We are involved in the Käpsele Innovation Festival because we want to boost our region’s capacity for innovation. There are an incredible number of innovations here – the key is to link them more closely together.
Highlights of Käpsele 2026
The future needs a spark!
The future needs a spark!
Fascinating discussions. Future technologies you can experience first-hand. Inspiring ideas. Over 2,000 Käpsele residents, all united by one thing: shaping the future.
That was the Käpsele Innovation Festival on 16 and 17 July 2026 at the SICK Arena.
- 2,000 participants
- + 170 speakers
- 5 stages and over 70 panels & masterclasses
- Over 40 start-up pitches
The future was here. Welcome to the highlights.
Highlight Panel 2026
Game-changing Transformation: How Europe’s companies can regain momentum
Europe needs to pick up the pace.
Joe Kaeser, Aya Jaff and Birte Hackenjos brought three perspectives to the Käpsele stage and discussed what genuine transformation requires today.
The focus:
Strategic foresight
Speed
New leadership
The courage to make consistent use of technology.
After all, in the face of international competition, what increasingly matters is how quickly companies recognise technological developments, make bold decisions and put innovations into practice. Europe has a strong industrial base, excellent research and innovative companies. The challenge lies in translating these strengths into economic impact more quickly.
From international industry to regionally based SMEs, the discussion showed that transformation is a matter of technology and strategy, as well as culture, leadership and decision-making ability.
A discussion on the changes companies can initiate today to remain internationally competitive tomorrow.
Highlight Masterclasses
How does AI move from hype to production?
How can intelligent robotics be brought to small and medium-sized enterprises? And what happens in the first 72 hours of a cyberattack?
The Käpsele Masterclasses got straight to the point:
SICK, AURONIQ ROBOTICS, Haufe Group Ventures, badenova, the Freiburg Police Headquarters and many others shared real-world case studies, methods and experiences. From AI and robotics to cybersecurity and decarbonisation, the sessions delved deeply into the issues that matter most to businesses today.
Masterclasses 2026
Podcast highlights live from Käpsele 2026
AI voices from the south-west with international appeal took to the stage at Käpsele, demonstrating that tech success stories and unicorns don’t just come from Silicon Valley. Robin Rombach spoke to Larissa Holzki on the live Handelsblatt Disrupt podcast about his career path and Germany’s role in the international AI race. Frank Hutter from Prior Labs discussed on the Badische Zeitung podcast panel how high-tech from the south-west is achieving international success – from scaling and venture capital to the strength of the region as a business location.
The Käpsele 2026 in pictures
How was the Käpsele 2026 like?
Birte Hackenjos
CEO, Haufe Group
The Käspele Innovation Festival is a really great place, full of young people who are all looking to the future with courage and determination. It’s a place for people to meet and exchange ideas. Large companies, small businesses, medium-sized enterprises, start-ups – they’re all there.
Joe Kaeser
Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender, Siemens Energy & Daimler Truck
I firmly believe that Freiburg can be known not only for its beautiful old town or the lovely mountains surrounding it, but also for its truly excellent technology.
Robin Rombach
CEO, Black Forest Labs
Käpsele is right in the heart of Europe.
Three countries, three different cultures.
Hans-Jörg Fankhauser
CEO Fankhauser AG, Fankhauser AG
I mean, you walk in here and you actually think you’re in Las Vegas – you can’t believe you’re in Freiburg – because they’ve really pulled out all the stops here, which, to be honest, I don’t see very often.
Raphael Gielgen
Trendscout Future of Work Life & Learn, Vitra
Record attendance at the Käpsele Innovation Festival 2026!
Together with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for the Southern Upper Rhine, we were delighted to welcome around 2,000 guests to the Freiburg Exhibition Centre on Thursday 16 July 2026, setting a new visitor record.
Across five stages, in masterclasses and a large networking area, the focus was on key topics for the future such as artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, cyber security and Europe’s competitiveness.
Speakers included, amongst others, top executive Joe Kaeser, Birte Hackenjos (CEO of the Haufe Group), Bonita Grupp (Trigema) and investor Christian Miele.
