German Startup Awards 2023 - all winners

In a festive gala at the Tipi am Kanzleramt in Berlin, the minds behind outstanding startups were honored by the Startup Association with the German Startup Awards 2023. The keynote address was given by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

These are the winners

• Newcomer of the Year: Mona Ghazi, co-founder Optimo GmbH (Berlin).
• Newcomerof the Year: Dr. Alexander Glätzle, CEO & Co-Founder planqc (Garching near Munich)
• Founder of the Year: Jenny von Podewils, Co-CEO & Co-Founder Leapsome (Berlin)
• Founder ofthe Year: Thomas von der Ohe, Co-Founder & CEO Vay (Berlin)
• Investor of the Year: Tina Dreimann, Managing Partner & Founder better ventures (Munich)
• Investor of the Year: Fridtjof Detzner, Co-Founder & Partner Planet A Ventures (Hamburg)
• Impact Entrepreneur of the Year: Gülsah Wilke, Co-founder and Managing Director 2Hearts (Berlin)
• Impact Entrepreneur of the Year: Dr. Christoph Schmitz, Founder and CEO Acker (Potsdam/Berlin)
• Special Award: Sebastian Matthes, Editor-in-Chief Handelsblatt (Düsseldorf)

The heart of the startup scene beats for the new, the seemingly impossible, and also for the fast. We need an alert and agile startup scene.

Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

Mona Ghazi was honored in the Newcomer of the Year category. With her startup Optimo, she has developed a learning app that supports knowledge transfer and training in family businesses. The prize for the best newcomer went to Dr. Alexander Glätzle of planqc, who is working on the development of the first German quantum computer based on neutral atoms. His company is enabling highly scalable quantum technology that will enable industry-relevant use of quantum advantages.

The winners have shown that entrepreneurship requires courage, perseverance, creativity and innovative spirit.

Franziska Teubert, Managing Director Startup Association

The German Startup Awards honored the founders of the year whose startups have the potential to become future unicorns and global market leaders. Jenny von Podewils, co-founder and co-CEO of Leapsome, received the title of Founder of the Year. Thomas von der Ohe, founder of Vay, was awarded Founder of the Year. Leapsome is an internationally operating people-enablement platform, while Vay offers an innovative door-to-door mobility service with remote-controlled electric cars.

Investor of the Year

The Investor of the Year award was presented to Tina Dreimann of better ventures, which advocates for impact founders to create a better world. The Investor of the Year category was won by Fridtjof Detzner of Planet A Ventures, which supports green technology startups and drives solutions to environmental challenges. These awards recognize both investors' commitment to the success of startups and their efforts to effect positive change through their investments.

Impact Entrepreneur*in

The Impact Entrepreneur of the Year is awarded to entrepreneurs who solve social or environmental problems through their startups. Gülsah Wilke was awarded Social Entrepreneur of the Year. She is co-founder of 2hearts, a platform for talents with a migration background. Dr. Christoph Schmitz received the Impact Entrepreneur of the Year title for his social enterprise Acker, which runs educational programs on vegetable growing and sustainability at schools.

Special Award

The Special Award honors individuals or organizations for their outstanding participation in the startup ecosystem. This year, Sebastian Matthes, editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt, was awarded the prize. Matthes is one of the pioneers of startup journalism and already reported intensively on startups in the early years of his career. He was also instrumental in launching the WirtschaftsWoche Gründerpreis, one of the first awards for startups in Germany.

Comment on the special award: Congratulations to all winners and especially to Sebastian Matthes. We at Startbase are extremely pleased that the special prize was awarded to a colleague from the field of journalism. We are extremely grateful for every strong voice reporting on startups and are happy about the recognition and appreciation this brings to startup reporting as a whole.