Lukas Madl

Lukas Madl is a technology-transfer specialist at tecnet equity, the technology-investment company of the Austrian state of Lower Austria (founded 2002, headquartered in St. Pölten). He holds a degree in Genetics from the University of Vienna, pursued additional study in Geoinformatics while working, and has taken theology coursework in Vienna — a reflection of his stated interest in innovation ethics. He is certified as a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP).

His career spans research, public-sector, and industry roles. He began in clinical research at a major pharmaceutical company, then moved into product management, quality control, and customer support at a robotics-automation startup. At the Austrian Research Centers (Seibersdorf, now part of AIT), he handled international R&D cooperation and business development for satellite/earth-observation data products. He has also served as an external expert evaluating research and innovation projects for the European Commission.

At tecnet equity, Madl built and runs the "research-to-value" (r2v) program, which trains scientists and startup teams in open innovation, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property. His day-to-day work bridges research and market: advising scientists and researchers, assessing patents and technologies, developing innovation strategies, identifying applications and business partners, and negotiating licensing agreements. tecnet works closely with research organizations including the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences), and the tribology competence center AC2T.

Madl describes tecnet's approach with the metaphor of "invention gardeners," tending young seedlings from research labs until they ripen into fruitful innovations, and he is particularly focused on innovation ethics — asking "what progress is truly good progress."

• Invests as part of tecnet equity in seed and early-stage deep-tech and research-based companies, especially those emerging from Austrian universities and research institutes.
• Sector breadth: ICT/software/AI, life sciences and biotech, industrial and material sciences, and environmental/climate technologies.
• Check profile: a fixed €50,000 SAFE convertible for very early (pre-first-seed) startups, scaling to seed rounds averaging roughly €2M and follow-on Series A participation.
• Regional mandate: a bridge "between research and market," with a clear preference for companies located in or willing to build in Lower Austria.
• What makes them say yes: strong underlying IP/technology, a credible path from lab invention to a market-ready product or business model, and founders open to structured support on entrepreneurship, IP, and open innovation.