Press release

Bonjour Hamburg: Startups from France at OMR 2025

29 April 2025
France meets Hamburg: At this year's OMR Festival (6-7 May), the business development and investment agency Hamburg Invest is once again presenting an international joint stand with Startup City Hamburg - and is placing a special focus on French startups in 2025. The event will kick off on 5 May with an exclusive networking event at the Consulate General of France, organised together with the newly founded La Tech Hambourg network.

"France is one of the most dynamic startup locations in Europe - and is an ideal partner for Hamburg's innovation strategy," says Dr Rolf Strittmatter, Managing Director of Hamburg Invest. "By focussing on French start-ups at OMR, we are bringing together innovative minds from both countries. This creates synergies, promotes sustainable business models and makes Hamburg even more visible internationally as a startup location."

La Tech Hambourg - the kick-off on 5 May

The festive reception at the Consulate General on the eve of the OMR will be the official launch of La Tech Hambourg, the new network of French and German companies, tech enthusiasts and investors in the Hanseatic city. Valérie Luebken, Consul General of France in Hamburg, said: "Hamburg is one of France's favourite trading partners and has a dynamic and well-established bilateral network. The Consulate General welcomes the strengthening of Franco-German cooperation in the field of innovation and start-ups and is pleased to host the exchange between French tech companies and start-ups with the Hamburg network."

The aim is to build a vibrant Franco-German ecosystem and make French innovation more visible in Hamburg. Together with Hamburg Invest, the Région Occitanie and TPlusC, La Tech Hambourg is welcoming seven selected French start-ups to pitch and exchange ideas in the Hanseatic city: "As a Franco-German network, we are delighted to have such dynamic partners as Hamburg Invest at our side," says Celia Pégeot-Müller, Chairwoman of La Tech Hambourg. "Together, we want to further expand the international ecosystem in Hamburg and strengthen the bridge between the startup scenes in both countries."

OMR as a springboard for French innovation

The action continues at the OMR Festival itself on 7 and 8 May: At the joint stand of Startup City Hamburg in hall B6 (stands D04/D05), the French startups will present themselves to the international trade audience - with pitches, networking formats and targeted matchmaking. These include the "Morning Kickstart" format and an exclusive guided tour of the exhibition centre.

These French start-ups will be at OMR:

  • Brands To Medias - Trusted social ads with editorial credibility
  • DeepReach - Multilocal campaign automation for regional advertising
  • Smile Wanted - Premium inventory for programmatic advertising
  • Wonder People - Digital HUB for paid media and tech teams
  • DENV-R - energy-efficient data centres for AI workloads
  • Alphaguard - European AI-based fraud detection for governments
  • Allonia - platform for the development of customised AI agents

Why France?

France is one of the strongest startup ecosystems in Europe. Thanks to ambitious funding programmes such as La French Tech, an active start-up culture and massive investment in deep tech, green tech and digitalisation, France has developed into a European tech hub in recent years - with excellent points of contact for Hamburg. France is also an economic heavyweight: in 2024, it was Hamburg's third-largest trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of around 5 billion euros. Cooperation ranges from aviation and logistics to sustainable industry and energy. Further information on the Hamburg News business portal.

About Startup City Hamburg

Startup City Hamburg was launched in June 2022. The platform provides an overview of startups, financing and funding opportunities for founders as well as hubs and coworking spaces. News, events and stories provide information and inspiration in German and English. As a digital single point of contact, Startup City Hamburg makes the startup location even more visible both nationally and internationally. The project is funded by Hamburg's Ministry of Economics and Innovation and implemented by Hamburg Invest.

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