SXSW combines a technology conference and cultural festival in one, attracting numerous visitors each year. Last year, around 280,000 attendees gathered to attend 15 different tracks at nine summits at a total of six locations in Austin. The program offered technology topics as well as film premieres and comedy acts.
And the organizers of SXSW are promising a lot for this year as well. For example, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert will Keynote The company made headlines last year when its founder, Yvon Chouinard, donated it to two foundations, thus committing it to climate protection. Gellert, CEO of Patagonia since 2020, will surely have a lot to say about the new way of doing business his company has proclaimed. And in another keynote, four scientists involved with the James Webb Telescope will provide an overview of the telescope's latest scientific discoveries and discuss how this observatory will continue to explore the unexplored areas of our cosmos.
A delegation from the city of Munich will also be part of the hustle and bustle of SXSW this year. Along with representatives from the city administration, business, and the cultural and creative scene, five startups will also attend the event in Austin.
Clemens Baumgärtner, Minister for Labor and Economic Affairs of the City of Munich, will lead the Munich delegation. He is pleased about the participation of the startups:
"The high number of applications shows that there is great interest among Munich startups in participating in SXSW. The selection wasn't easy, but I believe that with the six winners, we can effectively showcase the broad spectrum of Munich's startup scene on an international stage."
Imagine
The startup Imagine operates at the intersection of medtech and edtech. It uses immersive technologies (VR, AR, XR) to improve education, training, and continuing education in healthcare and to relieve the burden on professionals in their daily practice. Theda Ockenga, CEO of StellDirVor, expects new impulses from SXSW:
"SXSW is a great opportunity for us to deepen and expand our international partnerships. Especially in the area of immersive technologies, we can certainly gain many exciting insights and trends. Our field of activity, 'Healthcare,' is currently experiencing a great deal of momentum – especially abroad; we are happy to be inspired by best practices for healthy digitalization."
Liangdao
The mobility startup Liangdao develops multi-sensor measurement technology for vehicles and traffic infrastructure. The company relies on LiDAR sensors, which feed data to AI-based software. In this way, Liangdao aims to provide real-time environmental detection and precise object recognition, enabling road users to make sustainable decisions and better assess complex situations.
The startup has already impressed the state capital Munich: In 2021, Liangdao won the Munich Innovation Prize with a solution to "improve the data situation on stationary and moving traffic." CEO and Co-Founder Yang Ji is sure that he can also convince in the USA:
"As a Munich-based startup, we want to bring our smart city innovation with a 3D real-time traffic monitoring system to the USA. For greater safety on the roads."
Brainamics
Brainamics uses EEG and machine learning to map gamers' gaming experiences – every second and at every virtual location during gameplay. This allows game developers to objectively determine in which parts of their game the test players' concentration wanes or even boredom sets in. In this way, the Munich-based startup aims to help develop more successful games. Originally launched under the name Brainsight, the startup has already TUM Idea Award Brainamics has also already completed a pre-seed round with the Initiative for Industrial Innovators as investor.
Farminsect
Farminsect enables farmers to produce animal feed from insect larvae. To this end, the startup has developed automated fattening systems operated by farmers on their own farms. These fatten the young larvae continuously provided by the startup. The locally produced insect larvae are intended to completely replace soy and fish meal as animal feed. This should increase farmers' resource efficiency and added value while reducing CO2 emissions. Farminsect can already count on EU support: The startup is receiving a total of €7.5 million in funding from European funds through the EIC Accelerator.
Reverion
Reverion has developed a technology that aims to achieve 80 percent efficiency in generating electricity from biogas – twice as much as conventional methods. To achieve this, the startup relies on fuel cells in a novel system design that also allows for reversible use. This means that Reverion systems can convert electricity production into electricity use when needed, thus harnessing excess power from wind and solar energy for an electrolysis process. Reverion produces either green hydrogen or renewable natural gas substitutes. The latter can then be fed into the existing natural gas grid.
Context Lab
The Munich-based startup Kontextlab has developed a solution to help understand the context of knowledge. With its web-based publishing software, complex topics can be created and published in digital multilayer mind maps. These maps allow readers to gain a playful and visual overview of a topic, discover different perspectives, and delve into the details. “Culture and Creative Pilot 2019” help to convey large subject areas comprehensively, yet clearly and understandably.
