without a degree. With a degree: €2,500. Postdoc: €3,000. Plus a €150 child supplement.

Yes. EXIST requires an active affiliation with a German university or research institution that has an EXIST founder network. The university is the formal applicant.

The typical next step: EXIST research transfer (up to €380,000) to continue R&D, the INVEST grant where business angels come in, ZIM for subsequent R&D projects. Planning the follow-on funding early is essential.

Read on in the blog

EXIST after incorporating: why it doesn't work

Primary sources

  • EXIST guideline (BMWK)— BMWK
  • Project Management Jülich — EXIST— Forschungszentrum Jülich / PtJ
  • De minimis Regulation (EU) 2023/2831— European Commission

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Articles in the same field.

Programm-AnalyseFunding for startups and foundersEXIST, INVEST, Forschungszulage: an overview of startup funding in Germany. Stages, timing and the most expensive mistakes.Programm-AnalyseEXIST after incorporating: why there's no curePre-incorporation is a hard cut-off. What university teams need to know about the EXIST founder grant, EXIST research transfer and the alternatives.MethodikStaff turnover in the innovation team: five questions about retained knowledgeBefore the innovation manager leaves: which five pieces of knowledge have to be documented so applications, evidence and audit trails don't leave with them?