After completing his degree in political economy at the University of Essex, Hornuf carried out research at Ifo Institute for Economic Research and the University of Munich, where he completed a PhD in economics. Visiting scholar stays at UC Berkeley, Stanford University, Duke University, House of Finance of the Goethe-University Frankfurt, and Georgetown University followed. In 2014, he was named assistant professor for economic analysis of law at the University of Trier. Since 2017, he has held a temporary professorship at the University of Bremen. He is currently an affiliated research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, as well as an affiliate member of the CESifo Research Network. His work focusses on start-up and company financing, economic analysis of law, and experimental economic research.