LOEWE Funding for Two TU Darmstadt Start-ups: Cybersecurity and Drug Discovery “Made in Hessen”
Two innovative spin-offs from TU Darmstadt have received substantial funding under the LOEWE funding line 3 of the State of Hesse: SANCTUARY Systems GmbH and Deep LS GmbH are working in close collaboration with Hessian universities to develop groundbreaking solutions in the fields of cybersecurity and drug discovery – a strong signal of the economic innovation potential emerging from academia.
SANCTUARY Systems, a spin-off from the Department of Computer Science, has been granted €482,500 for the project “PlantProtect”, developed in partnership with the University of Kassel. The goal is to create an AI-based solution for detecting and preventing cyberattacks in the process industry. This collaboration stands as a prime example of successful technology transfer from research to entrepreneurship.
Deep LS GmbH, based in Limburg, is developing the project “KISWI – AI-supported structure-based drug development” together with TU Darmstadt. Its generative AI platform GeneSys enables researchers to design novel molecules virtually, tailored to specific target proteins. A key scientific contribution to this project stems from the LOEWE research cluster TRABITA, led by Prof. Dr. Felix Hausch at the Department of Chemistry, TU Darmstadt, where new pharmacological targets – especially the protein FKBP51 – have been investigated.
Both projects demonstrate how TU Darmstadt’s strong research networks form the foundation for market-relevant high-tech innovations – ranging from digital resilience in industrial environments to AI-enabled drug discovery.
TU Darmstadt congratulates both spin-offs on reaching these important milestones.