Application
APPLICATIONS FOR BATCH #14 ARE NOW OPEN
If you still have questions, we are happy to help you during our
Online Q&A Session every Thursday 4-5pm (CET). Click here to join.
Key Dates
Application period Batch #14:
February 08 – March 19, 2021
Pre-discussions with potential candidates:
April 19 – May 14, 2021
Final Pitch events:
Until end of May 2021
Communication of decision to applicants:
Early June 2021
Kick-off summer batch 2021:
Mid July 2021

Why should you apply? Our Program Highlights:

Intensive Coaching and Mentoring
By seasoned serial entrepreneurs, tech experts, business angels, venture capitalists and experienced industry professionals

Access to Corporate Partners
such as Festo, Knorr-Bremse, Miele and many other corporate partners.

Free office Space and Support
We provide office space in the heart of Munich where our team is working hard to support you on all matters of your business.

Access to our High-Tech Workshop
In our 1500m2 high-tech workshop “maker space” you have access to more than 100 machines and can build your prototypes.

To pitch at our final event, the Demo Day
attended by 250+ VCs, business angels, corporate representatives, successful founders and press members.
What kind of startups are we looking for?
Target Geographics
Globally, with focus on Europe, US, Israel
Target/Focus Topics
Please check out our Corporate Partners and their search fields below
Industry Focus
All industries as long as there is a fit with the search fields
Target/Startup Stages
Seed, Series A
Exceptional Team
driven, curious, and humble founders with a big vision!
Batch #14 Corporate Partners & Search Fields

As one of the best-known and most popular retailers, ALDI has been providing millions of people with everyday essentials for generations. The ALDI Nord Group is represented by a total of 32 regions in northern, eastern, and western Germany. In Germany, more than 35,000 employees are employed by ALDI Nord. Customers can shop for fresh products in over 2,200 stores.
Find out more about ALDI Nord (www.aldi-nord.de).
For batch#14 ALDI is looking for startups in the following fields:

Circular Economy
Sustainable & innovative products, services, business models, and processes to
promote a circular economy.

Festo SE & Co. KG is a worldwide leader in automation and a world market leader in technical training and development. Regarding automation, Festo offers products, systems and services surrounding pneumatic and electrical control and drive technology – whether in the factory or process automation sector.
Festo Didactic equips technical training institutes and offers training and consultancy to processing industrial companies. Festo was founded in 1899 and has more than 20,000 employees around the globe with a company presence in 61 countries and after-sales services in 176 countries to serve its 300,000 customers. In 2019, Festo reported a revenue of €3.07Bn.
Find out more about the company: www.festo.com
For batch#14 Festo is looking for startups in the following fields:

Cloud Control
Control applications for automation systems, hardware-agnostic management solutions for decentralized controls, sensors & actuators

Energy Harvesting
Innovative & energy efficient power solutions and technologies to recover energy in or close to an industrial machine or device

Knorr-Bremse is the global market leader for braking systems and a leading supplier of other safety-critical rail and commercial vehicle subsystems. (Link to company overview and product portfolio) Knorr-Bremse delivers braking, entrance, control and auxiliary power supply systems, HVAC and driver assistance systems for rail vehicles, as well as braking, steering, powertrain and transmission control solutions, and driver assistance systems for commercial vehicles.
Approximately 29,000 employees at over 100 sites in more than 30 countries use their competence and motivation to satisfy customers worldwide with products and services. In 2017, Knorr-Bremse’s two divisions together generated revenues of EUR 6.9 billion (IFRS).
Find out more about the company: www.knorr-bremse.com
For batch#14 Knorr-Bremse is looking for startups in the following fields:

Automated & Autonomous Driving
Solutions and technologies that provide advanced automated functions for vehicles e.g., advanced driver assistance systems and vehicle remote control

Digital Transport Management
Solutions that contribute to completely digital transport management with automated data-driven decision making

Secure Device Management for IIoT
Online device management, Industrial IoT & security for IoT, intelligent wireless sensors, predictive maintenance & system health monitoring

E-Mobility & Electrification
E-Mobility & electrification of auxiliaries in commercial vehicles e.g., efficient motion control, battery monitoring & energy storage

LPWAN for Rail and Truck Field Assets
Condition monitoring, energy efficient & wireless communication, data transmission, and energy harvesting sensors

Remote Collaboration & Augmented Reality
Platforms for remote operations by specialists in the business units and AR-based collaboration solutions for customer support

Miele & Cie. KG is the world’s leading supplier of premium home appliances for kitchen, laundry and floor care. In addition, Miele Professional offers laundry care, cleaning, disinfection and sterilization solutions for commercial and medical applications. All product offerings are complemented by services – from customer service and cooperation to a wide range of innovation fields in the areas of product/services, market access/customer contact and creation of the value chain.
During the business year 2020, which ended on 31 December 2020 the company achieved a sales volume of €4.5 billion. At present, Miele is represented in 47 countries by company-owned sales organisations and in about 50 additional countries via importers. Miele has been an independent family-owned company since its establishment in 1899.
Find out more about the company: www.miele.com
For batch#14 Miele is looking for startups in the following fields:

Laundry Cleaning & Hygiene
Smart washers and dryers, sustainable laundry care, laundry identification & analytics

Hygienic Surfaces, Hands, Rooms & Air
Innovative commercial hygiene solutions for surface or room air disinfection e.g., hygiene detection & automated hygiene documentation

Industry 4.0
Solutions which optimize the equipment efficiency in electronics manufacturing and enhance the shop floor connectivity

Olfactory Sensing
Smell detection, digitization of smell, digital scent capture & olfactory sensing

Outdoor Living
Outdoor cooking, living & comfort e.g., lighting & heating systems, cleaning & kitchen appliances, or digital purchasing

Textile Fiber Identification
Plug and play solution for fiber recognition, automated laundry care, and load recognition

In the upcoming batch, TechFounders supports startups developing disruptive solutions that have the potential to prevent, alleviate, or manage mental disorders.
Therefore, we are giving away additional wildcard(s) for our exclusive program. You will receive all of our usual benefits: intensive coaching and mentoring, access to potential partners within our vast network, free office space and support, access to our high-tech workshop, a spot to pitch at our Demo Day, and many more.
We are looking for startups in the following fields:

Digital Therapy

Mental Health Assessment

Mental Wellness

Symptom Recognition

Drug Development
