When we think of Austria, ski resorts, waltzes and Mozart may spring to mind first. Yet the country’s contribution to global healthcare innovation is equally worthy of attention.
NXTin.Health explores this dynamic sector in conversation with Tanja Spennlingwimmer, Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws), Head of Business Unit – IP Management | Deep Technologies | Entrepreneurship, and Stefan Krahulec, Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws), Head of Department – Deep Technologies.
What role does the life sciences sector play in Austria?
Tanja Spennlingwimmer: Over the past 20 years, the life sciences sector has become one of Austria’s key industries and an important driver of innovation, economic growth, and future competitiveness. It is one of the country’s most research-intensive and knowledge-driven industries, bringing together cutting-edge research, entrepreneurship, advanced manufacturing and highly skilled talent. Today, Austria is home to more than 1,100 life science companies employing over 73,000 people and generating around €40 billion in annual turnover.
Austria has also established itself as an attractive research location. With an R&D intensity of 3.35%, the country ranks among the leading innovation nations in Europe and provides a strong foundation for scientific excellence, technology transfer and the growth of innovative startups.
At the same time, life sciences are gaining political importance as one of Austria’s key technologies. The federal government’s “Industrial Strategy 2035” identifies biotechnology and life sciences as one of nine strategic key technologies, recognizing their potential to drive innovation, industrial competitiveness, and societal impact, and placing them at the center of future support measures.
To further strengthen the ecosystem, a dedicated Life Science Action Plan has been announced, with a focus on improving framework conditions for research, startups, scale-ups and industrial development. Given these developments, we expect the sector to continue its dynamic growth in the years ahead.
What role does LISA play in Austria’s life sciences ecosystem?
Stefan Krahulec: The strength of Austria’s life science ecosystem lies not only in individual companies, research institutes, or regional hubs, but especially in the way clusters, national initiatives, and funding organisations work together.
As the national umbrella brand, LISA, Life Science Austria, brings these different stakeholders together and helps drive joint activities at both the national and international level. This coordination gives companies access to partners across the entire value chain while providing a strong platform for international visibility, networking, and market outreach.
Austria is home to six dedicated life science clusters. Vienna is the largest life science hub and is home to more than half of the country’s life sciences community but other regions, especially Tyrol, also contribute distinctive strengths, combining university medicine and clinical research with pharmaceutical production, biotechnology, and medical engineering. Styria has a highly integrated ecosystem around Graz, with particular strengths in industrial biotechnology, bioprocessing, and medical technology. Lower Austria has developed specialised technology hubs in Krems, Tulln, and Wiener Neustadt, while Upper Austria has a particularly strong medical technology sector. Salzburg, the youngest member of the LISA network, is expanding its activities in areas such as diagnostics, dental technology, immunology, neuroscience, and regenerative medicine.
LISA helps connect these complementary strengths, create synergies across regions, and increase the international visibility and competitiveness of Austria’s life sciences sector as a whole.
What funding opportunities are available to healthcare innovators in Austria?
Tanja Spennlingwimmer: Austria provides a highly supportive ecosystem for innovative companies, including very effective public funding programs. Given the life sciences sector’s research-intensive nature, long development cycles, and significant fundraising needs, government support is essential to prevent market failures in this field.
For over 20 years, Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws), the Austrian promotional bank, has been strengthening the life sciences sector through the aws LISA – Life Science Austria programme, ensuring optimal conditions for this vital industry. Central to this effort are the well-established funding programmes, Preseed and Seedfinancing for deep tech companies and innovative solutions, which support companies at a very early stage with attractive funding. These programmes are complemented by targeted initiatives such as „Digital Health Austria”, which supports innovative projects that strengthen Austria’s healthcare system and contribute to more modern, patient-centred healthcare delivery.
Start-ups emerging from academic environments receive dedicated support during their early development through incubators funded by the aws AplusB Scale-up programme. Life sciences companies in growth phases can take advantage of financing by the aws Venture Capital Initiative, founder and SME funds as well as guarantee and loan instruments. The funding provided along the entire value chain is complemented by advisory services, such as innovation protection, as well as matchmaking and connecting services.
In addition, the FFG Life Science Programme supports R&D projects across all technology readiness levels with funding and the national “Research Premium” gives companies planning certainty by providing a predictable incentive for eligible research and development activities. The funding landscape is further complemented by a range of regional support programs.
Beyond public funding and support measures, Austria also benefits from a vibrant and increasingly mature investment ecosystem. A growing number of dedicated early-stage deep tech and life sciences investors such as XISTA provide capital for promising start-ups, while internationally active venture capital firms such as Speedinvest support companies as they scale. To further strengthen access to growth capital, Austria is currently developing a new Fund of Funds initiative, which is planned to launch in 2027 and is expected to mobilise additional private investment for innovative technology companies. Together, these public and private financing instruments create increasingly attractive conditions for life sciences entrepreneurs and investors alike.
