Munich Startup: What concrete benefits does a startup incubator like Gate Garching bring to startups?
Christian Heckemann: When a startup joins us at the incubator, they have excellent chances, as 98 percent of our startups successfully establish themselves in the market. More than 300 teams have already founded companies here, and many of them are now scale-ups or international tech players.
Behind this success lies a combination of factors. First, there’s our unique location on the research campus, as we sit directly next to a strong knowledge base – the Technical University of Munich. On the other hand, founders start with us in flexible offices ranging from 20 to 100 square meters, which can adapt to team growth. This offering is complemented by workshop and hall spaces – a rare advantage in Munich. And right next door awaits a real game changer: the MakerSpace, where prototypes are created quickly and cost-effectively.
Coaching, community, and hands-on support
Munich Startup: How do you support founders beyond providing space?
Christian Heckemann: At Gate, founders are not alone. They receive coaches who bring business and leadership experience, combined with industry expertise and learnings from hundreds of sessions with Gate startups. Through our Gate Academy events, we provide practical tools – from customer acquisition through financing to team building, online or live on-site.
However, the biggest leverage lies in our vibrant community, where people connect, share experiences, and network. At our events, contacts naturally emerge that accelerate growth.
Success stories from Gate: Planqc, SpAItial AI, and more
Munich Startup: Can you share a few special success stories from Gate?
Christian Heckemann: A strong example is Planqc. Just months after its founding, the quantum computing startup raised 4.6 million euros and sent a clear signal for quantum technologies from Germany. In 2022, they moved into Gate and leverage the network at the research campus. Numerous awards such as German Startup Award 2023, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024, and German Founder Award 2025 demonstrate the level teams can achieve here.
SpAItial AI also shows where things are heading. The team around TUM professor and unicorn founder Matthias Niessner develops AI models that translate the real world into immersive 3D environments. Their choice of Gate as their location underscores our role as a bridge between research and founding.
Munich Startup: Christian, have you also had a “goosebumps moment” with your startups?
Christian Heckemann: A particularly special moment was my first supermarket visit where I spotted a product from a Gate startup on the shelf: the edible straw from Wisefood. I still remember how the team polished the first prototypes here and overcame setbacks. Years later, their product is naturally part of my daily life. That was a real goosebumps moment.
Future vision: Expansion, new spaces, and deeptech focus
Munich Startup: What personally drives you to lead an incubator like Gate?
Christian Heckemann: My path to Gate is closely connected to my own startup experiences. I accompanied a Munich tech startup from a small team to its IPO and was myself once a startup here at Gate. Today, I stand on the other side – as CEO – passing on the experiences that were crucial for us back then.
What excites me is seeing founders work on their ideas with full energy and witnessing how exchange and networking create collaborations that you could never achieve alone. Often it’s the small moments that make the difference – like when I feel the energy in Gate Kitchen at midday and see how much enthusiasm exists here. That makes it clear: we are more than an office provider. We are partners who help turn visions into reality.
Munich Startup: What further plans do you have for the next years or decades?
Christian Heckemann: In the coming years, we are developing Gate consistently. An important step is the expansion of hall and workshop spaces. Three new startup garages are being created in our large workshop hall, offering ideal conditions especially for hardware teams.
At the same time, we continue to act as a multiplier for founding success and drive innovation by connecting science with capital. Our goal is to help tech startups grow into Europe’s next deeptech unicorns.
