The recently-ended Cheftreff in the Chamber of Commerce in April attracted around 5,000 delegates to encourage talented young professionals at the start of their careers. Highlights included the presentation of the Impossible Founders initiative, with which Hamburg is applying for the Exist “Startup Factories” competition. Impossible Founders will allow Hamburg to position itself as a leading deep-tech centre and to target university spin-offs. Dr. Arik Willner, CTO of the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) research center, will be the managing director.
Top monthly reports from Hamburg's startup ecosystem
Hamburg Invest and Startup City Hamburg will showcase several French startups at their joint stand during this year’s Online Marketing Rockstars festival underway from May 6-7. Networking kicks off earlier on Tuesday (May 5) at France’s Consulate General thanks to the new La Tech Hambourg network, which links up French and German companies, tech enthusiasts and investors. Hopes are now high that this will eventually lead to a vibrant Franco-German ecosystem and raise the visibility of French innovations in Hamburg. Seven French startups will pitch their business models and share their ideas at the Institut Français Hamburg backed by Hamburg Invest, the Région Occitanie and TPlusC.
Positioning Hamburg as a leading deep-tech centre
Jungheinrich and Awork expanding
The Hamburg-based leading intralogistics company, Jungheinrich, has founded its Uplift Ventures Group to set up innovative growth companies and invest in attractive start-ups. Uplift Ventures focuses on AI-based optimization of supply chains and material flows, robotics, autonomous logistics systems, sustainable energy solutions, digital platforms and solutions for a circular economy. Meanwhile, Awork is now eyeing the British market after being named "Germany's Best Business Tool" by the OMR Reviews portal. The Hamburg-based startup, which aims to simplify project planning, resource management, time tracking and team collaboration for agencies and marketing teams with its flexible platform, is planning to take off internationally.
Health-i-Awards and GovTech
The Health-i-Awards, by the daily Handelsblatt and Techniker Krankenkasse health insurer, honour the best solutions in the healthcare sector. Ten startups will be shortlisted for the Health-i-Awards, which will be presented to three winning finalists on October 9, 2025 in the Factory Hammerbrooklyn. Startups based in Germany that develop pioneering digital projects, products, business models or organisational innovations in healthcare are eligible and should submit their applciations by the deadline of May 16, 2025. Founders of smart city and GovTech startups who want to share their ideas with urban representatives are gearing up for the GovTech Expo on May 20 held by Bitkom in cooperation with the Senate Chancellery and Dataport AöR venture client GovTecHH. The exhibition is an ideal platform for virtual live pitches, meeting representatives of the public sector and hosting exhibition stands.
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