Weekly Wrap-up: Our Topics in Week 38

Science and industry are to be integrated even more closely. To this end, the President of Humboldt University of Berlin, Prof. Dr Julia von Blumenthal, and the President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), Sebastian Stietzel, signed a cooperation agreement on 16 September. One example of this collaboration is the new AI-based platform PatentPlus, which HU has developed with the support of the IHK. With PatentPlus, the university is, for the first time, making its entire patent portfolio publicly available as a searchable technology offering, thereby closing one of the key gaps in knowledge transfer. The platform enables companies and investors to search specifically for licensable technologies or research partnerships. Read the full press release here: Cooperation agreement signed between Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry | Humboldt Innovation

The gender health data gap is a major problem that results in many ‘female’ health conditions going undiagnosed or being inadequately treated. Batch IV of the Berlin Start-up Grant is now set to comprise start-ups that tackle this problem. Start-ups developing technologies to close the health data gap can apply for the grant until 4 November 2026. Further information is available here: Science & Startups

Der Beitrag Week 38: Cooperation Agreement between HU and Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, BSS Batch with Focus on FemTech erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Last week, 11 start-up teams pitched their solutions in the field of critical infrastructure resilience to a select panel of judges at the Startup-Villa in Dahlem, competing for the Berlin Start-up Grant. On 1 October 2026, the teams chosen by the expert panel – comprising Kathrin Lahme (Marienpark Berlin), Constanze Kettlitz-Profe (T-Labs & hubraum), Patrick Theuer (Deutsche Bahn), Christian Segal (Berliner Sparkasse), Philipp Heinicke and Ole Senkbeil (both from Science & Startups), will launch as Batch III of the Berlin Start-up Grant and receive support through the programme for 12 months.

At the final of the Berlin-Brandenburg Business Plan Competition 2026, five of the ten finalist teams came from the Science & Startups network and impressed the judging panel. Among them was the HU start-up and upcycling company recreategoods, founded by former EXIST Women fellow Stephanie Pupke-Bertram, which was recognised for making it into the competition’s top 10.

Der Beitrag Week 34: Pitching for a Berlin Start-Up Grant, HU Start-Up honoured at Business Plan Competition erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

In 2025, Science & Startups was ranked 19th; in 2026, it has secured 12th place in the Financial Times, Statista and Sifted ranking of Europe’s leading start-up hubs. This rapid rise is a special honour, as it is based, amongst other things, on the honest assessments of the founders who got their start at Science & Startups. Perhaps Berlin’s start-up hub will climb a few more places in 2027 – and you can help make that happen by taking part in the current survey: Start_UP_Hubs_Alumni

From 10 August to 5 October 2026, researchers and small and medium-sized enterprises based in Berlin can once again apply for the ProValid funding programme with their projects. Projects must still be in their early stages and therefore not yet ready for the market. Funding is available for validation activities such as technical feasibility studies, prototype development or market potential analyses. ProValid was launched to bridge the funding gap between research and commercial application. The programme is commissioned by the State of Berlin and administered by IBB Business Team GmbH. Apply now: ProValid Forschungsförderung | IBB Business Team GmbH

Health-tech start-up Noah Labs is a finalist in the Falling Walls Venture 2026 competition, making it one of 25 companies selected from 370 entries from 60 countries. On 6 November, the team will take to the stage at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin to deliver their pitch, entitled “Breaking the Wall of Heart Failure”, and compete for the Science Breakthrough of the Year 2026 award. The Falling Walls Foundation is the patron of the event and brings together science, business and society to create forward-looking impact. Tickets for the summit are available at: Attendees 2026 | Falling Walls

Der Beitrag Weeks 32 & 33: Science & Startups ranks 12th in List of Europe’s Leading Start-Up Hubs, ProValid moves into its Second Round, News from Noah Labs erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

From June 9 to 11, 2026, Berlin hosted Europe’s International Life Science & AI Festival, bio:cap, attended by AI NATION, Science & Startups, JUNI, and the Berlin University Alliance. HI Managing Director Volker Hofmann was also present at the joint booth, welcoming Federal Minister Dorothee Bär. The mission behind bio:cap? Bringing groundbreaking science together with funding to help mere ideas unfold their full impact.

The Berlin Senate has approved a strategic roadmap for Berlin’s research landscape up to 2040. The strategy focuses on pooling resources rather than spreading them too thin. Furthermore, Berlin aims to become Europe’s premier destination for researchers, as well as a leading global hub for excellent research, innovation, and social impact. There is particularly good news for the transfer and innovation sectors, both of which are core components of the strategy. Our central innovation units—Science & Startups, JUNI, and AI NATION—are also firmly integrated into the plan.

