Batch 9 launched: 11 new impact startups join Founders Bay
TL;DR — Founders Bay Accelerator Batch 9 is officially live: 11 new impact startups, six months of programme, free of charge, no equity. Across nine cohorts we have now backed 60+ ventures — from Kiel and Rügen to Saxony, Bavaria, NRW and Berlin. Applications for Batch 10 (kick-off early 2027) are already open.
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What makes this cohort different
"Entrepreneurial potential does not go undiscovered for lack of ideas — it goes undiscovered for lack of access."
We picked these 11 teams out of 400+ applications. Three questions decided:
- Are you solving a real problem with measurable impact? — No innovation poetry. Impact you can express in KPIs, avoided emissions or people served.
- Do you have the team to deliver alongside us for six months? — Two to four founders, complementary skills, honesty about what is still missing.
- Does your setup match what Germany actually needs right now? — Not the topic trending on a Berlin stage, but what the German SME sector, regions and public sector are ready to buy.
Building a startup in 2026 is faster than ever. AI takes over much of what used to take weeks. What it does not replace: a tailored programme, warm intros to investors, real pilot projects with the German SME sector and a mentor network of 150+ experts who actually know your market.
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The 11 teams at a glance
Health & FemTech
Related from the Founders Bay portfolio: Menstruflow, ALL ABOUT MIDLIFE, Perceptec, Acadim.
femCycle — FemTech
Cycle tracking and personalised health data for women who want more than a colourful-dots app. Clinically grounded, GDPR-compliant, connected to gynaecologists and fertility clinics.
ActiveTEP — HealthTech
Digital rehab companion after hip and knee surgery. Fewer relapses, shorter downtime for employers, measurably better outcomes for patients. Piloted with hospitals and payers.
Sync — HealthTech
Mental health as a connected ecosystem instead of siloed apps. Built for teams, families and practices — with a focus on low-threshold entry points.
platoniq — HealthTech
Preventive health built on data owned by patients themselves. The missing layer between insurer, GP and everyday life.
Climate, Energy & Circular Economy
Related from the Founders Bay portfolio: Doppelernte, YOUL, Orbisens, elementarhy, CU Mehrweg, TerraBid.
dcarbonize — PropTech / Climate
Software for the decarbonisation of existing buildings. Renovation roadmaps that owners actually execute — instead of printing and filing them.
VerdeSat — ClimateTech
Satellite-based analysis for land use, carbon sequestration and biodiversity. So conservation stops failing at the evidence step and ESG reporting finally becomes defensible.
scrap2VALUE — Circular Economy
Turning residuals from the metals industry back into raw materials for German production. Circular economy without green-washing prose, plug-compatible with existing supply chains.
Mobility, Food & Society
Related from the Founders Bay portfolio: MUVN, StromNow, Hytra, GreenMates, socialbnb.
Float Mobility — Mobility
Small electric boats as shared mobility on inland waterways. For regions where the most beautiful road is not made of asphalt — Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein.
Food Be Good — FoodTech
Plant-based food that looks like everyday groceries, not a concept. Regionally produced, uncompromising on nutrition, aimed at supermarket shelves rather than niche shops.
movein24 — Impact / PropTech
Housing search for people ground down between rental market and bureaucracy — from international skilled workers to refugees. A tool that relieves municipalities and employers.
klugidu — EdTech
Learning support for children the standard education system loses. A digital tool that brings parents and teachers onto the same level instead of playing them against each other.
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What Batch 9 gets in six months
Six months sounds short. It is enough — if the right things happen:
- 1:1 mentoring with founders who have actually shipped — not coaches who have never negotiated a cap table.
- Masterclasses on fundraising, SME sales, term sheets, hiring, ESOP and go-to-market. Always along the topics currently blocking this specific team.
- Warm investor intros to business angels, family offices and impact VCs. No speed-dating pitch day; curated conversations once a team is actually round-ready.
- Coworking & community on Rügen for shared sprints, remote-first for the rest. Proximity where it helps, freedom where it counts.
- Access to 150+ mentors across SME, industry, tech, academia and public sector — curated per team and need.
What is not included: programme fees. Equity. Any obligation to stay in the region long-term. Founders Bay is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) and the EU under the „Nachhaltig wirken" programme. That is what makes this economically viable — and structurally, it is what puts Founders Bay on the founders'' side.
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Nine batches, one pattern
- 9 batches — completed or running since we started
- 60+ impact startups — in the portfolio
- 150+ mentors — active in the network
- 400+ applications — for Batch 9 alone
- €0 & 0 % — no programme fees, no equity
The pattern we keep seeing: the strongest teams rarely come from the Berlin insider circle. They come from a city where nobody expects an accelerator to show up. That is exactly where we want to keep working.
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Who Batch 10 is for
If at least three of these points describe you, applying is worth it:
- Pre-seed or early seed, with a first prototype or MVP.
- Impact focus — climate, health, education, circular economy, social innovation.
- Based in Germany, ideally outside the classic metro axis. Rügen is welcome, not mandatory.
- Ready to work honestly for six months. No programme shopping, no „just browsing".
- Open to pilot projects with the SME sector — not just consumer apps.
AI-native teams are explicitly welcome. We are watching which new shapes of founding become possible — and where AI turns out to be a distraction rather than a lever.
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For SMEs, associations and public sector partners
If you want to see early which technologies will become standard in the next two to five years, a Founders Bay batch is the shortest distance to those teams. We don''t broker PR appointments; we broker concrete pilots — joint development, test fields, pilot contracts. Usually signed within the six months a batch runs.
For associations, family-owned businesses and public sector partners we also offer innovation formats that reach beyond the batch cycle — from deep-dive workshops to long-term co-creation partnerships.
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"We create access where founding is not a given. Founders Bay is putting entrepreneurship on a new map."
Batch 9 is the next chapter of that promise. We can''t wait to see what these teams build over the next six months.