Organic nanostructures can be utilized in electronics devices such as microchips or in next-generation quantum computers. Lately, it was discovered that these functional nanostructures can be built very successfully on surfaces, a strategy denoted as “on-surface synthesis”. However, in contrast to the well-established solution-based synthesis, which has been applied for over 200 years, on-surface synthesis is still in its infancy. The objective of the LOEWE focus group is to develop fundamental strategies of on-surface synthesis and to provide a toolset for this new method.