Young tech companies pitch their business ideas in Berlin – and get the unique chance to expand to the U.S. under professional guidance.

What does it take for German excellence to conquer the U.S. market? Since 2012, the secret formula is called: German Accelerator. Last Thursday, the German Accelerator Tech once again admitted promising German startups to its unique mentoring program. In the presence of the German Minister of Economics and Energy, Brigitte Zypries, 20 young companies were selected to join the class for Summer/Fall 2017. Under professional instruction and guidance, they will be given the chance to prove their potential in one of the most important international markets. Talented German founders will have the opportunity to spend three months on location in New York, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco in order to make valuable connections, expand their know-how and gain new experiences. The German Accelerator network consists of 150 experienced mentors who will support the startups. Keynote speaker Dr. Gero Decker, CEO of business software specialist Signavio and former German Accelerator participant, congratulated the winners by saying, “Now go to the U.S. and build the next SAP. Good luck!”

The track record of the government-funded German mentoring program shows that this is a legitimate expectation: So far, German Accelerator Tech alumni companies have raised $150MM in funding after they completed the program. 92% of startups supported through the program are still in business. The program’s five-year track record also impressed Brigitte Zypries, Minister of Economics and Energy: She was happy that, through the support of the German Accelerator, young companies ultimately created jobs in Germany and strengthened Germany as an innovation hub. A venture capitalist attending the event appreciated the high quality of the selected startups: “Many of them I hadn’t had on my radar yet.”

The current German Accelerator winners are happy about so much trust. Each of them had 60 seconds in order to pitch their business to the 400 guests in the Fernsehwerft event location in Berlin. One minute for a business pitch? This is not really a challenge for Sebastian Spies, CEO of Datapath.io – after all, his company’s specialty is speed: “I have 60 seconds. I don’t need them. Tick tack. Datapath.io is faster! No pun intended.” The software of the Mainz-based German startup expedites server requests from corporations. Thanks to Datapath.io, for example, the digital financial service provider N26 can process its customers’ credit card transactions in a faster and safer way. An idea made for the U.S. market and U.S. customers: While in 2015 there were only 955MM credit card transactions in Germany, there were almost 30BN in the U.S.

Great numbers, promising forecasts – in line with this, the atmosphere was exuberant at the event on Thursday. “Celebrating Innovation” was the motto of the evening, and that’s exactly what guests did. Additional entertainment was provided by a verbal exchange between the German Accelerator team and mentors of both New York and San Francisco. Both cities are equally attractive to tourists and entrepreneurs – but which one wins over the other? Ram Srinivasan, tech mentor for German Accelerator in San Francisco, promoted his location: “We love the outdoors to relax from all the hard work we do.” Christian Busch, CEO of German Accelerator Tech in New York, retaliated: “Entrepreneurs want to come to New York City because they feel among themselves – driven people!” Also, the culinary offer in New York was unparalleled: “New York wins in food choices anyday!”

List of most recent German Accelerator Tech winners:

New York

San Francisco/Silicon Valley

About German Accelerator:

The German Accelerator is a growth acceleration program that supports German startups from Tech related sectors to enter the U.S. market. It provides startups with hands-on mentoring and office space at its locations in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and New York City. German Accelerator identifies and selects the most promising German startups and assists them in their pursuit of becoming category leaders with lasting competitiveness and success in the global marketplace. The accelerator’s vision is to foster the international growth of German tech startups by supporting them with an effective and efficient entry into the U.S. market with its dedicated mentors. As of January 2016, German Accelerator has expanded its services and now also supports young German Life Sciences companies to enter the U.S. market via Boston.

For more information and to submit an application visit germanaccelerator.com, check out LinkedIn, engage on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

 

Press Contact German Accelerator Tech:

Stephanie Korbely
German Accelerator Inc.
433 Broadway, New York, NY 10013
stephanie@germanaccelerator.com