On Friday, November 14, we wrapped up this year’s quantum innovation lab with a Demo Day at the Skylounge of the University of Vienna.

In the second edition of our entrepreneurship program for quantum scientists, 26 participants from seven institutions in Austria and Munich took part. During a four-day bootcamp on the basics of entrepreneurship at the end of September and a series of weekly webinars, the participants developed business ideas based on their research, supported by mentors from across the ecosystem. At the Demo Day, eight teams presented their projects to an expert jury.

The quantum innovation lab cohort 2025 consisting of quantum researchers from the University of Vienna, Universtiy of Innsbruck, TU Wien, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, ISTA, AIT and TU Munich. All photographs © Alexander Bachmayer.

The jury consisted of international quantum industry experts, startup founders, and investors: Martin Bohmann (head of business development and sales at qtlabs), Marcin Pawłowski (founder of SeQure Quantum and professor at University of Gdansk), Joshua Slater (founder and CTO of Q*Bird),  Jonas Zeuner (founder and CTO of Vitrealab), and Dennis Weiß (investment manager at Onsight Ventures and Hermann Hauser Investment).

The winning team „CloQ“, comprised of Fabian Schaden (TU Wien), Brandon Furey (University of Innsbruck), and Hanieh Jafarian (University of Vienna), received the 1,000 € entrepreneurship award sponsored by the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ). The team convinced the jury with a clearly articulated problem, a strong technological foundation, and a well-structured roadmap for bringing their novel atomic clock to market.

The winning team „CloQ“, from left to right: Fabian Schaden, Brandon Furey, Hanieh Jafarian.

In the second part of the event, the jury members shared their perspectives on deep-tech entrepreneurship from different angles, as founders of quantum spin-offs, as core team members in successful startups, and as investors. In his keynote, Marcin Pawłowski highlighted both the challenges and the opportunities of building deep-tech companies, followed by a lively Q&A session in which guests from the audience could ask their questions directly to all members of our expert jury.

Closing remarks were given by Vice-Rector Ronald Maier of the University of Vienna, who enthusiastically reflected on the event and highlighted the impressive, tangible growth of the quantum innovation lab within just one year.

The jury of quantum industry experts during the Q&A session: From left to right: Marcin Pawłowski, Jonas Zeuner, Dennis Weiß, Martin Bohmann, Joshua Slater.

In total, the Demo Day brought together a large crowd of about 90 guests, among them key stakeholders from across the quantum ecosystem – from research, funding and investment, the ministry, and many more. After the main program, guests stayed on to continue their conversations over food and drinks. It was a chance to celebrate the teams’ achievements, discuss new technologies, and build new connections across the quantum innovation community.

The evening once again highlighted the strength and uniqueness of the quantum innovation lab: research institutions, incubators, accelerators, investors, and other organizations all working together in a coordinated and impactful way to support the next generation of quantum innovators.

Read more about the quantum innovation lab here.

We thank all our partners for the support and especially quantA for kindly sponsoring the catering at the Demo Day.

Around 90 guests filled the Sky Lounge to capacity, underscoring the strong interest in quantum technologies and innovation.