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Klagenfurt Startups to Watch in 2027: 6 Verified Companies in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Carinthia, Where They Get Support and Lessons for Founders

Klagenfurt Startups to Watch in 2027: Verified Companies in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Carinthia

Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, the capital of Carinthia (Kärnten) in southern Austria, is known for its lake, but it also has a compact tech scene. Most of it sits in one place: the Lakeside Science & Technology Park next to the University of Klagenfurt, home to the build! startup centre, the research institute Lakeside Labs and dozens of young tech companies. The 2026 version of this article listed ten "Klagenfurt startups". When we checked them in November 2026, none of them had an official website or company record that places it in Klagenfurt today: several are Vienna companies, and the rest could not be found. So for this 2027 edition we started again with companies whose own legal notices give a Klagenfurt address and whose sites show that they still operate. We did not pad the list.
Quick answer: the Klagenfurt startups to watch in 2027 are PiktID (generative AI image editing), LoconIQ (precise 3D tracking of people and assets), avemoy (drones and AI for greenhouse tomato growers), Messfeld (machine and energy monitoring, led by a woman managing director), Novunex (a low-code business platform) and SYMVARO (software for water and waste utilities). Klagenfurt's best-known spin-off is Bitmovin. For support, start with build! Gründungszentrum Kärnten, the KWF and the University of Klagenfurt.
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Why Klagenfurt Matters for Founders in 2027

Klagenfurt's strength is that university, research and startups share one campus. The Lakeside Science & Technology Park offers space for innovative companies and startups with a focus on information and communication technology, and its stated goal for 2030 is 54,000 square metres of offices and labs for 2,800 people. Lakeside Labs, a non-profit research company founded in 2008 and owned by the regional agency BABEG and the University of Klagenfurt, works on self-organising networked systems, and drones, sensor networks and video streaming are recurring themes in the companies around it. Carinthia's industry, from microelectronics in nearby Villach to machinery and timber, gives B2B startups local customers to test with.
If you plan to visit, our guides to startup events in Austria and startup events in Vienna list where founders and investors meet. For other Alpine and Central European cities, compare our lists for Innsbruck, Munich, Zurich, Basel, Warsaw and Iași.

Klagenfurt Startups to Watch in 2027 Compared

CompanyWhat it doesKlagenfurt baseLatest facts we cite
PiktIDGenerative AI tools that create, edit and anonymise images, with an APILakeside Park B01aFour co-founders; serves fashion, marketing and privacy use cases (its site)
LoconIQReal-time 3D localisation of people and assets with a tiny UWB deviceSchleppe Platz 62x3 cm device with eight sensors, on-premises software (its site)
avemoyHortiscan: autonomous drones and AI that scout greenhouse tomato cropsLakeside B03Industrial partner Frutura; FFG project with the University of Klagenfurt (its site)
MessfeldCondition and energy monitoring that makes machines "readable"Lakeside B07aSchaeffler and Siemens partner; led by Dr. Jutta Isopp (its site)
NovunexConfigurable low-code platform for quality, IoT and IT service appsVölkermarkter Ring 7Founded 2017; 50,000+ users in 41 countries (its site)
SYMVAROSoftware for water utilities and municipal waste managementHasnerstrasse 2/1waterloo used by 400+ water utilities; Carinthian Export Award 2023 (its site)
Sources: each company's official website and legal notice, checked 8 November 2026. None of the six publishes a funding round on its site.

The Klagenfurt Startups to Watch in 2027

1. PiktID: generative AI for product and model images

PiktID builds generative AI tools for visual editing: it creates e-commerce visuals, recolours and swaps garments, enhances images, changes facial expressions and replaces real faces with newly generated identities instead of blurring them. It sells to fashion brands, marketing and advertising teams and companies that need to protect people's privacy in images, and it offers an API and an On-Model Studio. Its team page lists four co-founders: Davide Righini (CEO), Nunzio Letizia (CTO), Jernej Dvoršak (CSO) and Jennifer Simonjan, who runs marketing and PR. PiktID FlexCo is based in Lakeside Park in Klagenfurt. It does not publish its founding year or funding.
Lesson for founders: PiktID takes a broad technology, image generation, and packages it for a few buyers with a clear budget: fashion e-commerce, ad agencies and privacy teams.
Best for: AI, e-commerce and marketing tech founders.

