Every successful startup begins with an idea. Dozens of them come up at TUKE every year, and the job of USP TECHNICOM is to help the most promising ones take the next step, turning the first thought into a viable business project.

About 20 new ideas enter the startup activities of USP TECHNICOM every year, and the 10 to 12 teams with the highest potential get more intensive support on the way from an idea to a startup. Through Startup center TUKE and the ignio acceleration program the teams can develop their business model, work with experienced mentors, consult technological and business questions and prepare their project for the next stages of growth.

An important part of the program is not the idea alone, but above all testing it step by step and the ability of the team to keep moving it forward. During the program startups work on their product or service, get to know what customers need, develop their business model and learn to present their project to potential partners, investors and the professional public.

Startup Spotlight 2026

Startup Spotlight 2026 is a good example. In June 2026 it closed the 20th round of the ignio acceleration program. Eight startup teams presented their progress, results and plans for further growth to an expert jury at USP TECHNICOM. The event also included the stories of OWASmooth and NightSun, graduates of earlier rounds of the program, which showed the way on from the first idea towards a real business.

Behind the individual teams there is a wider ecosystem of mentors, experts, partners and workplaces of TUKE. Connecting them is what lets startups gain not only business know-how, but also, according to their needs, access to expert knowledge, technologies, research capacities and contacts.

USP TECHNICOM creates an environment in which new ideas do not stay just ideas. They get space, expert support and the contacts they need to turn step by step into real startup projects.