📋 Tender Overview
The first British-German high-tech accelerator program will start in Stuttgart in September 2024. This will support six promising start-ups from areas such as quantum physics, artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality.
Stuttgart will become an innovation hub for six British technology start-ups: The young companies were selected for the first German-British tech accelerator program and will set up their tents in Stuttgart for five months from September 2024. The Tech Accelerator program was initiated by the British government and supported by the Baden-Württemberg government. The start-ups were selected from a pool of almost 50 applicants after presenting their market-ready innovations in areas such as quantum physics, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and virtual reality to a panel of British and German judges.
In addition to a job in the Stuttgart technology incubator CODE_n, the companies receive a tailor-made program that helps them expand their business idea alongside Baden-Württemberg's leading industry, including through expert support, VIP events, company introductions and mentoring.
Strong pioneering spirit and innovative entrepreneurship
“Baden-Württemberg and Great Britain combine a strong pioneering spirit and innovative entrepreneurship, especially among small and medium-sized companies. Our foreign representative in Great Britain, the 'BW-UK Office' , has been promoting our bilateral economic, innovation and scientific relations since 2021,” said the Minister of State and Head of the State Chancellery, Florian Stegmann . “The British high-tech accelerator program is a win-win situation for the participating start-ups and our innovative companies. This new form of cooperation helps to make the close economic ties between Baden-Württemberg and Great Britain even more sustainable.”
Minister Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut is pleased with the start of the accelerator program: “We see the program as confirmation of our successful economic policy and our 'BW-UK partnership initiative' . The newly developed high-tech collaboration is the result of our long-standing, very good partnership. We expect this to provide technological impulses for our Baden-Württemberg companies and start-ups. We want to cooperate even more closely with the best internationally, especially in future technologies such as AI, green tech or quantum computing.”
Transfer future technologies to Baden-Württemberg
The Minister of Economic Affairs underlines the importance of the “BW-UK partnership initiative” that she initiated, under whose umbrella this economic policy bridge was also built. “If future technologies are transferred to us in Baden-Württemberg via our British partners, then this shows that the partnership initiative is working perfectly.”
The fact that the British partners chose Baden-Württemberg as the location for the program is also due to the fact that Baden-Württemberg occupies a leading position when it comes to innovations in an international comparison. According to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW) , which was presented publicly in September last year, there is no region in the European Union (EU) that comes close to Baden-Württemberg's innovative strength and ability.
Chris Barton, British Trade Commissioner for Europe, on the choice of Baden-Württemberg as a location: “This exciting partnership with Baden-Württemberg underlines our shared commitment to producing world-leading technologies and creating future-oriented economies. Similar to Germany, the UK has a thriving middle class with innovative and fast-growing exporters. With this in mind, it is very fitting that our winners represent five of the nine UK regions. This shows how well distributed the UK’s $1 trillion tech sector is and the value of supporting the growing interest in bilateral business partnerships.”
Networking with the Baden-Württemberg ecosystem
Baden-Württemberg International (BW_i) will closely support the British start-ups during their six-month stay in Stuttgart. To this end, the state agency will exchange ideas with the founders on a monthly basis and network them with the Baden-Württemberg ecosystem. The selected young companies can take part in BW_i events such as the start-up BW Discovery tours or the summer reception of the BW UK office and make valuable contacts there. In advance, BW_i worked with the British consulate to find suitable locations in Stuttgart for the start-ups and offered them the opportunity to present their pitches in the premises of Baden-Württemberg's foreign office in London.
BW_i Managing Director Dr. Christian Herzog sees the program as an enrichment for Baden-Württemberg as a business location : “The tech focus of the selected British start-ups fits perfectly with our profile as the No. 1 innovation region in Europe. Through cooperation in the area of ??future technologies, not only can Baden-Württemberg companies benefit, but the relationships between both locations can also be strengthened.”
Technological innovation strengthens Europe's future
As a cross-industry innovation platform and home to innovative minds in Stuttgart, the CODE_n team is pleased to welcome the six selected start-ups in Germany and serve as an anchor for them. Integration into the existing network and the provision of the experiences gained together will be important components of the accelerator program. The founders receive personal support within the Stuttgart ecosystem in order to be able to expand sustainably and grow locally. Above all, the individual focus and support will characterize the cooperation between the individual partners in the program. CODE_n sees itself as a designer of a lively international community with the Schelmenwasen innovation campus as its center.
