How ABB’s SynerLeap brings together industry and startups
SynerLeap is ABB’s innovation growth hub that is designed to foster collaboration between startups, ABB, and its industrial and ecosystem partners. ABB is a global technology leader, operating in the electrification and automation fields, working to enable a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The aim of the hub is to help startups accelerate and expand in the global market together with ABB.
Speaking with Gaetana Sapienza, Managing Director, SynerLeap, she discusses how the hub helps startups, and why startups shouldn’t shy away from corporate-backed innovation programmes.
WHAT IS SYNERLEAP, AND WHAT IS IT TRYING TO ACHIEVE?
SynerLeap is ABB’s startup accelerator. We are a dynamic ecosystem designed to foster collaboration between startups, ABB, and its industrial and ecosystem partners. Our core objective is to provide concrete support for the growth and development of startups.
We recognise that ABB and startups have complementary capabilities and can help each other realise our strategic objectives. Startups bring new ideas and ways of working, while ABB contributes domain expertise, a global footprint, and established channels to market.
SynerLeap’s mission is to bridge the gap between these two worlds. We aim to remove barriers that typically hinder long-term engagement. By facilitating collaboration, we help startups scale their innovations and bring them to market more effectively. Combining startups’ new ideas with ABB’s technology leadership and global scale helps us deliver innovative solutions faster to customers.
HOW HAS SYNERLEAP EVOLVED?
Since its inception, SynerLeap’s vision has evolved significantly. Initially focused on Sweden, it expanded to the Nordics, but today we have welcomed around 240 startup companies and alumni from 26 countries. Since 2016, we have facilitated more than 260 collaborations globally.
Over the years, we have developed programmes for guiding startups and corporate engagement. We listen, we ask questions, we’ve been curious about the needs of startups, and we have created programmes and structure to address these needs.
The Startup Challenge programme is a concrete and well-proven mechanism of how we enable collaborations and create solid ground for building long-term partnerships.
We learn from each other. We are passionate about learning and put the learning in practice!
SYNERLEAP’S DIFFERENT PROGRAMMES
SynerLeap’s mission is to support the startups to accelerate through engagement with ABB and its partners. We have learnt that, depending on the stage of maturity, each startup has different needs. That is why we have developed several mechanisms to support the startup growth journey within SynerLeap.
We support with our Mentorship Programme with the objective to provide guidance, industry insights, and strategic advice to help startups navigate challenges and scale their businesses effectively within ABB.
We have a Startup Challenge Programme: this is a concrete and well-proven mechanism for enabling joint innovation between startups and ABB. The objective is to create a solid foundation for long-term partnerships by addressing specific technology challenges.
We have also developed a network of partners and senior advisors from large industrial players to boost startup acceleration.
WHAT QUALITIES OR CRITERIA DO YOU LOOK FOR IN THE STARTUPS YOU CHOOSE TO WORK WITH?
We look for startups with breakthrough technologies that complement ABB’s technologies to help solve some of our industries’ biggest challenges, with focus on the energy, digitalisation, and sustainability related ones.
Together, ABB and complementary startups can more quickly, and cost effectively, realise each other’s strategic objectives. To work successfully with a technology leader like ABB, it is important for the startup to demonstrate the use case for their technology and the value it can bring.
How novel is the solution? Is it cutting-edge? Is there potential to build something real – that partners can try out and use? Beyond the technology, we are looking for a strategic fit and team spirit.
Is there a big-picture mindset and is there a fit with the ABB culture? What’s the startup’s motivation and eagerness to impact the world in a more sustainable way?
A passionate, driven, and visionary team is crucial for successful collaboration and long-term growth.
HOW DOES SYNERLEAP HELP STARTUPS ACCELERATE AND EXPAND?
We provide a structured way for a startup to explore the relevance of their technology solution to ABB. We help them identify collaboration opportunities for growth and, where relevant, also engage in long-term partnership and investment opportunities.
We have developed proven programmes and mechanisms that can fast-track and accelerate these partnerships. A key example of our approach is our annual startup challenges.
These are competitions for startups to co-develop solutions for key global challenges such as energy and sustainability.
Our startup challenges are incredibly important. They identify talent, support collaboration, and then accelerate through to partnerships and potential investment.
As an example, ABB Electrification has launched eight solutions to market with startup challenge winners and finalists.
More than a quarter of the $80 million ABB Electrification has invested in startups since 2020 has been spent on solutions that we’ve identified and developed through our annual competitions.
WHY SHOULD STARTUPS GET INVOLVED?
From the SynerLeap perspective, there’s a range of benefits for startups.
They gain access to industry expertise, international visibility, and networking with senior leaders.
Startups gain experience of navigating complex and large organisations, as well as industry insights and expertise.
The startups also tell us about the intangible value of the credibility that comes with working alongside a global technology leader like ABB.
This enhances their reputation and trustworthiness, making it easier to attract investors, customers, and partners.
We are constantly evolving based on the needs of startups.
For example, we have opened our senior leadership development programme for selected startups. This initiative provides startups with access to our high-level leadership.
FOUNDERS MAY BE HESITANT TO ENGAGE WITH A CORPORATE-LED INNOVATION HUB. WHAT DOES SYNERLEAP HAVE TO SAY?
Consider the entire ecosystem of an innovation hub. Don’t expect set recipes, and be open to experimenting with various partners in the ecosystem.
You can benefit from exploring several opportunities in parallel. You can diversify your efforts and engage with different types of support from ABB, partners, and senior advisors to generate traction.
Embedding such a diverse range of experts is one of the reasons why SynerLeap’s ecosystem is different from other corporate innovation hubs. At SynerLeap, we bring our experience to supporting startups.
We offer guidance and mentoring to help in the development of a collaboration project or in the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) project. Our aim is to create long-term partnerships with our startup partners.
By leveraging our expertise, startups can navigate complex organisational structures, identify the right use-cases, and accelerate their decision-making processes.
ARE THERE ANY FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS THAT YOU HOPE TO OFFER STARTUPS WITHIN THE NEAR FUTURE?
We are constantly evolving based on the needs of startups. For example, we have opened our senior leadership development programme for selected startups. This initiative provides startups with access to our high-level leadership. We’ve also expanded our support and guidance to startups in areas outside of engineering.
This includes assistance with venturing into new markets, building high-performing teams, and developing robust business strategies. By addressing these critical areas, we can help equip startups with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed, outside the specifics of use-cases and engineering insights.
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2025 issue of Startups Magazine. Click here to subscribe
