Germany has no single startup capital: Berlin hosts the big policy, science and developer events, Munich has Bits & Pretzels and the largest women's career fair, Hamburg has OMR, and Cologne, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Stuttgart and the Ruhr run strong regional scenes.
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events in Germany from October 2026 to the end of 2027. We checked every date on the organiser's own website. Where a date isn't published yet, we say so, and we mark each event as Confirmed (date on the official site), Announced (date from a reliable second source) or Expected (based on past editions only).
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
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Best Startup Events in Germany 2026–2027: Calendar from October 2026 to September 2027
Autumn 2026: October to December
Women in Tech EMEA Summit: 29–30 October 2026
Two days of talks and workshops for women in tech across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Digital-Gipfel: 2–3 November 2026
The federal government's digital summit takes place in Berlin, with the theme "Shaping AI: safe, sovereign, competitive". It is mostly a policy event, but it shows where public AI money and procurement are going. Attendance works through an expression-of-interest form. Digital-Gipfel
Falling Walls Science Summit: 6–9 November 2026
One of the best stages in Germany for science-based startups. Applications for Falling Walls Venture 2027 open in February 2027. Berlin Science Week runs at the same time (1–10 November).
DevFests: 7, 14 and 21 November 2026
Google Developer Groups run community DevFests in Karlsruhe (7 November), Berlin (14 November, SRH Berlin, co-run by Women Techmakers Berlin) and Stuttgart (21 November). They are cheap ways for technical founders to meet developers.
Munich women founder events: 10 and 13 November 2026
Bitkom, the German digital industry association, runs this circle with talks by founders and women investors. Three days later, the Munich chamber of commerce hosts SheStartup – Women Founders (13 November, 09:00–13:30, IHK, Max-Joseph-Straße 2), a free morning on business plans and funding.
Gründungswoche Deutschland: 16–22 November 2026
Germany's part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, run under the federal economy ministry. Chambers, universities and founder centres run hundreds of local workshops and talks; use the official calendar to find the ones near you.
Female Entrepreneurship Week Hamburg: 16–20 November 2026
Run by HAW Hamburg's GründungsService under the motto "Inspire. Empower. Connect.", with a session on EXIST Women. One listing on the same site shows 15–19 November, so check the programme before you book.
Leipzig and Böblingen: 17 and 19 November 2026
The Leipziger Gründungsnacht (Tuesday 17 November, from 17:30) is Leipzig's yearly founder evening with an award ceremony; applications closed on 8 October. On 19 November the Female Founders Cup of Start-up BW, the Baden-Württemberg state startup programme, holds its final with 10 women founders at the AI xpress Startup Zentrum in Böblingen, near Stuttgart.
IMPACT FESTIVAL: 25–26 November 2026
Run by TechQuartier, Frankfurt's startup hub, this is the biggest startup event in Frankfurt this autumn. The week before, on 20 November, STARTPLATZ in Cologne runs a one-day AI Coding Hackathon.
hackaTUM: 27–29 November 2026
The Technical University of Munich's student hackathon is one of the best-known in Germany and a good place to meet technical co-founders. hack.tum.de
Hamburg and Düsseldorf: 1 and 3 December 2026
FISH & FOUNDERS (1 December, from 18:30, Digital Hub Logistics) is the Hamburg network evening of the Startup-Verband, the German startup association. On 3 December eight startups pitch to corporates at the de:hub Pitch Night in Düsseldorf, part of the federal de:hub network of digital hubs.
2027: January to September
DLD Munich: 14–16 January 2027
DLD (Digital Life Design) opens the year with founders, investors and media in Munich. Event listing sites give 14–16 January 2027 and tickets from €1,950; the official site doesn't show the date in a readable form, so we mark it Announced. dld-conference.com
TRANSFORM: 17–18 March 2027
Where B2B startups meet buyers from large German companies. Bitkom renamed its hub.berlin conference TRANSFORM.
HANNOVER MESSE and DMEA: April 2027
HANNOVER MESSE (5–8 April 2027) is the main industrial technology fair, with the HERMES STARTUP AWARD open for 2027. DMEA, the big digital health fair, moves from Berlin to Munich and runs on 13–15 April 2027.
