Privacy Policy

Who is responsible for data processing and whom can you contact?

The entity responsible for data processing is:
Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH
Rechte Wienzeile 225, 1120 Vienna
Austria
E-Mail: office@aws.at

If you have concerns related to the processing of your personal data or want to exercise your rights:

Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH
Attn. Data Protection Officer
Rechte Wienzeile 225, 1120 Vienna
E-Mail: datenschutz@aws.at

The online communication platform aws Connect (“the platform”), through which registered users can get in touch and communicate with each other according to the platform’s terms of use, is provided by Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (“aws”) as a service provider pursuant to Section 16 of the E-Commerce Act.
This privacy policy informs you about the processing of your personal data by aws and your related rights.

It is important to us to adequately protect your personal data. Therefore, we comply with applicable legal provisions on the protection, lawful handling and confidentiality of personal data, as well as data security, in particular the Austrian Data Protection Act ("DSG"), the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), and the Telecommunications Act ("TKG").

For what purposes are the data processed?

We collect, store, and process your data, which you provide to us, to enable you to access and use the platform.

Which data are processed and from which sources do these data originate?

General profile data

Regarding start-ups, we process your profile data such as company name, description (free text), stage, legal form, registered office, as well as industry, number of employees, date of incorporation (month), and in addition, the name and email of the contact person. Optionally, you may provide: company website URL; in addition, the position, phone number, and LinkedIn page of the contact person.

Regarding investors, we process your profile data such as name, description (free text), classification of the investor, location, as well as name and email of the contact person. Optionally, you may provide: website URL; in addition, the position, phone number, and LinkedIn page of the contact person.

Regarding corporates / SMEs, we process your profile data such as company name & industry, as well as the name and email of the contact person.

Personal data you enter in the messenger are stored by us but cannot be automatically read out.

Program-related data

aws Industry-Startup.Net

If you are a start-up, we additionally process, besides the general profile data, your pitch deck, details in the Industry-Startup.Net questionnaire about your cooperation needs and, if applicable, revenues and capital requirements for potential investments.

If you are a corporate / SME, we additionally process, besides the general profile data, information in the Industry-Startup.Net questionnaire about your cooperation opportunities with start-ups, your search fields for cooperation, as well as data on your plans for a potential financial investment.

aws i2 Business Angels

If you are a start-up, we additionally process, besides the general profile data mentioned, your business plan or pitch deck.

If you are an investor, we process the general profile data mentioned on the platform as well as your information about your investment focus (thematic focus, preferred investment amount, preferred investment form, preferred company stage).

Global Incubator Network Austria

If you are a start-up, we additionally process, besides the general profile data mentioned, your pitch deck as well as, if applicable, information on previous financing and possible first customers (“traction”) and your capital requirements.

aws AI Marketplace

If you are an AI provider, we additionally process, besides the general profile data mentioned, information about your industry, technologies, products, use cases, and customer references (company names).

If you are an AI user, we additionally process, besides the general profile data, information on AI knowledge, data usage, planned projects, and areas of application.

As part of AI challenges, for publishing AI users we process the information provided in the challenge form regarding the problem, requirements, deadlines, results, and contact data. For submitting AI providers, we process the solution proposal including description, AI reference, references, and contact data. The data are used for carrying out the challenge and forwarded to the publishing users.

Events

When registering for an event related to the above-mentioned programs, we process your name, email address, type of organization, organization name, and position. The personal data are collected through a registration form to be completed by the data subject. For organizing the respective event, these personal data are electronically processed and, if necessary, forwarded to cooperation partners for organizing the respective event. The privacy policy published on the respective event page applies for events.

Calls

When conducting calls for the programs mentioned above, we process name, email address, type of organization, organization name, and position, your answers to application-relevant questions, and your pitch deck. The personal data are collected through an application form to be completed by the data subject. For carrying out the respective call, these personal data are electronically processed and, if necessary, forwarded to cooperation partners for conducting the respective call.

On what legal basis are the data processed?

We process your data on the following basis:

To fulfill contractual obligations (Art. 6 para 1 lit b GDPR) - Processing your data is necessary to provide the platform’s offered services.
To fulfill various legal and other statutory obligations to which aws is subject (Art 6 para 1 lit c GDPR) – pursuant to Section 2 para 1 Austria Wirtschaftsservice Act: provision of other financial and advisory services in the public interest to support the economy.
Within the framework of your consent (Art. 6 para 1 lit a GDPR) - Provision of information through our newsletter, registration for an event, sending aws product information, advertising, and public relations.

Who receives the data?

We will not pass on your personal data collected on the basis of your use of the website to third parties, unless this is necessary to fulfill our obligations or legally/officially required.

aws may be obliged under the Freedom of Information Act (IFG) to proactively publish information of general interest within the meaning of Section 2 (2) IFG and/or to make information accessible upon request within the meaning of Section 2 (1) IFG. Such disclosed or accessible information may also contain personal data. Disclosure is not required if there are overriding reasons of confidentiality, particularly in the case of the network programs aws Industry-Startup.Net, aws i2 Business Angels, aws AI Marketplace (except for published profiles), or Global Incubator Network Austria.

Your personal data will also be processed on our behalf by our service providers (processors). These processors are in particular providers of marketing tools, IT service providers, providers of other tools and software solutions, IT maintenance services, and other providers of similar services. All our processors process your data only on our behalf and based on our instructions for the purposes described above.

How long will the data be stored?

Profile data

You can delete your profile and thus your data at any time without giving reasons. If you are not registered for any of the services available on aws Connect, we delete your profile data (= company data) if you as a company do not use the platform for 1 (one) year or as an investor or corporate for 3 (three) years, i.e., no login occurs during this period.