2. LoconIQ: centimetre-level 3D tracking where GPS fails

LoconIQ tracks the position of assets and people in 3D and in real time. Its 2x3 centimetre device works as both anchor and tag and combines ultra-wideband radio (UWB) with eight sensors; an on-premises software platform adds a dashboard, APIs, a digital twin of the site and AR guidance. It targets defence and law enforcement (where its site promises centimetre-level 3D localisation without GPS), logistics and inventory, robotics and drones, and industrial process monitoring. LoconIQ R&D GmbH is registered at Schleppe Platz 6 in Klagenfurt; its blog is written by CEO Daniel Neuhold and CTO Roland Kersche. It does not publish funding figures.
Lesson for founders: LoconIQ keeps all data on the customer's premises. For defence and industrial buyers, data sovereignty is a feature they will pay for, not a detail.
Best for: deep tech, hardware, robotics and defence tech founders.
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3. avemoy: drones that scout greenhouse tomatoes

avemoy makes Hortiscan, a system for greenhouse tomato growers: small drones fly autonomously through the greenhouse without GPS, an Edge Charger docks, charges and processes the video on site (one unit per hectare), and growers get reports for pest control, temperature and harvest forecasts. Each flight produces about 34 GB of raw data that stays on site; only the final report goes to avemoy's cloud in Europe. The company claims yield predictions with up to 99.5% measured accuracy. Its site names the vegetable grower Frutura as industrial partner and quotes the University of Klagenfurt's Control of Networked Systems group, which has worked with avemoy since its foundation and raised funding with it for the FFG research project TOMAiTO. Its legal notice gives avemoy FlexCo at Lakeside B03 in Klagenfurt, with Michael Gruber as managing director.
Lesson for founders: avemoy picked one crop in one setting, greenhouse tomatoes, and a partner who grows them at scale. A narrow first market makes a hard technology easier to prove.
Best for: agritech, drone and AI founders, and university spin-off teams.

4. Messfeld: making machines readable

Messfeld develops measurement hardware and software for industrial maintenance: condition and energy monitoring, vibration analysis, integration into automation systems and reports with an assessment of each machine's condition. Its site lists Schaeffler (as an OPTIME certified partner) and Siemens among its partners, describes a monitoring project at Evonik Fibres' plants in Lenzing and Schörfling, and lists research projects such as SwarmIn and ELENA run with its maintenance competence centre. Messfeld GmbH sits at Lakeside B07a in Klagenfurt, its managing director is Dr. Jutta Isopp, and it appears among the alumni of the build! startup centre. It does not publish funding figures.
Lesson for founders: Messfeld partners with the large suppliers its customers already buy from. In industrial B2B, a certified partnership opens doors that cold sales cannot.
Best for: industrial IoT, maintenance and energy founders, and women in engineering.
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5. Novunex: a low-code platform built in Klagenfurt

Novunex sells the Novunex Platform, a configurable "building block" system for business software, and ready-made solutions on top of it: an electronic quality management system (including for ISO 9001 and medical devices), IoT applications for smart cities, buildings and industry, and IT service management on Microsoft 365. Its about page says it was founded in 2017, has more than 50,000 users in 41 countries, and works from two sites: Völkermarkter Ring 7 in Klagenfurt and Bend, Oregon, in the United States. Its case studies include the rope maker Teufelberger. It appears on the alumni list of the build! startup centre and does not publish funding figures. Its website blocked our screenshot tool, so we show no image.
Lesson for founders: Novunex built one platform and sells it as many vertical solutions. Reusing the same core for quality, IoT and IT service keeps a small team productive.
Best for: B2B SaaS, low-code and medtech compliance founders.

6. SYMVARO: software for water and waste utilities

SYMVARO has built web and mobile software for public utilities in Klagenfurt since 2010. Its main products are waterloo, a platform for water utilities covering meter management and reading, self-monitoring, pipe-burst and leakage management and field service, which it says more than 400 water utilities use, and The Waste App, which reminds citizens when to put out which bin and is used in more than 100 municipalities. It won the Carinthian Export Award in 2023 for its business in Austria, Germany and beyond. SYMVARO GmbH is at Hasnerstrasse 2/1 in Klagenfurt, led by CEO Rudolf Ball and CTO Philip Kozeny.
Lesson for founders: SYMVARO started with one meter-reading app in 2011 and grew into a platform for one regulated customer group. Govtech is slow to sell, but customers stay for years.
Best for: govtech, utilities and climate software founders.