OMR Festival: 3–5 May 2027
Germany's largest marketing festival, and a good place to learn growth tactics and meet brand partners.
re:publica, Ecosummit.AI and the German Startup Awards: 10–13 May 2027
A direct route to climate tech investors. The same week, re:publica (10–12 May, STATION Berlin) draws a large digital society and media audience, and the Startup-Verband holds the German Startup Awards on 13 May 2027 (venue not announced yet).
EBAN Congress, SuperReturn and Hinterland of Things: June 2027
The European Business Angel Network congress comes to Leipzig, hosted with Saxony's futureSAX. SuperReturn International (7–11 June, InterContinental Berlin) is mostly for funds and their investors, and useful only if you raise large rounds. Hinterland of Things (10 June, Bielefeld) connects founders with Germany's family-owned industrial companies, the Mittelstand.
ruhrSUMMIT and WeAreDevelopers: June and July 2027
The ruhrSUMMIT (16–17 June 2027, Bochum) is the Ruhr area's flagship startup event, with matchmaking between startups and corporates. In Berlin, the WeAreDevelopers World Congress (14–16 July 2027) is a large developer congress and useful for technical hiring.
gamescom, IAA MOBILITY and DMEXCO: August and September 2027
Three big trade fairs with startup areas: gamescom in Cologne (23–29 August, public days from 26 August) for games startups, IAA MOBILITY in Munich (7–12 September) for mobility, and DMEXCO in Cologne (22–23 September) for marketing and ad tech. Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival (15–18 September) has a conference for music tech and creative founders.
Bits & Pretzels: 27–29 September 2027
Germany's flagship founders festival, with talks, investor meetings and a final day at the Oktoberfest.
Dates not announced yet
- GITEX AI Europe 2027, Berlin. The 2026 edition ran on 30 June – 1 July at Messe Berlin; 2027 dates are not on the official site yet.
- Frankfurt FinTech Week. The official site says "Dates follow".
- DIGITAL X, Cologne. The 2026 edition was on 8 September at the Rheinauhafen; expected again in September 2027.
- Future Tech Fest, Düsseldorf (formerly Digital Demo Day). Last held on 10 September 2026.
- Pirate Night, Cologne. The successor of Pirate Summit ran on 24 June 2026; no 2027 date yet.
- Falling Walls Venture 2027. Applications open in February 2027.
Past events
- herCAREER 2026: the career and founder expo for women on 22–23 October 2026 at the MOC, Munich. her-career.com
- Women Startup MatchLab by Women.start.up! at UnternehmerTUM, Munich: 21 October 2026.
Recurring meetups and communities
- Startup City Hamburg: weekly Build Fridays, a Saturday Founders Running Club, a monthly Climate Coffee and Hamburg Hardware Afterwork. Startup City Hamburg events
- STARTPLATZ, Cologne and Düsseldorf: AI Friday (Cologne 6 November, Düsseldorf 13 November) and afterwork evenings (12 November, 10 December). STARTPLATZ events
- Startup Grind Berlin: active, with breakfasts, roundtables and watch parties. Startup Grind Berlin
- Founder Institute Germany (Berlin and Munich): the autumn 2026 cohort is open.
- Munich Startup: the city's startup portal lists events across Munich, including a Female Founders Breakfast on 29 October. munich-startup.de
- futureSAX, Saxony: regular pitch evenings (next on 29 October in Zschopau) and pitches to its expert panel. futureSAX
- Startup-Verband: "SV on Tour" stops (Hannover, 9 December) and online founder talks. Startup-Verband events
- Google Developer Groups: active chapters in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe.
Some well-known names have stopped or changed. Tech Open Air (TOA) Berlin shows only a 2019 recap. Pirate Summit in Cologne ended in 2023, and hub.berlin is now TRANSFORM. There is no Start-up BW Summit in 2026, the Greentech Festival now runs only outside Germany, and the Techstars Berlin accelerator is paused. We found no active local Startup Grind chapters in Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt or Stuttgart, and no Berlin Tech Week.
