Ignite Next launches Europe's scale-up program for deep tech startups

The independent program - backed by its technology partners Infineon and Intel - addresses the missing link of closer collaboration between startups and corporates to help European deep tech founders move faster from "Pre to B" - taking breakthrough innovation to breakout success.

• Europe's missing link: an independent, multi-partner scale-up program connecting startups and corporates to bridge the continent's deep tech growth funding gap.
• Founder-first and non-dilutive: enabling startups to scale faster without giving up equity.
• From Pre-Seed to Series B: focused on turning early-stage deep tech ventures into globally competitive scale-ups.
• Collective impact: built on collaboration between world-leading technology firms such as Infineon and Intel, and a network of 300+ senior industry mentors.
• Pan-European mission: strengthening Europe's sovereignty across critical frontier technologies.

DRESDEN, Germany, Dec. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ignite Next today announced its launch as Europe's new scale-up program for deep tech innovation, designed to bridge the gap between early-stage founders and industrial-scale success.

Created by the team behind the renowned Intel Ignite program and now independently operated, Ignite Next introduces a new collaborative model - bringing together the global leading technology players, including Infineon and Intel, to support the continent's most ambitious deep tech founders.

Rather than operating as a traditional accelerator, Ignite Next positions itself as the missing link between startups and industry - a hands-on, non-dilutive program helping founders scale IP-heavy breakthrough technologies from Pre-Seed to Series B and beyond.

Its independent structure allows the team to work with multiple partners in even greater depth across a broad range of frontier technologies, from semiconductors, photonics, advanced manufacturing, robotics, AI, through to quantum computing.

A new model for Europe's deep tech scale-ups:

Europe's deep tech startups face a persistent challenge: strong scientific foundations and early funding, but limited industrial collaboration and scale-up support. Ignite Next directly addresses this gap between innovation and market success, enabling founders to reach commercial scale faster through direct access to relevant industry expertise and decision makers from strategic partners.

"We're building the bridge that Europe's deep tech founders have long needed," said Markus Bohl, CEO and co-founder of Ignite Next. "Ignite Next brings world-class technology partners and founders together to turn scientific breakthroughs into successful businesses at scale - helping startups move faster from Pre to B, from inventions with potential to companies with global impact."

Ignite Next's non-dilutive, founder-first structure ensures startups can scale without sacrificing ownership, while its high-touch approach - guided by more than 300 senior industry mentors - gives founders direct access to technical expertise, market insight, and investor readiness support.

Dr. Daniel Schall, CEO, Black Semiconductor, commented: "Ignite Next enables deep tech founders to move faster and build strong momentum by pairing genuine technical expertise with hands-on leadership experience—delivering founder-level insight, focus, and connections."

A virtuous circle of impact for startups, corporates and the deeptech community alike:

1. A clear north star: startup success - achieved through non-dilutive and high-touch support, and deep sector expertise.
2. Startups scale faster - attracting stronger investor interest and higher valuations.
3. VCs are recommending the program, leading to highly selective admissions.
4. Partners benefit through early access to technologies, talent, and collaboration opportunities.
5. The entire ecosystem strengthens - reinforcing Europe's competitiveness in deep tech.

Nicolas Autret, Partner, Walden Catalyst, added: "Only 6% of global AI funding and 5% of quantum investment go to European companies - that's the gap the Draghi Report warned about. Ignite Next tackles exactly this problem by helping Europe's deep tech founders scale faster, without giving up equity. It's the kind of competence and collaboration Europe needs to stay competitive on the global stage."

Independence and collaboration - the next phase of Ignite:

Ignite Next builds on a proven blueprint of technical depth, senior mentorship, and focus on tangible commercial outcomes - now strengthened by its independent, multi-partner setup.

"We're keeping everything that made Ignite successful - the technical depth, the selectivity, and the focus on the commercial impact - but with the ability to provide even more relevancy via our complementary, multi-partner set-up," said Alois Eder, CTO and co-founder. "Independence means we can connect an even wider and stronger network of experts to our startups, offering broader and deeper technology coverage, better market access, and stronger outcomes for Europe's innovation sectors."

