Michael Gerhard Mayer

TechnoStart Beratungsgesellschaft für Beteiligungsfonds mbH (TechnoStart) is an independent German venture capital firm which was founded by Michael Mayer in 1990. Headquartered in Ludwigsburg, TechnoStart invests in seed and early-stage technology companies, seeking new and highly innovative technologies enabling a broad range of applications within large, lucrative markets. The firm believes in the enormous scientific and technological potential at European academic institutes waiting to be turned into business and in 2002 developed their Technology Radar program to generate dealflow through the pro-active monitoring of selected scientific fields and institutes. They are specifically looking for 'cross-over' themes that have not been picked up by academic institutes or corporate R&D labs. The funds managed or advised by TechnoStart are backed by blue chip financial institutions, corporate investors and selected private individuals.

IDEA AG develops pain therapeutics and biopharmaceutical drugs. The firm develops and commercializes non-invasive therapeutic drugs and the targeted pain therapeutics for arthritic and osteoporosis-related inflammation, chronic pain and diseases. Its technology platform is based on proprietary carriers applied on skin and engineered to diminish side effects and increase drug potency. The company founded by Gregor Cevc in 1993 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany.

Novaled GmbH designs and develops organic light-emitting diode technologies. Its products include organic materials, OLED display materials, OLED lighting materials and organic photovoltaic materials. The company was founded by Karl Leo, Jan Blochwitz-Nimoth, Martin Pfeiffer and Jorg Amelung in 2001 and is headquartered in Dresden, Germany.

eCAPITAL entrepreneurial Partners AG (eCAPITAL) is a venture capital firm founded in 1999. The firm is headquartered in Münster, Germany.

febit holding GmbH engages in the design and development of technologies used for DNA analysis. It specializes in technologies with applications in genomic research, RNA expression profiling, and other diagnostic and molecular biology fields. The company was founded by Markus Beier, Ramon Gueimil, Peer F. Staehler, Matthias Scheffler, and Cord F. Stähler in 2005 and is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany.

Spintec Engineering GmbH develops medical devices. It uses silk platform technology for the development of novel medical devices for wound therapy as well as for applications in the dental, maxillofacial and cardiovascular surgery. The company was founded by Michael Rheinnecker in 2004 and is headquartered in Aachen, Germany.