News & Podcast

Do you have an idea in the field of social sciences and humanities and need support to bring it to fruition? The Catalyst GER program is aimed at researchers from the social sciences and humanities and is designed to open new pathways towards startups or other transfer formats.

At the Munich Impact Incubator, Munich-based startup Volulink secured 1st place. A total of five impact startups have been supported since October in the program of the Department of Labour and Economics, which provides impact funding of up to €15,000.

The Munich startup Truly translates populist statements and distorted narratives into comprehensible facts—neutral, understandable, and without moral finger-pointing. The goal of co-founders Timo Wagner and Lukas Wimmer is informed opinion-making and a strengthened democracy.

Political dissatisfaction is growing and participation seems increasingly complex. The Munich startup Nexus Politics wants to strengthen democratic participation digitally – with a platform that brings together citizen concerns, decision-making processes, and political accountability. The goal is to give citizens clear, comprehensible access to democracy so that concerns reach the responsible politicians directly.

The Norrsken Foundation has published its impact/100 list this year – and Munich is well represented: five startups from the Bavarian capital are among the world’s most important impact companies. They demonstrate how innovation and sustainability can work together.

Do you want to solve social challenges with your startup through entrepreneurial means? Then secure your place in the Munich Impact Incubator now. The support program helps founders with coaching, funding, and co-working spaces in Munich Urban Colab. Application deadline for batch #2 is July 31, 2025.

On July 16, 2025, Munich Startup Festival kicks off at Backstage – a must for anyone looking for startups, networks, and new ideas. Away from the main stage, lots of exciting things are happening, including a major topic: impact. If you want to combine social innovation with entrepreneurial thinking, the Impact Area is the place for you.

What happens when students don’t just discuss climate protection but take action themselves? The TUM Carbon Removal initiative is developing its own CO₂ removal technology and is currently building its first pilot plant in Garching. Justus Scharfstädt, Head of Fundraising at TUM Carbon, answered our questions.

The first batch of the Munich Impact Incubator has been completed – and Muniqo Performante has been crowned the winner. The four-month program has not only supported innovative startups, but also created a strong community. Find out here what the incubator offers, what learnings the teams took away, and how the other participating teams performed.

Rosaria Di Donna is the co-founder and CEO of Familymind AI, an AI-powered platform that supports families in their daily lives. Together with her team, consisting of Mousa Abdelmaksoud (CTO) and Ariane Vogel (CPO), she pursues the goal of reducing mental burden and distributing care work more fairly. Rosaria Di Donna, who is currently expecting her second child, brings not only impressive professional experience from the technology industry but also the passion to drive societal change.

Greentech startup Ocell raises €10 million in a Series A funding round. Capnamic and Bayern Kapital are among the investors participating in the round. With the fresh capital, the startup wants to advance its European expansion plans and further develop its AI-powered platform.

Better Ventures is a Munich venture capital firm founded in 2020 by Tina Dreimann, Cedric Duvinage, and Christoph Behn. Set up as an impact angel club by founders for founders, the VC invests particularly in impact startups – that is, in scalable business models that offer solutions to social or ecological problems. The focus is on early-stage startups. From Munich, Better Ventures has invested in companies such as Everdrop, Logistikbude, and Ocell. In this interview, Tina Dreimann explains how the venture capital firm works, what she looks for as an investor, and what constitutes a no-go when pitching. First published on: May 7, 2024