{"id":7299,"date":"2025-11-10T11:16:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/campusfounders.eu\/?post_type=news&#038;p=7299"},"modified":"2026-05-12T11:49:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:49:37","slug":"one-driving-force-for-europe-heilbronn-slushd-2025-redefines-whats-possible","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/campusfounders.eu\/de\/news\/one-driving-force-for-europe-heilbronn-slushd-2025-redefines-whats-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"ONE Driving Force for Europe: Heilbronn Slush\u2019D 2025 redefines what\u2019s possible"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"hero-03\">\n<div class=\"custom-container\">\n<div class=\"hero-content-03\">\n<div class=\"blog-details\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-block-3 w-richtext\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li>Sold-out crowd: 1,000 curated participants from across Europe and beyond<\/li>\n<li>Over 40 top-tier speakers representing 10 countries, including leaders from 1KOMMA5\u00b0, Norrsken VC, make.com, Seqera, Audi, and Neura Robotics<\/li>\n<li>More than 70 exhibitors and 11 side events in collaboration with renowned partners such as NXTGN, encourageventures, appliedAI Institute, Verband der Unternehmerinnen in Deutschland, fostering networking, mentorship, and co-innovation<\/li>\n<li>Exclusive insights from HyImpulse Technologies, following its recent \u20ac45 million funding round led by Campus Founders Ventures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u200d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Heilbronn, October 27, 2025<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Heilbronn Slush\u2019D 2025 brought together over 1,000 founders, investors, and innovation leaders from across Europe under the theme\u00a0<em>\u201cONE Driving Force.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0The event focused on advancing Europe\u2019s innovation landscape through collaboration, technology, and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n<p>With a sold-out crowd, participants from all over Europe, and a lineup of global thought leaders, Heilbronn Slush\u2019D 2025 reaffirmed its status as one of Europe\u2019s most forward-looking gatherings for founders and investors. The event showcased Europe\u2019s innovation depth \u2013 from AI and deep tech to robotics, space technology, and sustainable business models, highlighting the region\u2019s evolving role in setting the pace for innovation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are very satisfied with how the event went. We were sold out again and were able to welcome significantly more international participants, partners, and speakers to Heilbronn. You could really feel the energy of this year\u2019s motto, \u2018One Driving Force,\u2019 in the audience. The feedback was consistently positive, and what\u2019s always special is when people come to Heilbronn for the first time and realize the scale of what\u2019s being built here and the dynamism within the ecosystem. The quality of the startups in the pitch competition was also very high. We\u2019re excited to see how many future success stories will have had their foundation laid at Heilbronn Slush\u2019D 2025\u201d, said Oliver Hanisch, CEO of Campus Founders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHeilbronn Slush\u2019D has once again shown that we have everything it takes to build a successful innovation ecosystem \u2014 not only here in Heilbronn, but across Germany and Europe. We have the talent, we have the technologies and innovations \u2014 and we have the capital. Now it\u2019s about making this capital accessible to startups and investing larger amounts locally. This way, we will give them the opportunity to grow globally from their home market and secure our competitiveness and independence for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>On stage: where Europe\u2019s innovators defined what\u2019s next<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The main stage brought together pioneers shaping the future of technology, sustainability, and entrepreneurship across Europe. Agate Freimane, Founding General Partner at Norrsken VC, opened with a powerful call for perseverance and ownership: \u201cNo excuses, only solutions. Excuses never get you anywhere. Find a way, no matter how hard it is.\u201d Her statement set the tone for a day defined by grit and conviction \u2013 and by founders determined to turn challenges into progress. Sophia R\u00f6diger, CMO at 1KOMMA5\u00b0, followed with her formula for scaling successfully in Europe: \u201cTopic, timing, talent: that\u2019s the secret sauce to scaling,\u201d she said. Andy Bruckschloegel, Co-Founder of Bits &amp; Pretzels, Ryte and Semrush, added the 10 most important ingredients for startup success in his 10 minute power talk, showcasing what efficiency can look like. And the audience appreciated the hands-on tips with rounds of applause.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the day, AI emerged as a central theme across multiple talks and panels \u2013 a reflection of its omnipresence in today\u2019s innovation landscape. Breana Callan, speaking for the German AI Association, captured this perfectly: \u201cAI isn\u2019t potential anymore, \u2026 it\u2019s proven momentum.\u201d Their new\u00a0<em>AI-on-Demand<\/em>\u00a0platform has the aim to bring together AI services, resources, and tools and make them easily accessible in one place. AI researchers, SMEs, tech providers, EU-funded projects, Digital Innovation Hubs, and other European actors can come together on this platform to share AI progress.\u200d<\/p>\n<p>Alongside AI, robotics stood out as another important pillar of Europe\u2019s technological edge: At a panel on corporate-startup collaboration, David Reger, CEO of Neura Robotics, emphasized that these partnerships give companies a major competitive advantage, as they benefit from startup innovations before anyone else in the market. From the corporate perspective, Henning L\u00f6ser, Senior Manager at Audi Production Lab, stressed the importance of speed and adaptability: \u201cWe need people who are allowed to break rules,\u201d he said. \u201cStartups can and should fail fast, learn, and iterate, but understanding how corporates operate is key if they want to win them as customers.\u201d Stephan-Daniel Gravert, CPO at mimic robotics, pointed to trust as the foundation of collaboration between startups and large companies, while Timo Gessmann, CTO at Schunk, emphasized the power of ecosystems: \u201cYou need to use the ecosystem to foster innovation. No one innovates alone.