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The Grand Final

July 3rd, 2025
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OUR finalists from ALL OVER EUROPE

Within this year's Start.up! Germany Tour, we selected the most promising startups from across Europe to showcase their innovations at THE GRAND FINAL. These finalists will pitch their ideas in front of a high-profile audience of investors, corporates, and key players from the NRW startup ecosystem, competing for prizes worth €18,000. 

THE GRAND FINAL will take place in Düsseldorf on July 3, 2025, bringing together international innovation, industry expertise, and valuable networking opportunities.

Are you curious about our finalists and the program? Get more information below.

Program

Grand Final Program

REGISTRATION

Words of welcome

  • Wulf-Christian Ehrich, Spokesman International Relations, IHK NRW / Deputy Chief Executive, Dortmund Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  • Mona Neubaur, Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
  • Dr. Peter Stemper, Member of the Board, NRW.BANK

Introduction of the jury

  • Lars Boehnisch, Venture Capitalist at Evonik Venture Capital

  • Vitaly Chukanov, CEO at ANT Machines and Start.up! Germany Alumni

  • Katharina Krus, COO at digihub Düsseldorf

  • Hendrik Maatz, Funding Expert at NRW.BANK

  • Nina Rieger, Deputy Head and Policy Advisor at Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

  • Florian Schnitzler, Head of Start-up / Scale-up Unit & Israel at NRW.Global Business

Pitch round 1

INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS AND LIFE SCIENCE

INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS STARTUPS

  • 3IPK from Slovakia
  • Sumboard from Moldova
  • Sync Motion from Austria
  • Patika Robotics from Turkey

 

LIFE SCIENCE STARTUPS

  • Nordic Rebalance from Sweden
  • Raw Edge from Estonia
  • Synaptiq from Romania
  • Virtuleap from Portugal

Break //

Pitch round 2

GREEN TECH

GREEN TECH STARTUPS

  • Agrometa LLC from Georgia
  • ENGYcell from Latvia
  • Ozonium from Finland

 

 

InsurTech Startups

  • Sacred Valley Fibers from Italy
  • UAB Biohifas from Lithuania

Your golden ticket to NRW: the Startup Welcome Package NRW

Florian Schnitzler, NRW.Global Business

 

 

FROM NRW TO THE WORLD: HOW ENERGY TECH FROM NRW SCALES ON A GLOBAL LEVEL

Keynote by Niklas Friederichsen, CTO and co-founder of Greenlyte Carbon Technologies

 

 

Winners ceremony

Who will win the grand final? // The first three places will receive a total of 15,000 Euros in Prize Money. // AN ADDITIONAL PRIZE OF 3,000 EUROS IS SPONSORED BY NRW.BANK.

Networking
with drinks and food

Moderated by Dominik Stute, Head of Unit Innovation, Industry, International Networks, Dortmund Chamber of Industry and Commerce

These startups have made it

3IPK develops blockchain-based software products and solutions which allow to guarantee authenticity, integrity and traceability of digital data, especially for space, aviation and defence industries. For example, 3IPK's solution is currently deployed onboard of the International Space Station (ISS) to test our product Panoptes which allows to prevent deep faking of satellite imagery. Moreover, our solutions allow to ensure integrity of critical data within aerospace supply chains for certification of aircraft as well as prevention of manipulation of on-board software including AI models.

We started Agrometa in 2022, and since then, we’ve been providing drone fertilizing services to Georgian farmers. After working with hundreds of farmers and engaging in close conversations, we identified a critical need: farmers often lack visibility into the health of their crops, especially across large fields. As a result, they struggle to detect issues and take timely action. Without awareness of problem areas, they may apply incorrect agricultural measures, potentially causing further damage.
Our solution is SMART FARMER - an AI powered software, that analyzes drone-generated data to deliver detailed crop health insights and actionable recommendations. It helps farmers:
• Optimize crop management
• Reduce pesticide usage
• Boost overall productivity

ENGYcell, an energy management software startup, provides personalized energy storage solutions for commercial and industrial clients, helping them reduce energy costs, gain energy independence, and generate revenue by participating in energy markets.

Nordic Rebalance is a Danish/Swedish science-driven company addressing one of the most pressing global health challenges: chronic gut-related diseases. Through our proprietary postbiotic product, OatBiotics™, we offer a clinically proven solution that strengthens the gut barrier and supports long-term gut resilience. Unlike probiotics and prebiotics, which mainly offer short-term effects, our patented fermentation technology (ReFerm®) delivers bioactive metabolites backed by peer-reviewed research.
We have achieved strong early success through our D2C e-commerce channel in Sweden, building a loyal customer base and validating demand for gut barrier-focused solutions. Our product has seen strong traction among health-conscious consumers seeking natural, science-backed alternatives when conventional healthcare has failed. This business serves as a proof of concept, with proven messaging, high satisfaction, and strong retention.

Ozonium is a Cleantech company based in Tampere, Finland, that uses ozone technologies to clean beverage lines and equipment smartly. With our system, these tasks are safer for people, better for the planet and easier on the budget. With us, brewers can finally get rid of harsh and harmful chemicals

The mission is simple: make sustainability the easy and affordable option.

