The German Accelerator is expanding its Silicon Valley program and has appointed Andreas Hofmann as the program's director. The entrepreneur and Bavarian native has lived and worked on the West Coast of the USA for over 20 years. He has been a mentor to the German Accelerator since 2013. Hofmann has expertise in the areas of consumer electronics, digital health, mobile platforms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
The German Accelerator supports promising German startups in their international expansion, including in the innovation hubs of San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, and Singapore. A team of experts and mentors supports the selected startups with local expertise and various workshops and training opportunities. Andreas Hofmann is now joining the program in Silicon Valley as CEO.
The German Accelerator offers two different programs on the West Coast
In Silicon Valley and San Francisco, the German Accelerator offers two different programs: The three-month Main program is aimed at founders who have already established their startup in Germany and now want to open a US branch.
There is also the one-month Jumpstart program, which is aimed at early-stage startups who want to learn more about the US market and specifically about the conditions in Silicon Valley. In 2019, Retorio, Mitakus Analytics and Ciara also three Munich startups with Jumpstart in Silicon Valley to test their product idea and business model on site.
Andreas Hofmann: The CEO has startup experience himself
Andreas Hofmann, who has his own founding experience and co-founded the startup Kukun, but has also worked for companies such as Sun Microsystems and Google Ventures, says:
"I'm really looking forward to further developing our offering and making it even more attractive, working with Germany's best startups here locally and increasing our visibility in Silicon Valley."
Matthias Notz, Managing Director at German Entrepreneurship, comments on Hofmann’s appointment as CEO as follows:
"As a founder and active entrepreneur, he has excellent connections in Silicon Valley and is able to offer our local startups the best possible support to position themselves quickly and sustainably in the new market."
Notz adds:
“We have established a very successful program in Silicon Valley and look forward to taking it to the next level with Andreas' ideas, enthusiasm, and network.”
Here is an interview with the German Accelerator
Also worth reading is our interview with Proglove, who were in New York about the German Accelerator
