Fraunhofer Ahead

AHEAD is Fraunhofer’s central technology transfer and incubation program, designed to transform cutting-edge research into market-ready products, spin-offs, and licensing models. As a deep-tech incubator, AHEAD supports research and founding teams in bringing innovative technologies from Fraunhofer’s institutes into real-world application to address societal and industrial challenges. AHEAD helps bridge the gap between research and application by reducing transfer barriers, fostering entrepreneurial thinking, and enabling early market and customer validation. AHEAD supports Fraunhofer researchers, internal teams, and external founders interested in leveraging Fraunhofer technologies. Through a three-phase model, funding, mentoring, workshops, and access to experts, industry, investors, and co-founders, AHEAD helps teams identify and pursue the most suitable commercialization path.