Founded in 2018, Patika Robotics specializes in developing and manufacturing autonomous load-carrying vehicles for industrial applications. Our headquarters are in Istanbul/Kavacık (Turkey), with production facility in Sakarya/Akyazı (Turkey) and Neuwied (Germany).

Our AMR product range covers load capacities from 200 kg to 6000 kg, and we manage the entire development process in-house, including:

- Mechanical design & production
- Electronic system design & assembly
- Autonomous driving software
- Fleet management software
- User interfaces

We actively work with companies such as Bosch (Turkey, Romania), Schüller (Germany), Grammer (Germany), Koch Robotersysteme (Germany), Vestel(Turkey), Dimes(Turkey), Thyssenkrupp (Germany), Becker & Co (Germany), StepG (Germany), apt Extrusion B.V. (Netherlands), ASAŞ(Turkey), Türk Traktör(Turkey), Migros(Turkey), THY(Turkey) and others.

Raw Edge is a food and biotech company, pioneering large-scale vegetable fermentation to create the next generation of functional foods. Our technology turns surplus vegetables into shelf-stable, unpasteurized products that are packed with highly bioactive nutrients and probiotic bacteria, offering a rare combination of flavour, functionality, and convenience without ultra-processing. Our first market-validated product is a fermented soft drink with clinically tested lactic acid bacteria, and we’re expanding, using the same tech, into postbiotic formats, new product categories and bacteria integration for broader applications. With a science-backed, circular approach, we aim to replace ultra-processed foods and reshape everyday food environments across Europe and then beyond.

Sacred Valley Tech is developing a platform that helps fashion brands and consumers make sustainable choices by providing reliable product information, durability insights, and circular disposal options. Using AI and Digital Product Passports (DPPs), we integrate and analyze data from multiple sources to enhance transparency, sustainability, and circularity in the fashion industry. Our solution empowers consumers to make informed purchasing decisions and dispose of garments responsibly while enabling brands to comply with evolving regulations and improve their sustainability efforts, reducing waste and unnecesary spending.

Sumboard is a an embedded analytics solution. We help B2B SaaS product companies build great analytics experiences inside their products

We are like a building block for modern SaaS

With our help the products can quickly build analytics experiences in their own offering. Instead of building it in-house for several months one can build them with us in several hours.

Synaptiq is a company that develops AI-based software for automating and enhancing radiotherapy treatment planning. We design, develop, and deploy novel Deep Neural Network models that learn to accurately delineate organs-at-risk and target volumes from all major cancer sites, using CT scans. Our algorithms clinically proved state-of-the-art performance by leveraging the most recent AI research in representation learning, transformer modules, and self-supervised pre-training.

Mediq RT also incorporates a fully-functional web-based medical viewer capable of displaying studies containing CT scans, having conventional and smart contour editing tools. All this while being remotely accessible, fully integrated with the clinic's infrastructure without requiring any manual data imports, installations, or hardware support. Mediq RT runs on any desktop, laptop, or tablet, as all it requires is a web browser.

Sync Motion is a company specializing in the refurbishment of machines and production lines to increase efficiency and reduce costs. By selectively replacing outdated components, the company maximizes the performance of existing systems and extends their lifespan. Sync Motion offers customized solutions, ranging from analyzing the current situation and creating an individualized action plan to implementing and delivering the desired results. The company emphasizes precise controls that provide operators with an optimal interface, enabling seamless communication and real-time data access in production facilities. With the goal of contributing to the fight against climate change, Sync Motion focuses on refurbishing machines to extend their usability instead of prematurely scrapping them.

Biohifas is a deep tech startup that upcycles brewers' spent grain—an abundant industrial food waste—into high-protein, high-fiber food ingredients using fungi-based solid-state fermentation. Unlike others in the alternative protein space, we directly incorporate this waste into our final product rather than discarding it. Our modular fermentation units are designed for on-site use at breweries, enabling decentralized, low-energy production while reducing transportation costs and environmental impact. The result is a clean-label, sustainable ingredient for use in plant-based foods, snacks, and functional products. Biohifas combines biotechnology, circular economy principles, and scalable engineering to deliver a solution that supports both food manufacturers and breweries in meeting growing demand for sustainable nutrition.

Virtuleap is a pioneering company in neuroscience and technology, developing immersive virtual reality (VR) solutions for cognitive training, assessment, and monitoring.
Mission: Virtuleap aims to improve global cognitive health by harnessing the power of VR and artificial intelligence (AI). Our mission is to deliver scientifically validated VR experiences that offer accurate cognitive assessments and personalized training, helping individuals of all ages enhance their mental well-being.
Vision: We envision a future where immersive technology is central to cognitive and mental healthcare. Our goal is to lead this transformation by setting new standards in digital therapeutics and deepening our understanding of the brain through innovative VR applications. Committed to continuous innovation, we blend neuroscience, VR, and AI to create engaging tools that are both effective and accessible, empowering users to improve their brain health.

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