Program-related data

aws Industry-Startup.Net: We delete your program-related data if, after termination of participation according to the GTCs, you do not use the platform for 3 (three) years, i.e., no login occurs during this period.
aws i2 Business Angels: We delete your program-related data if, after termination of participation according to the GTCs, you do not use the platform for 3 (three) years, i.e., no login occurs during this period.
Global Incubator Network Austria: We delete your data if, as a company, after completion of the GO ASIA internationalization program trip, you do not use the platform for 3 (three) years, i.e., no login occurs during this period.
aws AI Marketplace: We delete your program-related data if, after termination of participation according to the GTCs, you do not use the platform for 3 (three) years, i.e., no login occurs during this period.
AI Challenges: We delete your program-related data in accordance with the GTCs no later than 3 (three) years after completion of the challenge.

Which data do we collect from visitors and users of our website?

When using the website – if you do not register – we collect, gather, and store the following data:

IP address
Referrer URL (the previously and subsequently visited website)
Number, duration, and time of visits (your interaction with the website)
Search engines and keywords you used to find us
Browser type, device type, screen resolution, Internet service provider, and operating system

We collect these so-called log files (access data) automatically using cookies.

Does the website use cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your computer that serve to recognize the user and their settings. We use cookies to optimize the content of the website and improve its usability.

A detailed prior information about the use of individual cookies (type, functional duration, and any access by third parties) as well as your consent before the start of data use (“opt-in”) is provided via the cookie banner on our website. Your consent can be changed or revoked at any time via this cookie banner. Consent for storing cookies is not required if these cookies are absolutely necessary for providing offered content or services.

Matomo

Our website uses Matomo, an open-source web analytics software application for statistical evaluation of user access. Matomo uses cookies. The information generated by the use of this website (cookies) is transmitted to the aws web server and stored for usage analysis purposes. We anonymize the IP address before processing and storage. You can prevent the installation of cookies at any time by setting your web browser software accordingly. Furthermore, you have the option to prevent actions you take on the website from being analyzed and linked.

More information about Matomo can be found at www.matomo.org (external website, opens in a new tab)

aws Newsletter and aws Connect customer communication

Based on your consent to receive our newsletter, we will use the personal data you voluntarily provide (salutation, title, first name, last name, email address) to send our newsletter by email. You can revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future (e.g., via the unsubscribe link in each newsletter or by email to datenschutz@aws.at). After a revocation, no further data will be collected and the email address will be deleted from the distribution list. We use the newsletter software of eyepin GmbH, Billrothstraße 52, 1190 Vienna, Austria.

We also use Eyepin to carry out aws Connect customer communication for the fulfillment of our services. For this purpose, all personal data (salutation, title, first name, last name, email address) and company-related data (information on search fields, industries, cooperation and investment interests, as well as the company name) are electronically stored and processed in Eyepin.

Emails sent via eyepin GmbH’s software contain so-called tracking pixels. A tracking pixel is a miniature graphic embedded in such emails, which are sent in HTML format, to enable log file recording and log file analysis. This allows statistical evaluation of the success or failure of online communication. Using the embedded tracking pixel, eyepin GmbH can detect whether and when an email was opened by a data subject. Furthermore, tracking records which links contained in the email were clicked by the data subject.

Such personal data collected via the tracking pixels in newsletters and customer communication emails are stored and evaluated by us in order to optimize the sending of information and to better adapt the content of future online communication measures to the interests of the data subject. These personal data are not passed on to third parties.

Data subjects are entitled at any time to revoke the separate consent given through the double opt-in procedure by unsubscribing from receiving the newsletter. Customer communication remains unaffected by this.

More information about Eyepin can be found at www.eyepin.com (external website, opens in a new tab)

Contact

If you contact us via the contact form on our website, by email, telephone, or fax, we will store your provided personal data (such as email, name, telephone number, fax number, as well as your inquiry and possibly the associated documents) and process them exclusively for the purpose of handling your inquiry. In our contact form it is indicated which data are mandatory and which may be provided voluntarily.

How do we protect your data?

We comply with the provisions of Article 32 GDPR by taking appropriate technical and organizational security measures and doing our utmost to ensure the confidentiality and security of your personal data.

What data protection rights do data subjects have?

Access, rectification, deletion: Data subjects have the right to (i) request confirmation from aws as to whether personal data concerning them are being processed, and if so, to obtain information about them, (ii) request the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning them, and (iii) under certain conditions, request the deletion of personal data concerning them.
Objection: Furthermore, data subjects have the right to object to the processing of their personal data. In the event of such an objection, aws will no longer process the data unless (i) it can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing that override the interests, rights, and freedoms of the data subject, or (ii) the processing serves the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.
Restriction of processing: Data subjects are also entitled to request restriction of processing from aws if (i) they contest the accuracy of the data concerning them, for a period enabling aws to verify the accuracy, (ii) the processing is unlawful and they oppose deletion and instead request restriction, (iii) aws no longer needs their personal data for processing purposes, but they require the data for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims, or (iv) they have objected to processing and the decision on the underlying aspects is pending.
Portability: Furthermore, under certain conditions, data subjects may request to receive the personal data concerning them that they have provided to aws and instruct aws to transmit these data directly to a third party.
Exercising your rights: To exercise these rights, please contact the data protection officer in writing. Of course, the data protection officer is also available at any time for other inquiries regarding the use and security of your data. If you believe that aws is using your data unlawfully, you can also file a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority.

Final provision

As part of ongoing development, aws will continue to adapt this privacy policy. Therefore, you should regularly access this statement and inform yourself about the current version.