Klagenfurt's Best-Known Spin-off: Bitmovin

Bitmovin makes video streaming software (encoding, player and analytics) for media companies. Its about page says co-founders Stefan Lederer and Christopher Mueller began their research in 2012 as students at the University of Klagenfurt and founded the company that year; the university lists it as a spin-off founded in 2013, so the dates differ by source. Bitmovin went through Y Combinator (summer 2015), raised a Series A in 2016, a Series B in 2018 and a $25 million Series C in 2021, and still lists an office at Schleppeplatz 7 in Klagenfurt alongside its US office. It is a scale-up now, not a startup, but it shows what a Klagenfurt research team can grow into.

Also in Carinthia, Outside Klagenfurt

  • Trastic (Villach): makes furniture panels from recycled polyethylene, for tables, worktops, wall cladding and shop fittings, and has worked with plastic waste since 2019. A build! alumnus.
  • macchina.io (St. Jakob im Rosental): IoT edge software and secure remote access to devices from Applied Informatics Software Engineering GmbH, another company on build!'s alumni list.

Where Klagenfurt Startups Get Support

  • build! Gründungszentrum Kärnten: Carinthia's startup centre in Lakeside Park (building B01) and in Villach. It takes technology-oriented, knowledge-based and scalable founding projects through a first meeting, a coaching programme, the build! UP planning programme and a premium package for startups with first customers, plus mentoring, the build! Academy and coworking. Its site counts 70 first meetings a year, 40 startups since 2018 and 60 alumni in the last five years.
  • KWF (Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds): Carinthia's business promotion fund. Its vor.GRÜNDEN programme supports people from universities and research institutions who are preparing to found a company: in early October 2026, 22 potential founders started on 13 projects with the University of Klagenfurt, the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and build!. Its Start.F&E&I grant covers up to 60% of the costs of preparing research and innovation work, up to €30,000, for companies of any size with a project in Carinthia; applications for the 2026 version are open until 31 December 2026 while the budget lasts.
  • University of Klagenfurt: its knowledge transfer office points founders to build!, the aspire! centre for entrepreneurship, the inspire! Lab and vor.GRÜNDEN, and its research groups work with startups such as avemoy.
  • BABEG: Carinthia's business location and investment agency connects companies with research partners, coordinates funding projects, runs clusters such as Silicon Alps and the Circular Economy Network, and organises Carinthia innovates, whose next edition is set for 12 to 14 May 2027 at Lakeside Park, with startup and corporate reverse pitching sessions.
  • aws Preseed and Seedfinancing: Austria's federal promotional bank funds early-stage companies in two tracks, Innovative Solutions and Deep Tech; Seedfinancing is for companies up to five years old. The research agency FFG funds research projects such as avemoy's TOMAiTO.
For more options across Europe, see our lists of startup incubators in Europe, deep tech accelerators in Europe and accelerators for female entrepreneurs in Europe.

Klagenfurt Startups From the Old List That Changed or Could Not Be Verified

The 2026 version of this article named ten startups. Here is what we found when we checked each one in November 2026:
  • HeartBeat.bio, infrared.city, flinn, fynk, VIPASO and DAIKI: real Austrian companies, but all of them are based in Vienna according to their own sites (HeartBeat.bio at the Vienna Biocenter, infrared.city "built in Vienna", flinn's operator 1BillionLives GmbH, fynk "built in Vienna", VIPASO at the Saturn Tower and DAIKI in Vienna's first district). The old descriptions of several of them were also wrong: fynk sells contract management software, not a personal finance app, and DAIKI sells AI governance and compliance software.
  • Arkeon Biotechnologies: its website returns an error page, and we found no Klagenfurt base.
  • Fermify: its website gives no Klagenfurt address, and we found no Klagenfurt office.
  • Sendance and Mo Energy Systems: Sendance's domain is parked and for sale, and we found no website, company record or press release for Mo Energy Systems, so both were removed with their claims.
  • Claims removed: the link to a startup ranking site and growth claims with no traceable source were replaced with official pages.

