The Unite! soft-landing services have already celebrated their first successes with the German startup AutonomIQ and the Finnish start-up Taru Tech — demonstrating the concrete opportunities the programme creates for ambitious ventures looking to scale internationally.
Erkut Sarikaya, CEO and Co-Founder of the Darmstadt-based software start-up AutonomIQ, described their visit to TU Graz in December 2025 as a great success. During their stay, the company had the opportunity to present at the Tech Startup Forum 2025, a matchmaking event bringing together selected representatives from the local start-up ecosystem, researchers, regional companies and investors.
“The visit to Graz was highly relevant for us, as we are aiming to enter the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) market, with Austria being one of our key target markets. The support provided by the Unite! soft-landing services in identifying relevant contacts and potential partners was extremely valuable,” shares Erkut Sarikaya.
The personal exchange with the regional innovation ecosystem led to the identification of promising initial synergies — particularly with two manufacturing companies and with the TU Graz spin-off MUST Visibility FlexCo.
“Meeting AutonomIQ at the Tech Startup Forum in Graz was a fantastic opportunity for us. Since both our start-ups focus on AI-driven optimisation of manufacturing processes, the technical and strategic synergies were immediately clear. We are excited to showcase our solutions together at the upcoming Intertool trade fair in Wels, Austria — a key hub for manufacturing market leaders.Thanks to the Unite! soft-landing services, we are actively exploring further possibilities for European-wide collaboration,” explains Muaaz ABDUL HADI and Stefan Trabesinger, founders of the TU Graz spin-off MUST Visibility FlexCo.
You can watch AutonomIQ's testimonial video at the bottom of this page.
Taru Tech is a Finnish startup providing an AI-driven playtesting platform for the gaming industry that simulates diverse, human-like player behaviour.
CEO Emil Bulut and CTO Arsham Soltani spent ten days in Stockholm in February 2026, hosted by KTH Innovation, which supported them in connecting with researchers, industry professionals, potential investors and members of the start-up community. The company participated in Techarena, Scandinavia’s largest tech and business event, as well as Innovation Collide, organised by KTH Innovation and bringing together Stockholm’s innovation ecosystem.
“During the visit, we connected with a major Nordic venture capital firms. The discussions sparked strong interest, with several representatives keen to learn more and a follow-up meeting already scheduled with a partner. We also met a Microsoft game researcher and connected with AI researchers from KTH, and we plan to continue the discussions with follow-up meetings after the visit,” says Emil Bulut.
Stefan Vorbach, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at TU Graz, is confident about the future of the initiative: “The new Unite! services bring together players from European spin-offs and start-ups, as well as industry and investors. Through our active role in the network, we are building bridges to European innovation regions and opening up new opportunities for our local founders.”
Watch the Taru Tech testimonial video below.
Unite! soft-landing services support startups in expanding into new European markets by offering direct access to local innovation ecosystems, tailored matchmaking with industry and research partners, and hands-on support at Unite! universities across Europe.
Read more about Unite! for students, faculty and staff.
