Altmaier wants to promote AI start-ups

The Federal Ministry of Economics is increasing the Exist program and the German Accelerator by a total of 46.5 million euros.

In order to provide even more support for start-ups in the field of AI, the Federal Ministry of Economics is increasing the Exist program and the German Accelerator by a total of 46.5 million euros by the end of 2024.

"With the Exist program, we are promoting the transfer of research into application and thus putting the horsepower on the road - now also with additional funding for start-ups in the field of artificial intelligence," says Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier (CDU). "I am delighted that 'Science & Startups' is the first pilot project to be launched here in Berlin, with further pilot projects in other regions set to follow suit."

As the first model project, "Science & Startups", the network of start-up services of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin and Charité, will receive almost seven million euros to promote spin-offs in the field of artificial intelligence. The model project is intended to cover the entire innovation chain, from the identification of start-up potential in research to the targeted acceleration of the feasibility phase and an accelerator program at the new AI Campus Berlin. There are also plans to set up an AI Academy for start-ups and stakeholders.

The aim of the ministry is to make Germany visible internationally in AI hotspots such as Silicon Valley and Singapore. "The success of Celonis, a start-up founded with the help of Exist and funded by the German Accelerator, which was valued at 11 billion dollars last week, shows just how much potential there is in the combination of start-up funding and AI," says Altmaier. dollars last week," says Altmaier.