Der Beitrag Week 24: Incubators at bio:cap 2026, Berlin’s New Research Policy erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Alan Akbik, Professor of Machine Learning at HU, was a guest speaker at the Humboldt-Universitäts-Gesellschaft event “Quo Vadis German AI: How Machines Learn Language Efficiently?”, which took place on May 11, 2026, in the Emil Fischer Lecture Hall. In his presentation, Akbik focused on how language models work and the reasons behind their massive resource intensity. Consequently, developing such systems has so far been feasible mainly for large tech companies from the US and China. With “BOLDT”, a language model developed at HU, Akbik presented an alternative that requires significantly fewer model parameters. He demonstrated live that it nevertheless remains highly capable. After the talk, guests had the opportunity to ask questions and concluded the evening networking over finger food and drinks.

In mid-May 2026, a delegation consisting of representatives from German innovation hubs, including Katharina Heinrich from Science & Startups, visited the most important research and innovation institutes in São Paulo. They also participated as panelists in the talk “From Science to Startup: Ecosystem Perspectives from Brazil and Germany,” which took place as part of São Paulo Innovation Week. Their discussion revolved around what is institutionally and culturally required to transform scientific research into a successful business. From various perspectives, the panelists shed light on the topic and compared the ecosystems in Germany and Brazil. The discussion showed that cooperation between the two countries in the field of science-based innovation is a high priority. The meeting of German and Brazilian stakeholders was made possible by the German Centre for Research and Innovation (DWIH) São Paulo, which had organized the trip. The Federal Foreign Office founded the DWIH in 2012. It is now part of the network of German Science and Innovation Houses, which is coordinated by the DAAD.

Der Beitrag Week 20: Prof. Akbik as a Speaker at HUG, German Delegation at DWIH São Paulo erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Last week, 400 guests from Berlin’s scientific and industrial sectors gathered to celebrate the Berlin University Alliance’s spring festival. The event took place at the Academy of Arts at Pariser Platz, overlooking the Brandenburger Tor.

During the event, BUA spokesperson and President of Freie Universität Berlin, Prof. Dr. Günter Ziegler, cited key praise from the Excellence Strategy’s expert panel evaluation. The panel views the BUA as a compelling model for an integrated research environment—one that is unique in scale within the German university landscape. According to the assessment, the alliance collaborates closely internally and possesses enormous transformative potential, which must now be fully realized.

A jury of investors and industry experts from Hello Tomorrow has selected the HU-startup Shit2Power as one of 100 “Deep Tech Startups to Watch” in 2026, chosen from a pool of 4,800 applicants due to its immense potential.

This recognition grants Shit2Power the opportunity to pitch at the Hello Tomorrow Summit in Amsterdam. There, they will deliver a live pitch to a high-profile audience of over 3,500 deep-tech investors, entrepreneurs, and more than 60 government delegations, competing for a grand prize of €100,000.

Making business processes more efficient, tracking the impact of innovations in real time, and intervening immediately when problems arise? It sounds promising, and thanks to Noreja’s platform—based on Artificial Intelligence and Process Mining—it is actually possible.

The innovative spirit of the founders, including Prof. Dr. Jan Mendling, HU Professor of Computer Science, has now been rewarded: the company closed its latest financing round with a staggering €1.1 million. Noreja intends to use this newly acquired capital to expand its software and establish itself as one of the leading platforms in the field of Generative Process Intelligence.

For more information, check out the latest article in our Newscorner.

Der Beitrag Week 17: BUA’s Spring Festival, Celebrating our Startup Successes erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

The AI NATION ACCELERATOR Spring 2026 batch is set! We are delighted to welcome 15 startups, consisting of familiar faces from the AI NATION GRANT or THE POOL, as well as brand-new talent from all over Germany. On Wednesday, April 15, the teams will come together for the Welcome Days to kick off the new batch.

In 2023, Nina Heine and Fabian Habicht founded their company, Shit2Power, with the support of the EXIST and Berlin Startup scholarships. Their innovative idea? Generating energy from sewage sludge – traditionally a waste product – and using it to treat wastewater. By utilizing this recovered energy, wastewater treatment plants can increase their output of purified freshwater in a cost-effective and climate-neutral way.

The startup has already received several awards for this remarkable project, but now founder Nina Heine is being bestowed a very special honor: in 2026, she is one of three finalists at the German Startup Awards in the “Founder of the Year” category. She successfully stood out against more than 400 other nominees. The award ceremony will take place on May 21, 2026, at the Palais am Funkturm in Berlin. We’re crossing our fingers!

Deep Tech Momentum brings together founders, investors, corporates, and policymakers who are actively working to transfer deep tech from science into real-world applications. Science & Startups will also be part of the event this year to network with science-based founders, early-stage teams, investors, and entrepreneurs, while providing insights into the ecosystem of the joint startup service of Berlin’s major universities. The event will take place over two days, from May 20–21, 2026, at Wilhelm Studios in Berlin.

