Go West: In January 2012, the first German ICT-Start-ups will go to Silicon Valley

Submission deadline for second round of applications is February 13^th, 2012.

A committee of eight experts has selected the first six winning Start-ups that will have the opportunity to spend three to six months in Silicon Valley. As part of the “German Silicon Valley Accelerator” (GSVA), an initiative funded by the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology (BMWi), some of the hottest German ICT-start-ups will explore US-market opportunities, turbo charge their international expansion, receive top business mentoring, connections to capital and fully equipped office space in the heart of Silicon Valley.

According to Ernst Burgbacher, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology: “The German Silicon Valley Accelerator offers selected start-ups the opportunity to learn and be inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of one of the leading High-Tech regions in the world. Via the GSVA, they will make valuable contacts with potential customers and partners in the USA at an early stage of their development. The companies chosen stand for ‘Innovation made in Germany’. We are confident that they will greatly benefit from their stay in Silicon Valley and that their participation in the GSVA program will have a positive, long lasting effect on the ICT start-up community in Germany as a whole.’

The first six selected Start-ups are:

• Fair Observer UG (Munich),
• Friendsurance / Alecto GmbH (Berlin)
• Nelou / gestyled.com GmbH (Berlin)
• Pixray GmbH (Potsdam)
• Signavio GmbH (Berlin)
• Trifense GmbH (Velten).

Via the German Silicon Valley Accelerator, the Ministry funds the installation of a German Pavilion at the “Plug & Play Techcenter” in Sunnyvale, California. The agreed mission of the GSVA is to promote up to four start-ups per quarter for the next three years. As of 2012, the program will be open to all start-ups from the IT and Communication Branch that demonstrate a promising strategy for growth and internationalization.

ICT-firms which started their business less than three years ago are invited to apply immediately up until February 13, 2012 to be selected for a spot in the German Silicon Valley Accelerator in the second half of 2012.