20+ Accelerators for Early-stage Startups in Berlin

Berlin is known for its thriving startup ecosystem and startup support community. By now, almost everyone has heard of HelloFresh, N26 or Tier Mobility. Not just because their products and services are becoming increasingly popular, but because they are the leading characters in the writing of Berlin’s startup fairytale.

With more and more creatives and visionaries flocking into Germany’s capital city, the quest for startup funding has become a central question for tomorrow’s tech companies. As a result, Berlin’s startup scene has also nurtured new players in founding support – VCs, incubators and accelerators are popping up around the city to try and catch the next big fish (or rather unicorn?).

Nonetheless, many promising ventures still struggle to take off as very early startup support is difficult to come by.

The business models behind startup support programs

Financing an accelerator is harder than you think. Especially if you want to ensure the best experience for founders and giving them a fair deal. In general, there are three ways an accelerator program can fund itself:

It is backed by a VC or investor. This (usually) means that the startup support program takes equity. Investors are bidding on the future success of their participants – and the increase in return. The advantage of such programs for startups is that raising funding post-acceleration is often much easier as you have already established close relations with potential investors.
It is backed by a corporate that is interested to support startups in its industry to explore synergies. If you don’t have to pay a fee, the focus often lies on partnerships and technology transfer that promises the corporate company future efficiency gains and savings. If you have to pay a fee, you still benefit from the proximity to the biggest players in the industry. An example for this is the Bayer CoLaboratory, where startups and companies can rent lab spaces and receive direct contact to Bayer’s networks. The great thing about this model – ignoring the price tag – is that the likelihood of startups securing their first customer increases significantly upon admission to the program.
It is backed by the state so that startups do not have to give up equity or pay a fee. For startups this is a pretty sweet deal, as on top of the knowledge and skill-related support, these programs often provide monthly stipends to cover living costs.

Obviously there are hybrid models, but the above three structures capture the general trend.

Finding startup accelerators in Berlin

During non-corona times Berlin is flooded with startup events, meetups, and find-your-perfect-co-founder-drinks.

Once you decide to invest into your startup full-time and build a venture, however, you you will start searching for Berlin’s more lucrative startup support options such as incubators and accelerators. For this purpose, the Berlin Senate commissioned the Startup Map Berlin, a tool that helps you find the right players in the city. It’s a great resource and we are excited to see it grow to become the one-stop-shop for everything concerning Berlin startups.

To complement the existing overview and free it of seemingly inactive or not-Berlin-based programs and support opportunities, we put together a list of Berlin accelerators and incubators for early stage startups specifically.

Early-stage accelerators and incubators in Berlin (private)

There are two disclaimers we would like to voice before you dig deeper into the table below:

It is very likely that the list is by no means complete. We did our best and put a significant amount of research hours into this to make sure that we catch ’em all. However, as the startup community in Berlin is so active, new support programs, challenges, and accelerators are created frequently while others stop operating. Other times, Google might not be as omniscient as it would like us to think, and we simply couldn’t find a specific program through our network and online research. If you are running a program or know of one, feel free to send a note to [email protected] and we are happy to update our list.
The definition of ‘early-stage’ is a blurry one. While many programs mention early-stage startups as their target audience, early-stage can be defined in many different ways. Most commonly it means pre-seed, or before any major investment. But even within this realm there are many different stages a startup goes through. So while we try to focus on the earlier stages, even the programs within this list might vary significantly in their requirements.

Now, without further ado: 20+ accelerators and incubators in Berlin that are funded with private money:

