In their three-minute pitches, XR startups from Europe have the opportunity to recommend themselves to the investor jury for seed and early stage investments. The jury, which is made up of venture capitalists, business promoters and experts from the start-up industry, selects one of the six participants as the winner of the prize money. The winner will be announced at the end of the event, which can only be followed in the livestream, by NRW Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Affairs Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart. The minister will also give a short speech before the award ceremony. The stream can be followed from Thursday, 20.08., 18:45.

Nominated Startups

Artivive

AR-App for artists* from Vienna

Artivive offers artists and museums a user-friendly augmented reality app that allows them to combine analogue and digital art.

Curvature Games

VR-Games with innovative locomotion from Hamburg

Curvature Games develops virtual reality games based on a scientifically validated technology that enables natural walking in VR in a small space.

SkyTrip360

VR flight taxi from Hamburg

SkyTrip360 combines real 360° video and interactive virtual reality. Up to 6 users climb into a real flying object and experience a virtual panoramic flight together.

PsyCurio

VR-Psychotherapy from Paderborn

PsyCurio is a virtual reality software for the treatment of mental illness. VR is combined with psychological and neuroscientific findings.

Jury

Susanne Becker

Wirtschaftsförderung Gelsenkirchen

Susanne Becker is a research assistant at the Economic Development Department of the City of Gelsenkirchen. The graduate economist and tourism business economist is the contact person for the creative industry and project manager of the Places _ Virtual Reality Festival at the Economic Development Agency.

Since 2008, she has been intensively involved in location development in Gelsenkirchen-Ückendorf, where she has provided significant impulses for image and location development around Bochumer Straße with creative projects and actors.

Johannes Behringer

Tengelmann Ventures 

In May 2018 he graduated Yale summa cum laude and with Distinction in Ethics, Politics and Economics, having been elected to Phi Beta Kappa early. He is an alumnus of Yale’s Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy, and of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.

Marcel Vogler

Freigeist

Marcel obtained a Master’s degree from WHU while working at numerous startups and companies throughout his studies. As co-owner of several McDonald’s franchises he has a deep understanding of operations. In his role as Junior Partner at Freigeist he works with founders on scaling operations, boosting sales and streamlining finances.

Oliver Weimann

Managing Director ruhr:HUB

Oliver Weimann is a multiple founder and has been an active part of the German start-up scene for over 10 years. Due to his passionate motivation, his extensive network and his diverse experiences he is one of the central figures of the scene in the Ruhr area today. With the RuhrSummit 2016, he initiated the publicity-effective birth of the regional scene and brought all important partners to active cooperation. This lively network of private initiatives is intended to ensure the dynamism and unpredictability of the Ruhr region in the future.