Wirtschaftsagentur Wien

Investment strategy and operational oversight are managed by the dual leadership of Dominic Weiss and Manfred Juraczka, serving as Co-Managing Directors. The agency's President, City Councilor Barbara Novak, provides political and strategic governance on behalf of the City of Vienna. Decisions on large equity stakes and real estate development projects require board-level approval from representatives of the city government and the Chamber of Commerce.

It is neither. It functions as a specialized municipal investment agency, capitalized and owned by the City of Vienna. Its governance and funding structure most closely resemble a sub-sovereign development bank — similar in posture to a regionally owned version of Singapore's investment vehicles — but with an explicit mandate to support the local innovation economy alongside generating financial returns.

Sourcing is deeply embedded in Vienna's university and research ecosystems. The agency operates science parks and technology centers — including the Life Science Center Vienna and the Quantum Technology Center — that function as both real estate assets and deal-flow engines. Its grant programs surface early-stage companies at pre-seed and seed stages, creating a visibly proprietary pipeline before external venture investors arrive.

The agency directly owns and operates a portfolio of commercial and mixed-use properties across Vienna, including the TECHBASE Science Park, the Life Science Center Vienna, the Quantum Technology Center Vienna, STAR22, and facilities in Seestadt Aspern. These assets are primarily leased to technology and life-science tenants, aligning real estate returns with its sector investment strategy.

Its typical posture is to lead or anchor rounds where private co-investors are scarce, particularly for deep-tech and life-science startups emerging from local universities. The agency can and does syndicate with external venture capital firms, but its public-policy mandate means it often de-risks deals that purely commercial funds would find too early or too capital-intensive for Vienna's modest VC market.

The Vienna Chamber of Commerce (Wirtschaftskammer Wien) is a co-founder of the agency and a permanent strategic partner in its governance. The chamber's involvement dates to the agency's 1982 founding and ensures that investment programs align with the needs of Vienna's broader business community, particularly industrial and manufacturing SMEs.

The Vienna Planet Fund is a climate-focused initiative administered by the agency. It provides targeted grants and financing to projects and companies working on climate adaptation, circular-economy models, and emissions reduction — extending the agency's investment reach into areas where purely commercial returns are unlikely but civic benefit is high.