My first impression was WOW. Käpsele shows once again just how much potential our country has, and as far as I’m concerned, Freiburg is a hidden – or perhaps not-so-hidden – champion.
Käpsele Highlights 2025
Out of the bubble, into the future
On 26 June 2025, creative minds, ambitious start-ups and established companies came together at the Käpsele Innovation Festival in Freiburg. Over 1,200 participants filled four stages, attended 17 panel discussions and made use of 4,000 m² of networking space to forge connections that would last beyond the event.
- Over 1,200 attendees
- 83 speakers
- 4 stages and 17 panel discussions
- 4,000 m² of networking space
Highlight Panel 2025
Redefining AI leadership: How European solutions are shaping the industries of the future
At 2 pm, this panel kicked off Käpsele 2025.
Europe has shaken up the world of AI – with innovative minds demonstrating what AI leadership will look like in the future. Here, technological excellence met visionary leadership.
Europe shook up AI – innovative minds showed what tomorrow’s AI roadmap will look like! Technological excellence met visionary leadership.
On stage:
- Robin Rombach, CEO, Black Forest Labs
- Vanessa Cann, Managing Director / Data & AI Innovation Lead, Accenture
- Jonathan von Rüden, Head of AI Innovation, SAP
- Alina Holcroft, Founder, ETHIQAIS
- Luisa Bomke, Editor, Handelsblatt (Moderator)
Masterclasses Highlights 2025
When concentrated expertise meets a genuine thirst for innovation, the most exciting discussions emerge. That is exactly what happened in our two Masterclass igloos – the ‘AI Alliance Igloo’ and the ‘Future.Space.Black Forest Igloo’.
The response was overwhelming: the sessions were fully booked in no time at all.
Two highlights that will be remembered for a long time to come:
- From hype to action: In the AI Alliance Igloo, the ‘gap’ between AI’s potential and its practical implementation was bridged. It wasn’t about theory, but about a clear, step-by-step approach – from the initial idea to measurable value creation within the organisation.
- Rethinking leadership: The “Future.Space.Black Forest” Iglu put people at the centre with its focus on “co-leadership”. Participants experienced how shared leadership not only overcomes challenges but also serves as a genuine model of success for resilience and a sustainable corporate culture.
Masterclasses 2025
Podcast highlights live from Käpsele 2025
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the festival, conversations took place on the live podcast stage that continued to resonate long afterwards:
speakers and presenters from t3n, the *Badische Zeitung* and Netzwerk Südbaden took to the stage, bringing the Käpsele topics with them.
t3n Interview Podcast – Freiburg-based start-up Constellr: How a German start-up is growing
in challenging times From Freiburg to space: the start-up Constellr uses its own satellites to collect data – relevant for food safety and for companies across a wide range of sectors that have taken an interest in its work. Founder Marius Briedel told “t3n Interview” host Stella-Sophie Wojtczak how the young company plans to grow in the future – discussing not only the story of its founding and its future plans, but also the role of Germany as a business location. And he revealed what it’s actually like to launch satellites into space using SpaceX.
Further episodes live from Käpsele:
- Badische Zeitung: Depression, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s – are brain implants revolutionising our health?
- Badische Zeitung: Female leadership as a game-changer? How women find the courage to start businesses and lead – and what they’re changing
- Netzwerk Südbaden: Petra Fix from Ritter Sport on chocolate with a conscience
The Käpsele 2025 in pictures
What was the Käpsele 2025 like?
Gülsah Wilke
Investorin, Co-Founderin
Käpsele is definitely on a par with all the other conferences I attend around the world.
Robin Rombach
CEO, Black Forest Labs
My favourite thing about the Käpsele Festival is seeing the Baden-Württemberg community come together, and realising just how big innovation really is here, and how the whole start-up world comes to life.
Vivian Loftin
Co-Founder, Recyda GmbH
For me, the highlight is the hands-on stations where you can have a go at things; that makes the Käpsele Festival more accessible and interactive.
Emilia Neuwirt
Co-Founder & CEO, EMUNO Therapeutics GmbH
Matchmaking in its purest form:
When encounters lead to innovation
How Pfizer and the spin-off NeuroMentum AI laid the foundations for a joint quantum project at Käpsele 2025.
“Out of the bubble, into the future” – this motto came to life at Käpsele 2025. It was here that Peter Neske and Dierk Bartel from Pfizer met Prof. Dr Tonio Ball from the University Medical Centre Freiburg in person for the first time.
The result of this matchmaking?
A joint report by Pfizer and the spin-off NeuroMentum AI GmbH. Under the title “AI-Q Quantum Diamond Platform”, the partners are now working on a solution to treat breast cancer more precisely using quantum sensors.
Highlight: Interactive Stations
At 21 interactive stations, innovation became an experience: anyone who wanted to could immerse themselves in a world full of ideas, technology and creativity – the idea was not just to watch, but to get actively involved, try things out, be amazed and discover.
Whether it was new technologies, creative concepts for the future or exciting hands-on activities – every station invited visitors to experience innovation with all their senses
A closer look at three exciting interactive stations:
- FastPeM – Fuel Cell Manufacturing in Virtual Reality: This station at Campus Schwarzwald demonstrated how modern, climate-friendly energy technologies are developed in practice. Using VR technology, visitors were able to delve deep into the digital production of fuel cells and experience manufacturing processes up close.
- Intuitive Surgical & Surgical Navigation: A real highlight for medical tech enthusiasts. At the stations on robot-assisted surgery, as well as with Q-Guidance and MyMako, visitors could experience how precision, virtual reality and robotics work hand in hand to make procedures in the operating theatre of the future safer and less invasive.
- AI-driven robotics: Here, visitors experienced intelligent interaction in its purest form. The station demonstrated how robots use artificial intelligence to react to their environment, adapt and act as smart assistants working alongside humans.
Experience Stations 2025
Highlights of Startup Challenges
Who made their mark in 2025?
The crazyALEX.de stage was the epicentre of the start-up scene at Käpsele 2025: here, the future was not just discussed, but shaped in real time. From in-depth discussions on scaling European start-ups to intense pitches – the afternoon provided a platform for visionaries, investors and doers.
The start-up highlights:
- Pitch&Connect: 12 innovative solutions in fast-track format – the perfect way to forge a direct link between fresh start-up ideas and established companies.
- Top insights: High-profile speakers such as Andreas Blattmann (Black Forest Labs) and Tim Schumacher (World Fund) discussed how Europe’s next champion start-ups are growing.
- The finale (Pitch&Fly): In ‘The Hour of the Lions’, the boldest concepts faced off against experienced investors – a truly spine-tingling finale.
Käpsele Programme 2025
You’ve seen the atmosphere – now see what lies behind it. The 2025 programme, ranging from AI leadership to virtual worlds and quantum leaps.
Speakers 2025
Our Käpsele speakers for 2025 embody fresh perspectives, powerful ideas and genuine stage presence. Be inspired by people who don’t just think about the future, but actively shape it.
Sponsors 2025
Made possible by our partners. Whether they’re premium sponsors or infrastructure partners – without them, there’d be no Käpsele. Find out more about the companies and organisations that supported the festival in 2025.