Der Beitrag Week 15: AI NATION ACCELERATOR Batch, Nina Heine at German Startup Awards, Deep Tech Momentum erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Last week, Science & Startups hosted the kickoff event for Batch I of the Berlin Startup Fellowship, where the startups got to know each other, Science & Startups and BSS were introduced, and a workshop titled “Entrepreneur Starter Lab” took place. Over the next few weeks, the teams will be featured on social media. Stay tuned!

Great news! Two AI NATION startup alumni have made it to the finals of the prestigious German Startup Awards and are competing for the title of “Newcomer.” One is Sitegeist, led by Dr. Lena-Marie Pätzmann, Julian Hoffmann, Claus Carste, and Nicola Kolb, which offers autonomous and modular construction robots designed to address the shortage of skilled workers. The other contender is the startup nextract, founded by Maurits Zevering, Daniel Benkoff, and Mariia Semenenko. Their business model is designed to help renewable energy producers reach their full production potential.

Der Beitrag Week 14: Kick-Off BSS Startups, AI NATION Alumni in Finals of German Startup Awards erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Weekly Wrap-up: Highlights in week 12

From March 15 to 25, 2026, a delegation from the China Competence Training Center at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin including two members of the Humboldt-Innovation Academy as well as specialists and executives from various universities and research institutions traveled to China. Their goal is to expand their China-related expertise and gain firsthand insights into the complex, forward-looking ecosystem of Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta. During the visit, meetings are scheduled with representatives from science, business, politics, and diplomacy to exchange ideas on China’s higher education and research landscape, innovation strategies, and international cooperation, while also fostering professional networks.

Aspiring entrepreneurs can now apply once again for the Berlin Startup Scholarship (Berliner Startup-Stipendium) through Science & Startups. In March, the startup network launched its new call for applications titled “Science & Startups for Democratic Resilience.” The program awards scholarships to startups that have developed innovations focused on democratic resilience, social stability, and sustainable development. This year, the total funding volume for the Berlin Startup Scholarship amounts to 31 million euros, enabling the support of 680 prospective founders. The funds are provided by the State of Berlin and the European Social Fund. Click here for the full article: Science & Startups Raises 8 Million Euros for a New Round of Funding in the Berlin Startup Scholarship Program • Berlin University Alliance

In mid-March, the Berlin Battery Lab (BBL) was officially inaugurated. In this new facility, the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) will collaborate to develop and test resource-efficient battery technologies, with a specific focus on sodium-ion batteries. The research facility is also open to external partners from science and industry, such as startups and technology-based companies. The primary goal of the lab is to accelerate the transition from research to practical application while efficiently leveraging the synergies between the participating institutes. All three institutions possess outstanding expertise in this field; HU, for instance, is one of the leading universities in the area of sodium-ion batteries. Consequently, HU Professor Philipp Adelhelm was appointed as one of the lab’s three scientific directors, alongside Dr. Tim-Patrick Fellinger (BAM) and Prof. Dr. Yan Lu (HZB).

Der Beitrag Week 12: Journey to China, BSS, Inauguration of BBL erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Highlights of week 10

On International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8, FLINTA individuals once again took to the streets worldwide to fight for women’s rights and gender equality. On this day, Science & Startups published figures that serve as yet another reminder that equality and equal opportunity are still not a reality in the startup world. In Germany, only 19.8 percent of startup founders are women. In general, women are less likely to envision themselves becoming founders: In a student survey, 40 percent of men stated that they could see themselves as founders in the future. In contrast, only 21 percent of their female classmates said the same. Founders Dr. Adiba Maignan and Stine Hecht, with whom Science & Startups spoke on Women’s Day, say that scholarships and institutional support were crucial in their decision to ultimately start a business. Furthermore, research shows that role models and the ability to balance work and family life are essential for closing the gender gap in the startup industry.

The performance of quantum computers far exceeds that of classical models. Quantum computing is considered a key technology of the future, as it enables fundamentally new approaches to highly complex problems in business, mobility, energy, and medicine. The potential of the technology became clear at the awards ceremony for the first Berlin Quantum Hackathon 2026. Charité and Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe had tasked six development teams with challenges in the fields of medicine and mobility, which they were to solve using quantum computing. All teams arrived at practical solutions. Three of them received awards from State Secretary Severin Fischer: First place went to Team Mayo Clinic, second place to The Depth Compressors, and third place to Beerantum. The project demonstrates how quantum computing is increasingly being put to practical use and solving complex societal problems. The 2026 Hackathon was funded through the Zukunft Berlin project of the Senate Department for Economics, Energy, and Public Enterprises, as well as with EU funding. It was organized by Kipu Quantum in collaboration with BERLIN QUANTUM. “The impressive number of applications for the hackathon has once again shown how important the quantum computing scene is for Berlin!” emphasizes HI Managing Director Volker Hofmann.

Der Beitrag Week 10: Gender Gap in Startup Scene, first Quantum Hackathon 2026 erschien zuerst auf Humboldt-Innovation Insights.