Each cohort is highly selective, typically drawing over 300 applications for just ten places. Startups are mostly referred to the program by leading venture capital investors and chosen for their potential to become Europe's next scale-up success stories.

Alumni from the Ignite model include Black Semiconductor, Proxima Fusion, Corintis, Quantum Diamonds, Cerabyte, and Space Forge - each proving Europe's outstanding capabilities in frontier technologies.

Dr. Francesco Sciortino, CEO of Proxima Fusion, added: "The Ignite Next team has been instrumental to Proxima's journey from lab breakthrough to tangible traction. The team consistently had our back - combining technical guidance and company building advice with real industry access."

Partners driving Europe's deep tech future:

Ignite Next is backed by its core technology partners Infineon and Intel, who provide strategic industry expertise, infrastructure and technology access as well as technical and commercial mentorship. With technologies evolving faster and across more domains than ever, these partnerships give corporates early access to disruptive innovations, insight into emerging trends, and opportunities to influence technology roadmaps.

"At Infineon, we are committed to empowering Europe's deep tech startups," said Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. "With Ignite Next, we are uniting leading technology partners to back the continent's most ambitious founders and strengthen the importance of Europe as a world-class innovation hub. Together, we turn today's European startups into tomorrow's global tech champions."

Additional corporate and institutional partners are set to join in the coming months, further strengthening Ignite Next's value proposition to founders. All partnerships are long-term, offering startups sustained support while reinforcing a lasting commitment to Europe's deep tech ecosystem and supply chain resilience.

Europe first - but globally connected:

While the pan-European program is closely connected to the 45 most important deep tech hotspots in Europe, Ignite Next deliberately chose to headquarter the program in Dresden, at the heart of Silicon Saxony. The region is not only home to one-third of Europe's chip production, but with TU Dresden also the university producing the most patents in Germany. With this Ignite Next opens up unmatched collaboration opportunities for startups and investors alike within one of the continent's most important, vibrant, and fastest growing semiconductor ecosystems.

Dirk Panter, Saxony's State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Climate Action: "It is testament to the strength and importance of the ecosystem in (Silicon) Saxony that an internationally renowned program with world-leading partners in the hightech industry will be based and run out of Dresden. We are happy to welcome Ignite Next and its deep tech startups in the heartland of Europe's semiconductor industry - and are convinced that this is the right place to build and scale global deep tech category leaders."

Its location underscores the program's pan-European ambition: uniting industrial, academic, and venture networks to scale European innovation globally.

While Europe remains its core focus, Ignite Next welcomes startups from around the world. Each three-month cohort provides deep technical mentorship, commercial validation, and investor engagement, helping startups reach product-market fit, go-to-market readiness, and Series A and B funding faster.

Michiel Scheffer, President, European Innovation Council, commented: "I'm happy to see that Ignite Next is specifically designed to support European deep tech startups to reach the breakout stage. This is exactly in line with what the EIC and me personally are strong proponents of: we need to build scale-ups for Europe critical technologies that aim for global leadership positions in their field. In Europe, we have the talent, the IP, and the opportunity to achieve that if we manage to provide the right funding and industrial support for this. I'm convinced that Ignite Next will play a significant role in this."

About Ignite Next:
Ignite Next is Europe's scale-up program for deep tech innovation, founded by the former Intel Ignite leadership team and now independently operated. The program accelerates early-stage, high-impact startups developing breakthrough technologies in semiconductors, physical AI, advanced computing, and other frontier domains. Non-dilutive and founder-first, Ignite Next partners with leading technology companies - including Infineon and Intel - to connect startups with world-class technical and business expertise, turning breakthrough innovation into breakout success.

Media contact:
Harry Ashcroft | Perseid PR
harry@perseidpr.com
+44 7429 108277