Accelerator	Focus	Requirements	Financials	Support	Equity	Duration
hubraum - Mixed Reality Program with Nreal	Entertainment (games, content consumption, social interactions) Productivity (collaboration, workspace enhancement) Far-reaching concepts (new interaction methods, user interface)	Experienced XR developers (esp. Unity) Solution providers interested in porting their application to Nreal Light	Possibility to receive potential investment	Platform for developing market-ready apps Commercialisation opportunities Engineering support Two Nreal Light DevKits Mentorship Access to experts	No	Max 2 months (Aug-Sep)
leAD Sports Academy	Sport startups focusing on fan engagement, connected athletes, derivative markets	Seed-stage startups	€50,000 receive for final teams	12 weeks of training Access to network Service partner deals Coaching	8%	2 months virtual program 3 months on-site if selected
APX Tailormade	Digital business models Industry-agnostic (but preference for lifestyle, travel, finance, mobility, media, eSports, real estate, smart home or healthcare startups)	Co-founders with complementary skills Based in Berlin Developed MVP (or buildable within 70 days)	Teams receive €50,000	Access to network Workshops Mentoring Office space	5%	100 days
Flying Health	Digital healthcare	Early and later stage healthcare startups	N/A	Market access strategies Business model design Access to network	No	N/A
hubraum - Residency Program	Future connectivity (5G, Edge, campus networks, LTE-M, NB-IoT, AI) Connected Life & Work (smart home, voicification, entertainment, AR/VR, consumer IoT, industrial IoT) The next next (telco tech)	Teams entering their growth stage	Selected travel and accommodation costs are covered Project-related expenditures (e.g. prototyping material) can be covered Support for subsequent pilot projects may be covered Potential investment	Access to Deutsche Telekom tech and infrastructure Mentorship Access to experts Office hours	No	3-12 months
The Venue Berlin	Music and audio technology startups	Entrepreneurs, journalists, artists looking to assist artists to be creative, creating and curating content and context, connecting artists and consumers, augmenting sound experience, managing rights	Partnership with APX regarding possible investment	Mentorship Access to network Space and equipment	See APX	N/A
Start-A-Factory by Frauenhofer	Hardware startups Products based on optical, chemical and/or electrical signals	Product-oriented Prototype development stage	Teams cover costs of man-power and usage of space and equipment	Equipment and software Access to experts and networks Workspace	No	Decided together with the team
helios.hub Accelerator	Health startups	Benefit for patients, relatives, doctors and hospital management	N/A	Mentoring Testing and roll-out un hospitals Access to experts and networks	N/A	N/A
GERMANTECH no bullshit lab	Industry-agnostic	Incorporated companies with initial product Must have one of the below: Seed funding Market traction High-tech prototype Not-first-time founders	No financial support and no fees	Mentoring Workshops Office space Access to network	No	3-12 months
DB Mindbox (Incubator of Deutsche Bahn)	Logistics and Passenger Transport, Customer Interaction, Maintenance, Construction, Human Resources	A MVP or first prototype should be viable for development and testing Team must consist of at least 2 people Startup must be a registered company	€25,000	Mentoring Internal & external Coaching Co-working space Access to unique data sets and DB business units Cooperation with betahaus Support by startup manager from DB mindbox	No	3 months (100 days)
Entrepreneur First	Finding co-founders for technology startups	Full-time participation Personal background and "edge"	Form phase: participants receive monthly stipend Launch phase: £80,000 Possibility of follow-on investment	Access to network Form phase: finding co-founder and support idea development Launch phase: investment and training	10%	Form phase: 3,5 months Launch phase: 6 months
Founders Institute	Startups that leverage and can scale through technology	Pre-seed founders Solo or teams Can still be employed No funding received yet Focus on products, not services	Participants cover fee of US$699 (early bird) / US$899 All alumni receive payouts from Equity Collective	Mentorship Access to network Feedback sessions	4%	4 months
Techstars Berlin Accelerator	Industry-agnostic	Founding team with complementary skills Prototype and early traction Validated core assumptions	Teams receive $20,000 Optional $100,000 convertible note	Access to resources and network Mentorship Office space $400k of hosting, accounting, legal support	6%	90 days
Advanced Material Accelerator Program (AdMaCom)	Advanced materials startups	Existing product or prototype (Pending) patent or planning to apply Founded or in the process of incorporation Preparing for first funding round	No financial support and no fees	Workshops Training Mentoring	No	2 weeks
Startup Bootchamp - Smart Transportation and Energy Berlin	Energy, Logistics, Information, Transportation, Sharing, Vehicles	Earliest stage startups should (1) have a core team with diverse skills and (2) a product that initial customers are using	Teams receive €15,000	Mentoring Office space Access to network €500,000 in perks	6%	3 months
Helmholtz Enterprise - Field Study	Market exploration through customer discovery	Participants must be scientists at Helmholtz Max 2 people per team Part- or full-time commitment	Teams receive €20,000	Coaching	No	3 months
Helmholtz Enterprise - Spin-off Program	Turning scientific research into businesses	Participants must be scientists at Helmholtz Max 2 people per team Full-time commitment	Phase 1: €100,000 Phase 2: €100,000	Mentoring Coaching Access to training and workshops	No	Phase 1: 8 months Phase 2: 6 months
Berlin Startup School	Industry-agnostic	Teams of 1-3 founders Business idea they want to test	The fee participants have to pay depends on their employment status.	12 workshops Access to coaching and expert support Office space	No	3 months
Startup Bootcamp Digital Health	Diabetes management, behaviour change, big data (specific to patient records), clinics/HCP process optimisation, pharmacy solutions, sensoring (care and rehabilitation), rare disease diagnostic	Fast-growth early-stage startups	Teams receive €15,000	Mentorship Office space Access to network Partner deals from tech providers	6%	3 months
ProVeg Incubator	Food awareness with a focus on reduction of animal product consumption, specifically removing animal products from the global food culture	Mission alignment with focus area Complementary founding team Focus on impact and sustainability Defensibility (e.g. through parents, trademarks etc.)	€20,000 for R&D and product development Possible follow-up investment of €180,000	Workshops Mentorship Access to network Office space and kitchen	N/A	12 weeks
New Space Vision Lab	Space startups	Early-stage teams with an upstream-related business idea (hardware and software for orbital operations) Market exploration and product development phase Not incorporated yet	No financial support and no fees	Prototyping support Coaching Network	No	6 months
Sizzl Scheicher Incubator Zoom Zone Labs	Electronic hardware	Concept or prototype for hardware, software, or machines	N/A	Office space Access to network and experts	N/A	N/A