Which Klagenfurt Startup Should You Learn From?

  • You build AI products: study PiktID and how it packages image generation for three buyer groups.
  • You build deep tech hardware: study LoconIQ and avemoy, which sell precise sensing and drones to defence, logistics and agriculture.
  • You sell to industry: study Messfeld and its partnerships with Schaeffler and Siemens.
  • You build B2B software: study Novunex's platform-plus-solutions model.
  • You sell to cities and utilities: study SYMVARO, which has served one regulated customer group since 2010.
  • You are a student or researcher: apply to vor.GRÜNDEN or book a first meeting at build!.
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How Founders Use Klagenfurt's Startup Scene

Start at Lakeside Park: book a first meeting at build!, ask the University of Klagenfurt about research partners, and check the KWF's programmes before you spend your own money. For more money, compare grants for early-stage startups in Europe and grants for female entrepreneurs in Europe, and when you are ready to raise, read our guides to early-stage VCs in Europe and deep tech VCs in Europe.
Several Klagenfurt companies work in drones, sensing and industrial tech, so also read our guides to deep tech cities in Europe and the best cities for deep tech startups worldwide. If you are still choosing a base, compare Austria with other options in our guide to the best countries for startups in Europe, and see more European scenes in our lists for Berlin, Lyon, Eindhoven, Groningen and Stockholm.
Before you copy any of these business models, validate your startup idea with real customers. Then make your startup easy to find: list it in the F/MS marketing directories, publish your startup press release, and write about your product with the F/MS AI SEO Tool or the AI SEO Blog so customers, investors and AI assistants can find you.

FAQ About Klagenfurt Startups to Watch in 2027

Which Klagenfurt startups should I watch in 2027?

Our verified list: PiktID, LoconIQ, avemoy, Messfeld, Novunex and SYMVARO. Each one's own legal notice gives a Klagenfurt am Wörthersee address, and each site shows that it still operates, checked in November 2026.

Why are there only six companies on this list?

We only list companies we can confirm are based in Klagenfurt and still operating. None of the ten names in the old version of this article passed that check, so we started again and did not pad the list.

Is Klagenfurt a good place to start a startup?

It is a small but focused scene. The university, Lakeside Labs, the build! startup centre and dozens of tech companies share the Lakeside Science & Technology Park, and Carinthia's KWF and BABEG run their own programmes. Costs are lower than in Vienna or Munich.

What is Klagenfurt's most successful startup?

Bitmovin, the video streaming software company that grew out of research at the University of Klagenfurt, went through Y Combinator in 2015 and raised a $25 million Series C in 2021. It still has an office in Klagenfurt.

Are there female-led tech companies in Klagenfurt?

Yes. Messfeld, a machine monitoring company in Lakeside Park, is led by managing director Dr. Jutta Isopp, and PiktID lists Jennifer Simonjan among its co-founders. Our list of grants for female entrepreneurs in Europe covers funding for women founders.

Which Klagenfurt startups work in deep tech?

LoconIQ builds UWB devices for centimetre-level 3D tracking, and avemoy flies autonomous drones in greenhouses and works with the University of Klagenfurt on an FFG research project.

Where can startups in Klagenfurt get support?

build! Gründungszentrum Kärnten for coaching, programmes and coworking; the KWF for vor.GRÜNDEN and the Start.F&E&I grant; the University of Klagenfurt; BABEG; and the federal aws Preseed and Seedfinancing programmes.

Is there a startup event in Klagenfurt?

BABEG's Carinthia innovates is set for 12 to 14 May 2027 at the Lakeside Science & Technology Park, with startup and corporate reverse pitching sessions. build! also runs founder talks and an idea competition; check its site for dates.

What happened to the startups on the old list?

HeartBeat.bio, infrared.city, flinn, fynk, VIPASO and DAIKI are Vienna companies, Arkeon's website is down, Sendance's domain is for sale, and we found no Klagenfurt base for Fermify or any trace of Mo Energy Systems.

Where can I get a backlink by writing about my startup?

You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
2026-11-08 21:08 Best Startups