Karlsruhe, 13 January 2025 - The sixth Pitch Night of the Digital Hub Initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) brought over 800 participants from all over Germany to Karlsruhe yesterday evening, the location of the national Digital Hub/de:hub applied artificial intelligence (AI).

This year's event focussed on ‘Artificial Intelligence’. High-ranking representatives from business, science and politics, including Federal Minister of Economics Dr Robert Habeck, Baden-Württemberg State Minister of Finance Dr Danyal Bayaz and the Mayor of the City of Karlsruhe, Dr Frank Mentrup, emphasised the importance of the Digital Hub Initiative for the promotion of start-ups and technological innovations in Germany.

Start-ups in the spotlight, innovations in focus

Ten of the most innovative start-ups from all over Germany pitched in two categories: the de:hub Award and the new AI Award, which specifically emphasised the relevance of AI technologies.

Dr Robert Habeck said: "I am delighted to be at the Pitch Night once again and to meet exciting start-ups. We are experiencing a major transformation that will permanently change Germany as a traditional industrial centre and our way of life. To achieve this, we need the innovative and disruptive ideas of start-ups, especially in the field of AI as a key technology of the future."

State Finance Minister Dr Danyal Bayaz emphasised: "Baden-Württemberg is the research department of Germany. Nowhere else in Europe is more money invested in research and development. The Pitch Night offers the ideal opportunity to make the work of start-ups visible and to look boldly to the future with innovative ideas."

In addition to the pitches, there were keynote speeches, panel discussions and plenty of opportunities for networking with stakeholders from business, science and politics.

"Karlsruhe is a location that thrives on transformation and innovation, which is why we are delighted to be the host city for Pitch Night 2025," said Dr Frank Mentrup.

Karlsruhe as a leading centre for applied artificial intelligence

The choice of Karlsruhe for this year's Pitch Night underlines the city as a leading centre for applied artificial intelligence in Germany, with a strong research culture and a broad network of business, science and start-ups.

"The nationwide Pitch Night has shown the potential of the German innovation scene. Karlsruhe as the location of the Digital Hub Applied AI offers the ideal stage and underlines the role of Karlsruhe and Baden-Württemberg as Germany's innovation accelerator," said Gennadi Schermann, Managing Director of DIZ | Digitales Innovationszentrum GmbH, which coordinates the de:hub Karlsruhe.