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Very clear: right now, innovation and entrepreneurship are determined by information technology and digitization. 39 percent of the 180 projects submitted for the PHÖNIX start-up award come from the ICT sector. This morning the Phönix Founder’s Award was presented in four categories. […]
The Austrian PHÖNIX Founder Award brings to the curtain the best startups, spin-offs, prototypes and entrepreneurs, the award was awarded for the seventh time this year on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Science (BMBWF) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (BMDW ). Ministers Schramböck and Fassmann presented the awards virtually at a press conference today.
The winners are Markta, an online farmers market (Startup category), Evelyn Haslinger, co-founder and CEO of Linz software testing startup Symflower, reported die Computerwelt (Women Entrepreneurs category), Parity Quantum Computing or Parity QC for abbreviate from Innsbruck (Spin Off category) and the CarboFeed biotechnology project of the Vienna University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (prototype category). Most of the 180 submissions were in the area of startups (110) and women entrepreneurs (more than 50), while “the other categories still have something to catch up on,” as admitted Edeltraud Stiftinger, CEO of AWS Wirtschaftsservice. . Overall, however, you are pleased that the number of submissions almost doubled – in 2019 there were 100 submissions. “The increasing proportion of women is particularly encouraging; women are now involved in about 30 percent of all startups,” Stiftinger emphasized.
Winner in the startup category: Markta online farmers market
Markta is Austria’s first online farmers market that brings together regional food producers with people looking for high-quality regional organic products. Especially at the time of the Corona crisis, Markta experienced a huge number of visitors. The idea is simple, but requires a lot of work behind the scenes, both on the IT side and in logistics: regional food can be ordered online directly on the platform throughout Austria. Markta CEO Theresa Imre applauded the business development and award: “You fight hard for visions and ideas, and it’s a gift when they work.”
Winner in the Women Entrepreneurs category: Evelyn Haslinger / Symflower
Automating the often annoying and boring process of software testing – that was the basic idea behind the founding of Symflower. In the summer of 2018, Evelyn Haslinger and Markus Zimmermann, who met at the University of Linz, founded their company in Linz. Artificial intelligence-based test software developed by Haslinger and his team allows you to identify bugs, gaps, and performance issues fully automatically, dramatically reducing development and maintenance times. Haslinger studied computer science at the University of Linz. Remember: “I was the only girl in the IT-HTL class.” Particularly impressive: Haslinger’s company also diligently expanded during the Corona crisis and added new employees.
Winner in the spin-off category: ParityQC
Quantum computing is the subject of ParityQC. With the software control of the ParityQC architecture or the Parity OS (operating system), all optimization problems can be solved with the same scalable hardware. With this innovative approach, Wolfgang Lechner and Magdalena Hauser of ParityQC want to take off globally. They have already patented their solution. “With Parity OS we want to set a global standard for optimization problems in quantum computing,” Magdalena Hauser said at the Phönix award ceremony.
Winning prototype: CarboFeed biotechnology project
A great idea or a long research paper at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences can expect victory in the prototype category: in the CarboFeed project, it is possible to produce yeast strains with the help of CO2 and methanol. The growth of these yeast cells creates a new type of yeast biomass. In the drying process, a yellowish powder is obtained, which can be used as a protein-rich food additive. CarboTech developer Michael Egermeier from the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna particularly praised the funding of the FFG Spin-Off Grant, which made it possible to fund the research work of the last two years .
“The PHÖNIX winners show in particular how the results of science can be brought to a business and what enormous economic potential can be harnessed with them. Startups are also more resilient, they are important sources of inspiration and solution providers ”, emphasized the Minister of Economy Margarete Schramböck. “The passion for projects and startups is impressive. Passion creates suffering, but also success, ”said Science Minister Heinz Faßmann delighted.
About the initial price of PHÖNIX
The Austrian PHÖNIX Founder’s Award is organized by Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws) in cooperation with the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and the Federation of Industrialists (IV). The award is awarded in four categories. In addition to the certificate and the trophy, the winners win participation in a relevant (digital) event worth 5,000 euros. All start-ups and spin-offs that are based in Austria and were founded after January 1, 2014 could be submitted. Various teams from universities and research institutes are also present for the prototype category. In addition to innovative ideas, when selecting the nominees, special attention was paid to their contribution to sustainable development in accordance with the UN goals (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). Submission for the 2022 Founder’s Award is now possible, the submission deadline is September 15.