Which areas of healthcare innovation in Austria show the most promise right now?
Stefan Krahulec: Austria is particularly strong in areas where excellent research, clinical expertise and innovative companies come together. A promising field is biotechnology, especially the development of novel therapeutics and vaccines. Austria has built strong expertise in areas such as cancer research, infectious diseases and immunology as well as rare diseases.
We also see a strong momentum in medical technology and digital health. Austrian companies are developing innovative medical devices, digital diagnostics and AI-supported healthcare solutions.
Another area of growing importance is diagnostics and analytics. Technologies have greatly advanced in recent years through innovations in molecular diagnostics and personalised medicine. Austria is developed notable expertise in areas such as the discovery of biomarkers, biosensors and equipment for IVD diagnostics.
Beyond healthcare, Austria is also gaining international visibility in industrial biotechnology and bioprocessing, which contribute to both sustainable manufacturing and the development of next-generation health solutions.
These innovations are supported by a strong ecosystem of universities and research institutions, leading university hospitals and clinical research centres, start-ups and SMEs as well as international corporates, incubators, regional clusters and funding organisations such as Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws).
What role do you see for AI in the next generation of healthcare and life sciences?
Tanja Spennlingwimmer: AI will play a transformative role across the entire life sciences and healthcare value chain. It has the potential to accelerate drug discovery, improve diagnostics, support clinical decision-making, and optimize manufacturing processes. AI can also make healthcare systems more efficient by reducing administrative burdens and improving workflows. It can help researchers and healthcare professionals analyse complex datasets faster and identify patterns that would otherwise remain hidden. The European Health Data Space (EHDS) is expected to unlock significant new opportunities in the coming years.
Austria is well positioned to benefit from these developments thanks to its strong research base and growing AI ecosystem. A great example is AITHYRA, a new interdisciplinary research institute founded 2024. With a generous donation from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation, the Austrian Academy of Sciences is hosting AITHYRA in Vienna.
Another important initiative is the AI Factory Austria in Vienna, which will provide researchers, startups and companies with access to advanced AI infrastructure, computing power and expertise.
At the same time, successfully bringing AI into real-world applications requires more than research and computing power. Particularly in highly regulated fields such as life sciences and healthcare, companies need to consider regulatory requirements, standards and certification pathways early in the development process. In Austria, dedicated funding initiatives such as the aws AI Adoption call have supported the development and implementation of trustworthy AI solutions. Looking ahead, further initiatives could help companies translate AI innovation into robust, compliant and scalable applications, including in the life sciences.
Do you sometimes see innovators using buzzwords rather than presenting genuinely innovative ideas?
Stefan Krahulec: Of course, buzzwords are part of every innovation-driven industry, and life sciences are no exception. However, in life sciences, scientific evidence quickly distinguishes genuine innovation from mere buzzwords.
Real innovation is ultimately measured by scientific evidence, clinical impact, and the ability to solve real problems. Developing a new therapy, diagnostic, or medical technology requires years of research and validation, so genuine innovation tends to stand out from the hype soon enough. The key is to focus on tangible impact and measurable outcomes rather than technology for its own sake. In the end, successful innovations are those that make the journey from the laboratory to the market.
What prevents some startups from turning innovative ideas into successful businesses?
Tanja Spennlingwimmer: Turning a great idea into a successful company is rarely just a question of science and technology. Especially in life sciences, startups face long development timelines, significant funding requirements, complex regulatory processes, and the challenge of gaining market access and adoption. Commercial success also requires a clear value proposition, the right team, a deep understanding of customer and patient needs and last but not least access to capital.
Through LISA, the funding programmes of Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws), and the AplusB (Academia plus Business) incubators, Austria offers tailored support for start-ups and spin-offs, bridging the gap between research and commercialization and turning scientific breakthroughs into products that can succeed in international markets.
Which international markets are Austrian health innovators looking to scale into?
Stefan Krahulec: Austrian health innovators are internationally oriented from the outset because the domestic market is relatively small. For many companies, neighbouring markets such as Germany serve as a first stepping stone, followed by expansion into other European countries with strong healthcare systems, established life science ecosystems, and attractive market opportunities.
Beyond Europe, the United States remains a key target market due to its size, investment landscape, and innovation-friendly environment. More recently, we have also seen growing interest in selected markets in Asia, particularly where there is strong demand for advanced healthcare solutions and opportunities for strategic partnerships.
Ultimately, the choice of market depends on the company, its products and solutions, and its individual strategy. But overall, Austrian life science companies are increasingly thinking globally from day one and positioning themselves for international growth.
LISA supports them on this journey by increasing their international visibility, facilitating connections with potential partners, and helping them access new markets through coordinated internationalisation and networking activities.
