For the fifth time more than 30 startups presented themselves on the final Expo Day of the innovation platform Startup Autobahn in Stuttgart, which was launched by Daimler among others. Especially in focus: the mobility of tomorrow.
Deluxe ending
“And in the end they drive Mercedes-Benz” concluded Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann his example explanation, which typical steps a successful startup in Silicon Valley completed. With this he aimed at the opening speech of this year’s finale of the startup highway in the Wagenhallen in Stuttgart on the connection between Schwabens most popular automaker and the hyped founder scene in the US. And thus had the laughter of the more than 1,000 participants of the event on his side.
The international startup scene met in Stuttgart for the fifth time as part of the innovation platform Startup Autobahn, which was launched by Daimler and the incubator Plug and Play. This time in the recently reopened Stuttgart Wagenhallen. The 30 Mobility, Enterprise 2.0 and Production startups participating in the Accelerator program showed around 50 projects at the stands and on the four stages.
How is the startup scene
“We are making the startup scene in Stuttgart super great again” said Plug and Play founder Saeed Amidi in his keynote speech. Founders and founders came from 41 countries into the wagon halls of the capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg – but only a few actually came from Ländle.
Ideas from all over the world
The startups from all over the world had around 100 days to pour their ideas into “viable products” together with industrial partners. One of these solutions comes from Kopernikus Automotive, a startup specializing in autonomous driving. Together with Porsche, the team around founder Stefan Jenzowsky has set up a test field for autonomous journeys in workshops at the Ludwigsburg site. The aim of the project is to drive vehicles independently from their parking lot to the lift and back again.
In addition to Copernicus, other start-up companies also showed what they are planning for the future of mobility. Thus, the Austrian company Volterio presented a smart charging solution for electric cars, in which the vehicle is automatically loaded via a charging connector. With Aurora Labs, Eyesight and White Raven, there were also three startups from the so-called “Silicon Wadi”, the new innovation hotspot in Tel Aviv, where, for example, BMW also wants to look for new tech talents.
Incidentally, Porsche was also pleased to receive a prize in addition to his new project with Kopernikus. The sports car manufacturer received the Global Innovation Award from Plug and Play for its international commitment and investment strategy within the startup scene.