The Start-up BW Elevator Pitch was won by the Heidelberg-based start-up Linq Photonics GmbH.
Highlight: Interactive Stations
What does the future feel like?
Controlling brain-computer interfaces, challenging robots to a dance battle or designing your own beer label using the AI from Robin Rombach’s Black Forest Labs: the maze of interactive stations turned the future into an adventure park.
At 32 stations, visitors were invited to try things out, experiment and get hands-on. The University of Freiburg let visitors experience the connection between the brain and a computer, whilst Hahn-Schickard brought high-tech diagnostics and microsystems engineering to life. At Fraunhofer, the journey ranged from quantum technologies to applications from the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability.
With helpcode.ai, visitors could test AI agents; lumanaa introduced new perspectives on people and technology; and at Bierle, innovation met Freiburg’s brewing culture.
In this way, AI, robotics, life sciences, quantum technologies and sustainability became something you could test, control and shape for yourself – and for a moment, you were a surgeon, a designer, a researcher or an engineer.
Experience Stations 2026
Highlights of the Startup Challenges
Innovation made in Baden-Württemberg! The state’s best start-up ideas on one stage: for the first time, the state final of the Start-up BW Elevator Pitch took place as part of the Käpsele Innovation Festival. Nineteen winning teams from the regional heats took to the stage in front of a panel of experts and the audience to demonstrate just how much innovative potential Baden-Württemberg has to offer.
The state title was won by Linq Photonics from Heidelberg with a photonic chip for the scalable light control of quantum computers. Second
place went to ELASTheal from Tübingen with an mRNA-based technology for wound healing.
A Freiburg-based start-up, Gyva, also made it onto the podium in third place.
And the pitching continued after the state final: at the Käpsele Start-up Challenges, start-ups took to the stage to present their solutions to specific challenges in GreenTech, healthcare, robotics and other future-oriented fields. In total, the Käpsele event featured more than 40 start-up pitches: a wealth of new technologies, business ideas and innovative drive from Germany, France and Switzerland!
Start-up Challenges 2026
How was the Käpsele 2026 like?
What I really like is that people from different generations come together at the Käpsele and can discuss how we can work together to find ways forward for the future.
Bonita Grupp
Geschäftsführende Gesellschafterin und Managing Partner, TRIGEMA W. Grupp KG
I think the main point of this festival is to let different opinions clash.
Aya Jaff
Forbes 30 Under 30 Entrepreneur & Author of Broligarchy
Käpsele demonstrates what innovation means here in Baden-Württemberg, namely the fusion of regional and global perspectives. All of this is linked to the question: Who are we, as Germany, within Europe?
Dr. Rebekka Reinhard
Philosophin & Founder, human Magazin
Käpsele Programme 2026
The 2026 programme: 1 day, 5 stages, 2,000 innovators. The stage programme brought a wealth of ideas for the future to Freiburg. Top-tier business leaders such as Joe Kaeser and Aya Jaff shared exclusive insights into digital transformation, tech mindsets and global competitiveness.
Speakers 2026
A wealth of knowledge and visions for tomorrow! The stages of the SICK Arena became the epicentre of forward-looking ideas. From AI pioneer Robin Rombach to business heavyweight Joe Kaeser and Bonita Grupp, top speakers shared groundbreaking insights on robotics, artificial intelligence and resilient cybersecurity.
Masterclasses 2026
Two days packed with practical knowledge and in-depth sessions!
During the concise 45-minute sessions held in the exclusive themed igloos at the SICK Arena and the Kreativpark at the Lokhalle in Freiburg, tried-and-tested methods were shared directly by the experts.
The perfect opportunity to test out methods and network in a focused way.
Interactive Stations 2026
Technology up close and personal – experience it for yourself! The SICK Arena was transformed into an interactive maze showcasing the latest developments. At over 30 stations, visitors were able to try out cutting-edge technology for themselves – from robot-assisted surgery to quantum computing and state-of-the-art sensor technology.