\u201d\u200d<\/p>\n<p>Matt Domo, Amazon employee #17 and co-founder of Amazon Web Services (AWS), flew in from the United States to close the official agenda with his blueprint for the European Ecosystem. His main messages were: Stop siloed competition and that now is not the time to overregulate.<\/p>\n<p>One of the exclusive insights surrounding Heilbronn Slush\u2019D underscored just how real Europe\u2019s innovation drive has become: HyImpulse Technologies, a Heilbronn-based space tech startup, has recently announced a \u20ac 45 million funding round, led by Campus Founders Ventures. The investment marks a milestone for rocket technology \u201cMade in Europe\u201d, fueling the commercialization of HyImpulse\u2019s SL1 orbital rocket and advancing Europe\u2019s independent, cost-effective access to space.\u200d<\/p>\n<p>Visitors at the event could experience Europe\u2019s space ambitions up close \u2014 with HyImpulse\u2019s SR75 rocket on display as one of the highlights on site. Other crowd magnets included Neura Robotics and Schunk, who showcased a humanoid robot with dexterous, human-like hands, symbolising the next leap in robotics and automation. Adding a touch of startup flair, a pop-up barber shop in the exhibition area became a networking hotspot and social media favourite.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The pitch competition: celebrating Europe\u2019s boldest startups<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Fifty startups competed live across five award categories in front of a packed audience. The prestigious ONE Hundred Award &#8211; including the chance of a \u20ac 100.000 investment from Campus Founders Ventures &#8211; went to\u00a0<em>EcoComply<\/em>, which offers a platform that helps manufacturers efficiently check and prepare their products for legal requirements such as CE marking, RoHS, REACH, WEEE, and more.\u00a0\u200d<\/p>\n<p>The new Co-Innovation Award was awarded to\u00a0<em>common sense robotics<\/em>, an intelligent platform that automates and optimizes manual work in industrial environments.\u00a0<em>common sense robotics<\/em>\u00a0connects Artificial Intelligence (AI) with robots to understand, plan, and either assist humans with tasks or perform them autonomously. The award includes a \u20ac 25.000 budget for a proof-of-concept project with the award partner Audi.<\/p>\n<p>Other awarded categories were the \u20ac 25.000 ONE Driving Force Award, supported by D11Z. Ventures and awarded to\u00a0<em>Sleak AI<\/em>, as well as the \u20ac 5.000 Female Founders Award, supported by Wissensstadt Heilbronn \/ WoMent, which was awarded to\u00a0<em>ChangePath<\/em>. And finally the \u20ac 5.000 Campus Founders Community Award, voted by the audience and awarded to\u00a0<em>Bloom Future<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u201cGravity\u201d: the next chapter<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Looking ahead, the spirit of Heilbronn Slush\u2019D will continue to take shape in December. On December 3, Campus Founders will officially open GRAVITY, their new 8,266-square-meter space in Heilbronn. Designed as a center of gravity for entrepreneurship and co-innovation, the building will host over 200 workplaces, 21 meeting rooms, and two event spaces, providing a home for the next generation of founders and innovators. With GRAVITY opening its doors and new partnerships emerging, Heilbronn continues to strengthen its position as one of Europe\u2019s most dynamic innovation ecosystems.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links &amp; Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li>Website:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heilbronnslushd.com\/?utm_source=pr&amp;utm_medium=other_medium&amp;utm_campaign=HNS&amp;utm_content=Press-Release_03-ONE-Driving-Force\">heilbronnslushd.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Instagram:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/heilbronn.slushd\/\">\u00a0@heilbronn.slushd<\/a><\/li>\n<li>LinkedIn:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/showcase\/heilbronn-slushd\/\">\u00a0Heilbronn Slush\u2019D<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Image Gallery:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/folders\/1cOqCEZOlaT2Qb-d_Y9-voneLnje0b3La?usp=sharing\">Image Gallery<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u200d<\/p>\n<h4><strong>About Heilbronn Slush\u2019D:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Heilbronn Slush\u2019D 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>About Campus Founders:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>\u200dCampus 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 \u2013 from initial idea generation and validating problem-solution fit to achieving product-market fit and scaling sustainably \u2013 Campus Founders empowers early-stage startups to accelerate their progress and drive international growth.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2013 linking 20 leading startup ecosystems across 14 countries \u2013 Campus Founders builds vital bridges to international markets and experts.<\/p>\n<p>\u200d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Press Contact<br \/>\n<\/strong>Florian Kratz<br \/>\nDirector Marketing Communications<br \/>\nCampus Founders gGmbH<br \/>\n+49 (0) 152 0341 8410<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:florian@campusfounders.de\">florian@campusfounders.de<\/a><br \/>\nBildungscampus 1 &#8211; 74076 Heilbronn<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sold-out crowd: 1,000 curated participants from across Europe and beyond Over 40 top-tier speakers representing 10 countries, including leaders from 1KOMMA5\u00b0, Norrsken VC, make.com, Seqera, Audi, and Neura Robotics More than 70 exhibitors and 11 side events in collaboration with renowned partners such as NXTGN, encourageventures, appliedAI Institute, Verband der Unternehmerinnen in Deutschland, fostering networking, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7300,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news_categories":[110,37,107],"class_list":["post-7299","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news_categories-highlight","news_categories-news","news_categories-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/campusfounders.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/7299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/campusfounders.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/campusfounders.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campusfounders.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/campusfounders.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/campusfounders.eu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_categories?post=7299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}