Spin‑outs Denmark enters new five‑year phase with close to DKK 115 million in funding

Villum Foundation and Innovation Fund Denmark are backing Spin‑outs Denmark 2.0 to boost research‑based entrepreneurship.

Since its launch in 2021, Spin‑outs Denmark has supported early‑career researchers in transforming strong research and ideas into solutions and products with real societal impact. The programme is coordinated by the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in collaboration with all eight Danish universities and has so far been funded by the Villum Foundation through a five‑year grant of DKK 75 million.

Building on the experience and results from its first years, Spin‑outs Denmark now enters a new five‑year phase. With Villum Foundation and Innovation Fund Denmark as joint funders, the programme expands its scope and scale to support more researchers and strengthen the pathways from research to new companies.

Spin‑outs Denmark 2.0 will be supported by DKK 42 million from Villum Foundation, up to DKK 46 million from Innovation Fund Denmark through the Innoexplorer programme, and a further DKK 26 million from a consortium of Denmark’s eight universities.

In total, up to 82 grants will be made available to early‑career researchers, with 41 pre‑allocated by Villum Foundation and up to 41 awarded by Innovation Fund Denmark through open calls.

- Spin‑outs Denmark was created to support early‑career researchers who combine a clear idea rooted in excellent research with the courage to turn their research into entrepreneurial and commercial ventures. With the new funding, we can build on the experience gained in the first years and strengthen our efforts to develop the next generation of research‑based entrepreneurs, says Søren E. Frandsen, chairman of the steering committee of Spin-outs Denmark.

Strong results

Since the launch in 2021, the impact of Spin‑outs Denmark has become increasingly evident.

Of the 55 grants awarded to researchers at Danish universities, 20 researchers have established a company based on their idea and research. These companies have to date raised more than DKK 42 million in investments and hard capital and up to DKK 140 million in soft funding.

But numbers are one thing. Another important part is the collaboration and culture established across all eight Danish universities, supporting the development of more spin‑outs.

- From the beginning, our ambition with Spin‑outs Denmark has been to inspire leading researchers to translate their research into growth and entrepreneurship. The programme has demonstrated how much can be achieved through strong collaboration across universities and a shared commitment to activating the creative potential of researchers with outstanding ideas. We now look forward to building on this success together with Innovation Fund Denmark and the universities, with the ambition of bringing more excellent research into use in society, says Thomas Bjørnholm, Chief Scientific Officer at Villum Foundation.

The next chapter

With the addition of Innovation Fund Denmark, Spin‑outs Denmark is scaling both in scope and ambition. Alongside an increased number of grants, the programme will add strong expertise in early‑stage commercialisation, with Innovation Fund Denmark awarding its grants through the Innoexplorer programme.

- Through this collaboration, we strengthen the link between strong research and direct societal impact. The interaction with Spin‑outs Denmark gives more researchers the opportunity to develop the entrepreneurial skills that can be crucial for advancing their research. The aim is to increase the impact of the foundation’s investments and contribute to the creation of more research‑based companies that generate value for society, says the CEO of Innovation Fund Denmark

Spin‑outs Denmark 2.0 will also aim to contribute to a more balanced and inclusive innovation ecosystem by addressing the lack of female research‑based entrepreneurs. This includes a dedicated focus on barriers in how ideas are pitched, assessed, and funded.

- There is a clear untapped potential in terms of promoting female entrepreneurship in Denmark. This is something we need to work on more systematically going forward, says Søren E. Frandsen.

Spin‑outs Denmark continues as a collaboration between all eight Danish universities, with the new grants running until 2031.

Spin-outs Denmark by the numbers

• 55 one-year postdoc grants have been given to researchers from the eight Danish universities
• So far, 20 of the researchers have established a company based on their idea and research which together have attracted approximately DKK 180 million in funding and investments for the further development of their companies.
• In May 2025, the programme received the ASTP European Impact of the Year Award at the ASTP Annual Conference in Vilnius
• With new funding of up to DKK 115 million kroner from the Villum Foundation, Innovation Fund Denmark, and a consortium of Denmark’s eight universities, the amount of postdoc grants is scaled up by around 50 per cent

Caption: Hitesh Kumar Sahoo (far right) from DTU is one of the 55 researchers who have received a grant through Spin-outs Denmark. He is the CEO and co-founder of Phanofi, which develops technology that can reduce energy consumption in data centers by ten percent – a plug-and-play solution that any data center can use. The company currently employs ten people. As co-founder of Phanofi, Hitesh Kumar Sahoo became the first grant recipient from Spin-outs Denmark to establish a company.