The next 10 years will bring more change than the previous 100 years

The manufacturing industry is an important sector for Austria and therefore an integral part of ViennaUP’23. For the third time, the “Manufacturing Day” brought important representatives of the industry to the stage in Vienna.

This year, the Manufacturing Day was again held in Vienna as part of the ViennaUP’23. The third version of the EIT Manufacturing ecosystem event once again provided a platform for the network of the European manufacturing industry. The aim was not only to promote the domestic industry, but also to bring international players from the sector to Vienna. Under the theme “Green is the new black – From Smokestacks to Sustainability”, more than 200 people came to the Austrian capital for panel discussions, matchmaking and keynotes. 

Three revolutions for the manufacturing industry

Two particular highlights were the two keynotes by futurist Gerd Leonhard and economist Mariana Mazzucato. In his opening keynote, Leonhard presented the thesis that the next ten years will bring more changes than the past 100 years. The reason for this, he said, are the three revolutions that are currently advancing: The digital revolution, the sustainability revolution and the purpose revolution. These revolutions do not only affect society, but also specifically the manufacturing sector. “Especially the further development of manufacturing technologies will move into this direction. Sustainability is the biggest factor here,” Leonhard says in the interview.

Gerd Leonhard

Innovation as important driver for the green transformation of the manufacturing sector

Mariana Mazzucato virtually joined the event for her keynote at Manufacturing Day 2023. She spoke about the green transformation of the manufacturing industry, how innovation needs to be encouraged and promoted, and how the collaboration between the private and the public sector needs to be designed to achieve this goal. Directly after her own speech, Mazzucato joined the panel discussion with Michael Friedl (Advantage Austria) and Werner Wutscher (New Venture Scouting).

Mariana Mazzucato, Michael Friedl, Wener Wutscher, Johannes Hunschofsky

Innovative startups pitch for cash prizes and business support

A total of nine international startups from the manufacturing industry presented themselves on the Manufacturing Day stage and competed in front on an expert jury in the BoostUp! East 2023 pitching competition. In addition to cash prizes, the Vienna Business Agency also sponsored a special award for the startup with the most sustainable solution. The winners of the competition were also awarded business support and mentoring, receiving coaching in business development and networking with other companies for a few months.

We proudly present to you the winners of BoostUp! East 2023: 

• 1st Place: 7LYTIX
• 2nd Place: Inovec Technology
• 3rd Place: Holloid
• Special award for the most sustainable solution by the Vienna Business Agency: Holloid

Other participating startups:

• 24VISION
• CYRKL
• Mainware
• Multivative
• Plasmics
• Sensoneo

At the same time, the Discover Vienna: Manufacturing Edition 2023 programme took place in the first week of ViennaUP’23. This programme of EIT Manufacturing East and the Vienna Business Agency aims to bring international startups to Vienna to connect them with the local ecosystem. During the course of one week, 14 startups were introduced to corporates and participated in networking events like Connect Day and Manufacturing Day.