Germany: Corporate Investments Wacker Invests in Technology Startups

Wacker Chemie is intensifying its collaboration with innovative company founders and has joined Germany’s HTGF III fund for high-tech startups

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Munich/Germany — The investment fund for technology-driven early-stage financing has been supporting recent technology startups since 2005, helping them put their business concept into practice. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the state-run KfW bank group are the main investors contributing to this third fund. Wacker now joins other well-known private-sector companies in helping to finance company founders, the manufacturer announces.

“HTGF is an ideal platform for supporting creative ideas and promoting the exchange of views between startups and established companies,” said Rudolf Staudigl, president & CEO of Wacker Chemie AG, explaining the reason for joining the fund. “After all, it’s not enough just to have a good idea: the right project needs to be provided with the right resources at the right time.” He added that Wacker, as a research-driven chemical company, was able to offer startups more than just financial support in putting their ideas into practice. Company founders, he explained, would also benefit from the company’s many years of expertise gained in the development of new solutions, as well as from its production know-how and extensive knowledge of markets.

From fall 2017, the chemicals manufacturer will be taking part in HTGF III, which aims to provide startups with early-stage funding. The investment promotes joint developments and intensifies collaboration with promising startup entrepreneurs.

Dr. Michael Brandkamp, managing director of HTGF, explains: “The chemical industry is Germany’s third largest industrial sector, and, as such, is open-minded toward the challenges of digital transformation. Large, well-established companies continue to show considerable interest in supporting the founding and expansion of high-tech startups from the chemical industry and related sectors. We are delighted that Wacker has joined HTGF III, as it means we have gained another strong chemical-sector partner.”

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