- The event will take place on June 25 at the Yulchon Lounge, with participation from key institutions including Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Seoul, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI).
- Led by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), more than 20 German innovation organizations and startups — including Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), Berlin Partner and de:hub — will come together to build synergy and strengthen innovation partnerships with Korea.
German Accelerator, a global startup program supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), announced that it will host Startup Germany Night on June 25 at the Yulchon Lounge in Seoul. The event will feature key speakers and panelists from Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Seoul, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea International Trade Association, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) and Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The theme of this year’s Startup Germany Night is “Scaling Innovation: Connecting Startups, Corporates, and Global Markets.” The event aims to go beyond simply discussing cross-border business operations, offering meaningful insights into expanding innovation by connecting startups, corporates, and the global market. Speakers and panelists include leaders in open innovation from both Korea and abroad. Georg Schmidt, German Ambassador to Korea, Myung-ja Lee, Executive Director of Global Marketing at KITA, a representative from Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Yulchon LLC will deliver welcome remarks.
This will be followed by a panel talk titled “Expanding Innovation: Connecting Startups, Corporates, and the Global Market,” featuring Claus Karthe (CEO, Start2 Group Asia), Jinhwa Lee (Senior Manager, Hyundai ZER01NE) and Jinny Kim (Director, MyThings Korea). In addition, Marie Antonia von Schönburg, President and CEO of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI), and Dr. Jochen Zimmermann, Head of Startups and Digital Hubs at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), together with Claus Karthe, CEO of Start2 Group Asia, will deliver closing remarks celebrating the Korea-Germany partnership.
The event will also feature 20 promising German startups presenting a range of innovative solutions. Key participants include:
▲ Createflow, specializing in supply chain systemization; ▲ Hyped About Science, which develops cold plasma skincare devices; ▲ Heppe Medical Chitosan, a manufacturer of chitin and chitosan; ▲ Workist, offering AI-powered document processing automation; and ▲ Mobile Vision Technology, focused on AI-based industrial automation.
German Accelerator empowers German startups to scale globally. We take high-potential companies on a fast paced learning journey to discover and access the world’s leading innovation hubs in Europe, the U.S., South America and Asia. It is part of Startup Germany, an initiative run by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), and is operated by Start2 Group, a global accelerator recently ranked as No. 3 startup hub in Europe by the Financial Times. Notably, German Accelerator was ranked 14th globally in CB Insights’ list of top global acceleration programs, alongside leading names such as Y Combinator and Techstars.
German Accelerator has been operating in Korea since 2020 and plans to use this event to further expand startup collaboration and synergy between the two nations. Leading German ecosystem builders including ▲ Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), ▲ the City of Düsseldorf, ▲ the Digital Hub Initiative (de:hub) and ▲ Berlin Partner will participate in Startup Germany Night. At Nextrise 2025, taking place on June 26–27 with Germany participating as the Guest Country, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), together with German innovation organizations and startups, will operate the ‘German Pavilion, Startup Germany’. The pavilion will feature various programs including startup pitching and panel discussions offering insights into Germany’s startup ecosystem.
Claus Karthe, who leads German Accelerator’s Asia program as Asia CEO of Start2 Group, stated:
“We expect Startup Germany Night, taking place during NextRise 2025 week, to offer a truly unique opportunity to connect the innovation ecosystems of Germany and Korea. We are committed to supporting networking, new partnerships, and future collaborations among startups, investors, government agencies, and ecosystem leaders from both countries.”
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