Heilbronn, May 12, 2025 - Meet the movers and shakers of Europe’s startup and innovation ecosystem at the startup festival Heilbronn Slush’D on October 23, 2025. This year, Slush’D returns for its fourth edition – and it is more relevant than ever. Over 1,000 selected participants will once again gather in one of Germany's most dynamic tech & startup hubs.
As the only official Slush’D event in Germany, this year’s edition focuses on the theme "ONE Driving Force", thriving to share insights, unite strengths, and align ambitions - to become a collective movement dedicated to advancing the European startup and innovation landscape.
The focus will as always be on breakthrough technologies, successful founders and their business models, and networking between startups, established companies, and investors. The festival will gather selected applicants from all over Europe and renowned speakers to explore the future of entrepreneurship and deep tech, right at the heart of one of Europe’s fastest-growing innovation hubs: Heilbronn. Early Bird Sale for a limited number of tickets starts today.
Organized and powered by Campus Founders, the startup and co-innovation hub backed by the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung, Heilbronn Slush'D has earned its place as a key event on the European startup calendar. From dynamic keynotes and insightful panels to hands-on workshops and networking formats, the event delivers real value for every stakeholder in the ecosystem.
Among this year’s speakers on the main stage:
Evan Floden is the co-founder and CEO of Seqera, a pioneering software company for biopharma R&D. A scientist with a PhD in computational biology, he created the widely adopted open-source workflow platform Nextflow, which now powers breakthroughs across genomics and life sciences worldwide.
Fabian Veit, CEO of make.com, a no-code and visual-first automation development platform owned by Celonis, one of Europe’s highest valued private companies. As former COO of Celonis, Fabian played a pivotal role in scaling Celonis from a small team to a global business.
Dr. Anita Puppe, Senior Consultant Transformation and Innovation at IBM, is an experienced speaker and a specialist for generative AI. She has held several senior roles in the healthcare/ pharma sector and is associate founder of mama health, as well as medical director for HeliosX and BrainTrip.
Sebastian Klaus is CEO and co-founder of Atmos Space Cargo, a European startup building a sustainable return logistics platform to transport cargo - from small payloads up to 100 kg to multi-tonne rocket stages - back to Earth from space.
Moreover, 50 startups will present on stage, pitch their ideas, and connect with high-ranking decision-makers. In 2024, Campus Founders Alumni startup AmberSearch established valuable customer relationships here and recently raised €2.1 million from pan-European investor Ventech.
In the context of this year’s Slush’D Heilbronn, Campus Founders will be celebrating the official opening of Campus Founders' new building, “Gravity” on October 22, the day before Heilbronn Slush’D. “Gravity” is built to become a center of gravity for entrepreneurship and co-innovation designed to accelerate startup growth and tech transformation. With 8,266 square meters on 7 floors, “Gravity” will be six times bigger than the current Campus Founders’ office. Over 200 workplaces, 21 meeting & workshop rooms, and two large event spaces will be available to future startup generations.
Heilbronn is experiencing an unprecedented transformation and growth as a European tech and startup hub. Heilbronn ranks among the top 10 cities for entrepreneurship in Germany and is home to the AI mega project IPAI (Innovationspark Artificial Intelligence), branches of the Max Planck Institute and imec as well as ETH Zurich and TU Munich plus 42 coding school. With a student population more than doubling from 8,000 to an expected 20,000 over the next ten years, Heilbronn is where momentum meets opportunity.
“All of these forces are coming together for two days this year – and the best way to dive into this fast-growing European ecosystem is to be at Heilbronn Slush’D.”, says Oliver Hanisch, CEO Campus Founders.
Heilbronn Slush’D is a startup festival organized by Campus Founders, designed to foster collaboration across startups, investors, corporates, and researchers. Since 2022, the event has brought the industry’s brightest minds to Heilbronn. A special application process ensures that all participants are genuinely interested in active exchange and collaboration. The festival also offers various pitch competitions with attractive prizes for startups.
Over the past years, Heilbronn Slush’D has hosted a number of high-profile international speakers, including bestselling author and management thought-leader Christian Busch, Scott Chacon (Co-Founder of GitHub and GitButler), Magnus Grimeland (Founder of Antler), Lisa Gradow (serial entrepreneur, investor, and CEO of Fides), and Michael Brehm (Founding Partner at Redstone).
Campus Founders is the startup and co-innovation hub based in Heilbronn. Its programs combine hands-on experience, cutting-edge methods, financial startup support, a strong mentor network, and international connections. Designed to support all phases of the entrepreneurial journey - from initial idea generation and validating problem-solution fit to achieving product-market fit and scaling sustainably - Campus Founders empowers early-stage startups to accelerate their progress and drive international growth.
As a platform, Campus Founders unites students, founders, investors, and companies to promote meaningful collaboration and co-innovation. Its vibrant community of over 1,000 members regularly engages in events and networking formats. Campus Founders also actively supports female founders through dedicated exchange and mentoring initiatives. As part of the RISE Europe network - linking 20 leading startup ecosystems across 14 countries - Campus Founders builds vital bridges to international markets and experts.
Florian Kratz
Director Marketing Communications
Campus Founders gGmbH
florian@campusfounders.de
Bildungscampus 1 - 74076 Heilbronn
