Bridge-to-Market (B2M) is a six-months pre-incubation funding program that focuses primarily on product and market validation and on evaluating the technical feasibility of AI models and data.

The Pre-Incubator program Bridge-to-Market aims to develop the entrepreneurial and technical skills of teams who simply have an idea to start an artificial intelligence company. No specific business plan/model or MVP is required to apply for Bridge-to-Market. During the six-month pre-incubation phase, you will also receive financial support to develop your project.  

The incubator programs are offered by our four incubation centers at TU Berlin, FU Berlin, HU Berlin and Charité. To be eligible to access them, you should meet their application requirements and apply for public funding such as EXIST or BSS through one of the incubation centers. Usually, teams applying for an incubator program have a clear idea of their business model and how they want to develop their product. The aim of such an incubation program is to incorporate the startup after the end of the program. 

K.I.E.Z. also offers the opportunity to apply to the K.I.E.Z. Accelerator program twice a year. The program takes six months and supports young AI companies during the scaling of their business. The Accelerator offers a variety of services to startups. The offer is divided into two main categories from which startups can choose specific offers: Growth Hacks and Growth Foundation. At the end of the Accelerator program, there is a demo day where venture capitalists and other partners can watch the startups' pitches. 

Yes.

No, this is not necessary. However, preference will be given to projects where there is a clear transfer from research to the market.

This funding program addresses anyone with (or close to) an academic degree who has an idea to develop an artificial intelligence-related product or business. However, being a pre-incubation program, Bridge-to-Market is ideal for those who wish to further develop their idea in terms of market and/or technology validation. Preference is given to science-based start-ups (research-based teams) and eligible teams according to EXIST program regulations. There should also be a clear focus on the SDGs

Yes. However, it is recommended to apply in the last semester of your degree program, also with regard to the mandatory participation in Bridge-to-Market (at least 50 % attendance required). Students are entitled to a scholarship of 1,000 EUR/month gross for 20h/week participation in the program.

Yes, it is possible on a part-time basis (min. 50%). Please note that if you have a full-time job, you will need to decrease your working hours in order to participate in Bridge-to-Market.

No.

No.

Participants will receive financial and content support. As part of Bridge-to-Market you will have access to workshops, events to foster networking, and receive financial support for 6 months in terms of monthly scholarships per founder (a maximum of 3 founders are supported) and up to 10,000 EUR per team to be used for material resources and services for validation purposes.

The amount of monthly scholarships depends on the experience and level of education of the founder:

- PhDs and graduates with three or more years of full-time professional experience receive 3,000 euros gross per month.

- Graduates with less than three years of professional experience receive 2,500 euros gross per month.

- Technical employees receive 2,000 euros gross per month (Please note: it is possible to have only one of the up to three team members as a “technical employee.” In order to qualify as a “technical employee,” you must have a Berufsausblidung -qualified vocational training).

- Students (doctoral students and master's/bachelor's degree students) can apply for the student grant of 1,000 euros gross per month for 20h/week in the program.

In addition, similar to EXIST, child bonus of up to 150 euros per month per child is granted.

Teams may also decide to allocate more than 10,000 EUR to purchase materials and services for validation purposes. In this case, however, the amount allocated for the monthly scholarships will be decreased.

EXIST regulations apply to all scholarships. For further information about the scholarships, please refer to the EXIST regulations: https://exist.de/faqs/

The scholarship is not an employment contract, therefore income tax, social security contributions, etc. must be deducted from the scholarship. This must be done by the founders. It is recommended to consult with a tax advisor as early as possible.

No, this is not possible.

No, we are a publicly funded program.

Yes, there are some items that cannot be purchased. The items to be purchased must be suitable for the validation purpose of the program.

Bridge-to-Market can also fund one-person projects provided they are solo tech founders. Solo business founders are not eligible to apply.

This can be accepted in exceptional cases. It would be advisable to have at least one university graduate in the team.

Yes, this is possible. Whilst a maximum of three team members are supported by Bridge-to-Market financially, this does not limit the number of founders.

Yes, this is possible, up to 3 team members in total receiving funding.

Science&Startups has a platform for that: https://matchem.science-startups.berlin/

Six months.

No, this is not foreseen.

Yes, participation in the program is at least part-time (min. 50%) and attendance to a minimum number of workshops is mandatory.

No. However, you need to be based in Germany.

Unfortunately, not.

English. However, it is useful to have some knowledge of German language.

Yes, these will be published in the timetable on our website. For 2025, we will have two batches, one from April 1, 2025 and one from October 1, 2025.

After the application deadline, you will receive feedback on the initial assessment within approximately 3 weeks.

Usually about 1 to 2 months from receipt of the procurement plan.

Yes, until the 2nd month after the start of the program. Otherwise, you are still entitled to the student scholarship (1,000 EUR/month gross for 20h/week).

At the end of the six months, teams ideally have a prototype and some LOI's so that they can apply for further funding via the EXIST grant.

This depends on funding, but we are aiming for 12-14 teams for the 2025 Fall batch.