Events for women founders in Germany
We found several dated women-founder events in Germany this autumn:
- Women in Tech EMEA Summit, Berlin, 29–30 October 2026.
- SheMadeIT Female Founders Circle (Bitkom), Munich, 10 November, and SheStartup (IHK), Munich, 13 November.
- Female Entrepreneurship Week, Hamburg, 16–20 November.
- Female Founders Cup final, Böblingen, 19 November.
- EXIST Women: a federal programme for women at universities and research institutes who want to found a company (see below).
Self-employed women in Germany should also read our news story on maternity pay for self-employed women in Germany. If you organise an event for women founders in Germany, send it to us and we'll add it.
Funding and support to know before you go
- EXIST Founder Scholarship (EXIST-Gründungsstipendium): 12 months of support for university founders, with a monthly stipend of €1,000 (students) to €3,000 (doctorate), up to €30,000 in non-cash funds for teams and a €5,000 coaching budget. exist.de
- EXIST Women: a programme of up to ten months for women from universities and research institutes, with up to three months of stipend (€1,000–€3,000, plus €150 per child) and €2,000 in non-cash funds. exist.de
- KfW ERP-Gründerkredit StartGeld: loans of up to €200,000 for companies under five years old, full-time or part-time; KfW carries 80% of the credit risk. KfW
- INVEST grant for business angels: private investors get back 15% of what they invest (minimum €10,000), which helps when you pitch to angels. BAFA
- Self-employment residence permit for non-EU founders (§21 AufenthG): you need a business with an economic interest or regional need and secured financing; the permit lasts up to three years. Residence Act §21
For more, see our lists of startup funding sources in Germany and funding options for German startups.
How to get the most out of German startup events
- Pick your city by sector. Berlin for science, policy and developers; Munich for founders festivals, mobility and health; Hamburg for marketing; Cologne for games and ad tech; Frankfurt for fintech and impact.
- Use the free events. The Gründungswoche, the IHK SheStartup morning, DevFests and STARTPLATZ or Startup City Hamburg meetups cost little or nothing.
- Expect German. Big conferences run in English, but many chamber, regional and award events are in German. Check the language before you book.
- Apply for pitch slots early. Falling Walls Venture, the Female Founders Cup and Ecosummit select startups months ahead. See more startup competitions.
- Ask about EXIST and KfW. University founder centres and chambers at these events can explain the public schemes most German startups use.
List your event in this guide
Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in Germany? Send us the name, dates, venue and official link, and we'll check whether it fits this guide. We list events for founders, with a real date and an official page.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
🔗 Add an awesome event
Startup events in other countries
FAQ
What are the biggest startup events in Germany?
Bits & Pretzels in Munich (27–29 September 2027), OMR Festival in Hamburg (3–5 May 2027), the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin (6–9 November 2026), TRANSFORM in Berlin (17–18 March 2027) and big trade fairs with startup areas such as HANNOVER MESSE, gamescom and IAA MOBILITY.
Is Tech Open Air (TOA) still running in Berlin?
We found no recent edition: the official site shows only a 2019 recap and no new date.
Are there free startup events in Germany?
Yes. Most Gründungswoche events (16–22 November 2026), the IHK SheStartup morning in Munich, and many STARTPLATZ and Startup City Hamburg meetups are free or very cheap.
Where can I pitch my startup in Germany?
At Falling Walls Venture (science startups), the de:hub Pitch Night in Düsseldorf, Ecosummit.AI in Berlin (climate tech), the EBAN Congress in Leipzig (business angels), the Female Founders Cup in Baden-Württemberg and futureSAX pitch evenings in Saxony.
Are there events for women founders in Germany?
Yes: the Women in Tech EMEA Summit (Berlin, 29–30 October 2026), Bitkom's SheMadeIT circle and the IHK SheStartup morning (Munich, 10 and 13 November), Female Entrepreneurship Week (Hamburg, 16–20 November) and the Female Founders Cup final (19 November).
Can non-EU founders start a company in Germany?
Yes, with the self-employment residence permit under §21 of the Residence Act: you need a business with an economic interest or regional need and secured financing, and the permit lasts up to three years.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
