Commonly known as “Benz-City”, Stuttgart is slowly making its mark on the German startup map. Being home to global players such as Daimler, Bosch, Porsche, it counts among Europe’s most active economic regions, backed by top-tier educational institutions and entrepreneurial talent. The close interaction of the research sector and industry makes Stuttgart one of the most innovative and dynamic regions in the world, and as such, interesting to startups. Here are 10 promising startups (founded between 2016 and 2019) from Stuttgart to watch out in 2019.
The Female company – The Female company is a femtech startup offering organic tampons via subscription, delivered at your home address. Customers simply need to together a box of three different sizes and then choose a delivery cycle of between two and four months. The organic cotton tampons are free from chemicals, perfumes and polyesters meeting high social and ecological standards. The Burda-backed startup was founded in 2017 and is now selling the tampons in more than 900 dm stores throughout Germany.
Instagrid – Founded in 2018, Instagrid is a provider of portable battery storage, making mobile power supply simple, flexible and emission-free. Based on a “Software defined Battery” technology that reduces installation space and saves 40 percent of operating costs compared to classic solutions, Instagrid’s solution is well set to revolutionize a number of industries. The startup was awarded ”Best up-and-coming electrical storage solution” –prize by InnoEnergy for electrical storage startups.
Laserhub – In 2017, Laserhub started out as an online procurement platform for sheet metal parts. Customers should only upload to the platform their CAD files of all the special parts they need, and Laserhub’s fully automated process will check the feasibility of the CAD drawings, calculate prices and identify the appropriate producer, depending on how fast the order has to be executed. Backed by Project A und Point Nine Capital, Laserhub is bringing the manufacturing industry up to speed.
Vialytics – How can you use artificial intelligence to maintain roads? Vialytics knows the answer. Founded in 2017, they aim to revolutionize the inspection of road conditions by offering AI-based solution for effective road maintenance management. Installed on the municipal vehicle, the solution automatically detects the state of the road infrastructure, evaluates it based on image data and vibration patterns and supports municipalities in planning the necessary maintenance measures. In July 2019, the startup raised a venture round from EnBW New Ventures to further develop the product.
5Analytics – Founded in 2016, 5Analytics provides companies with a quick and easy entry into the world of AI by offering pre-built AI solutions and a comprehensive development platform that enables them to implement quality-assured AI solutions along the entire value chain with minimal effort. The startup was recently awarded the bronze Stevie Award and the Innovationspreis-IT and has lined up clients like Volkswagen, SMS Digital and Merck to help them optimize their business processes.
Aucobo – The aucobo system enables a new form of communication and coordination in industrial environments. Their software optimizes the interaction between humans and machines through industrial smartwatches, making communication on the production floor mobile, simple and effective. For example, employees receive information about time-critical situations and alarms, or documentation and time reports gets completely digitized. Backed by Speedinvest, Aucobo was founded in 2016 and is helping enterprises upgrade their production for Industry 4.0.
AX Semantics – AX Semantics is a software program which interprets data with the help of rule-based, natural language text generation technology and converts it into user-friendly comprehensible text. The market potential for the software is big, as written communication is needed in all areas and industries. The text automation startup was founded in 2017 and is backed by Plug and Play and has received multiple awards so far, for helping online retailers, publishers and financial service providers write content faster, cheaper and better.
Binando – Founded by Nikolaos Baltsios and Moritz Pfeiffer in 2017, Binando optimizes the logistics of companies involved in the waste management industry. They combine data from connected bins, real-time maps and traffic and weather data to optimize the driver’s collection route and send it via an app. Primarily targeted at private waste disposal companies as well as municipal waste collectors and city cleaners, Binando is providing time and fuel cost reductions, as well as eliminating CO2 emissions.
Reach Now – Getting around has never been easier since Moovel walked into town. Founded in 2016, the moovel app provides public transport times and booking/paying options for a route via carsharing, bike-sharing, e-scooter and taxis. Moovel has radically simplified urban mobility and has a customer base of 6.7 million people. As of August 2019, Moovel is known as REACH NOW, a new mobility joint venture from Daimler AG and BMW Group.
drag&bot – founded in 2016, drag&bot is an intuitive web-based software for easy setup, programming and operation of industrial robots. The graphical user interface allows unexperienced users to generate a program sequence through drag&drop of reusable function blocks. No programming knowledge is required to step your company into the robotic automation era. So far, the Stuttgart-based startup raised about €1 million in venture capital.
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