Hamburg startup directory
Explore startups, investors, and ecosystem operators in Hamburg, Germany.
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1KOMMA5°
1KOMMA5° (named for the 1.5°C climate target) is one of Europe’s fastest-scaling energy transition companies, reaching unicorn status in roughly 21 months. Based in Hamburg, the firm tackles the “last mile” of decarbonization by combining a roll-up acquisition strategy with a software-defined energy platform. Instead of only selling solar panels, 1KOMMA5° acquires local installer businesses across Europe and digitizes them to deliver end-to-end home electrification — solar, batteries, heat pumps, and EV chargers — with consistent quality and financing. The company’s differentiator is Heartbeat, a proprietary energy management system that turns these assets into a virtual power plant. Heartbeat orchestrates when batteries charge or discharge based on real-time spot prices and grid conditions, allowing households to capture savings from dynamic tariffs and to export power during peak demand. In 2025, the system expanded to automated trading of household energy, making “free” electricity periods during windy or sunny hours a tangible consumer benefit. This blending of hardware deployment and energy-software automation allows 1KOMMA5° to capture margin both on installation and on recurring software and energy services. Founder Philipp Schroder (former Tesla country director and Sonnen executive) used his industry network to skip early accelerators, and the company instead embedded itself in the Hamburg Startup City ecosystem. Its acquisition engine is relentless: by buying regional market leaders, it locks in the most scarce resource in the sector — skilled installers — while rapidly expanding geographic reach. By early 2026, 1KOMMA5° had expanded beyond DACH into the Nordics, Spain, and Australia, positioning itself for a cross-continental footprint ahead of a public listing. The company has signaled an IPO-readiness push, backed by record turnover reported for 2024 and an expansion into branded hardware components to increase margin and supply-chain resilience. Its investor base blends strategic and growth capital: Porsche Ventures provided early backing, G2VP brought Silicon Valley cleantech expertise, Eurazeo and eCapital added European growth capital, and Norrsken VC underscored the impact thesis. In 2026, 1KOMMA5° is a case study in how Europe can scale climate tech through operational execution rather than pure technology — a disciplined roll-up with a software heart that turns millions of households into coordinated energy assets.
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Arne Blankerts
Arne Blankerts is Co-Founder of thePHP.cc, a Germany-based software consultancy specializing in PHP architecture, clean code, and software quality best practices. He is a recognized speaker and educator in the PHP and broader software development community, with expertise in software design, refactoring, and dependency injection. Blankerts has contributed extensively to open-source PHP tooling and regularly presents at major PHP and software conferences across Europe and internationally. He co-leads thePHP.cc alongside PHPUnit creator Sebastian Bergmann.
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Eray Basar
Eray Basar is the CEO of IMG.LY, a Hamburg-based software company specializing in AI-powered creative editing tools and developer SDKs for photo and video manipulation. Under his leadership, IMG.LY has grown into a leading provider of embedded creative technology used by companies globally to integrate design capabilities into their products. He speaks at the intersection of artificial intelligence and creative tooling, and is confirmed as a speaker at Forward Festival Berlin 2026.
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Internorga 2026
Foodservice and hospitality trade fair with a Newcomers Area for gastro startups. Price: about EUR 40-50. Strong for restaurant tech and beverage brands.
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Internorga 2027
Internorga 2027 runs 12-16 March in Hamburg, the international leading trade fair for hospitality and foodservice. The annual event pairs national and international exhibitors with congresses such as the International Foodservice Forum, plus industry competitions including the INTERNORGA Zukunftspreis and the Deutsche Gastro-Gruenderpreis.
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Lars Hinrichs
Lars Hinrichs is a German entrepreneur best known as the founder of the business-networking platform XING, which he took public in 2006. He later launched HackFwd, a pre-seed investment initiative that backed early-stage European technology startups. He runs Cinco Capital, his personal investment vehicle, and remains an active angel investor in the German and European tech scene.
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Michael Fritz
Michael Fritz is the Co-Founder of Viva con Agua, one of Germany's best-known social enterprises, headquartered in Hamburg. Viva con Agua operates a 'for-good' business model that channels revenue from commercial activities — including water, energy, and music events — into clean water and sanitation projects across Africa and Asia. Fritz is active in the German social entrepreneurship ecosystem and is a confirmed keynote speaker at Future Tech Fest 2026 in Düsseldorf.
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MicroHarvest
MicroHarvest produces microbial protein using agricultural side streams and a rapid fermentation process designed to deliver sustainable protein ingredients in around 24 hours. The company reported over USD 10.2M in venture funding from investors such as Astanor, Happiness Capital, Simon Capital, and FoodLabs, and received a EUR 5.5M German government grant in February 2026 for an industrial-scale Leuna plant expected to produce about 15,000 tonnes of protein annually.
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OMR Festival 2026
One of Europe's largest digital marketing and technology festivals, attracting 70,000+ attendees to Hamburg Messe. Features masterclasses, expo stages, and side events covering MarTech, creator economy, D2C, and AI-powered marketing tools.
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OMR Festival 2026 (Late Sessions)
OMR runs satellite late-session events through the summer in Hamburg following the main May festival. The July edition focuses on AI in marketing, social commerce, and creator-economy monetization with smaller, more intimate audiences than the main event. Tickets from EUR 50.
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OMR Festival 2027
OMR27 is confirmed for 3-5 May 2027 in Hamburg, with Super Early Bird tickets already on sale. One of Europe's largest digital marketing and technology festivals, it draws 70,000+ attendees to Hamburg Messe for MarTech, creator economy, D2C, and AI-powered marketing content.
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Sebastian Bergmann
Sebastian Bergmann is the creator of PHPUnit, the most widely adopted unit testing framework for the PHP programming language, used by millions of developers worldwide. He is Co-Founder of thePHP.cc, a German consultancy specializing in software quality, PHP architecture, and test-driven development. Bergmann is a prolific open-source contributor and internationally recognized speaker at major software development conferences. His work on PHPUnit has had a foundational impact on software quality practices in the PHP ecosystem.
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Taxdoo
Taxdoo is a Hamburg-based tax automation platform founded in 2016 that specializes in VAT compliance, financial accounting, and tax reporting for e-commerce businesses selling across European borders. The platform automates the complex web of cross-border VAT obligations that arise when online sellers store and ship goods across multiple EU countries. Taxdoo integrates with major e-commerce platforms and marketplaces including Amazon, Shopify, and eBay, and handles VAT registration, filing, and reporting across jurisdictions. The company serves thousands of online merchants navigating Europe's fragmented tax landscape.
