Investing in our world, investing in the future: Climate-KIC DACH Accelerator Investor Dinner 2019

From industrial 3D printing as a service and a power plant that flies figure eights in the sky, to a magical treatment lengthening the life of our fruits and vegetables, these are just some of the inspiring startup solutions presented at the 2019 Climate-KIC DACH Accelerator Investor Dinner in Berlin.

On the evening of 20th February 2019, 15 cleantech startups from Germany, Switzerland and Austria pitched their businesses to a room of 30 VCs, impact and angel investors, and corporate VC’s with the hope to gain new funding partners who believe in their innovation and want to join them on their journey to success. The Investor Dinner is an annual event where the very best current and alumni teams of the Accelerator can present their businesses to an exclusive group of investors from across Europe. Because the evening is limited to a select number of individually invited clean-tech investors, the format allows for a very personal engagement and in-depth discussion with potential funders.

Investors and founders engage and discuss their businesses and future opportunities in more detail

This year’s event brought together a mix of new investors, attending the dinner for the very first time, as well as members of our longstanding investor community. Before the dinner began, investors, members of the Climate-KIC team, and startups alike had the opportunity to get acquainted, mingle and set the tone for an evening full of inspiring pitches, a delicious three-course meal, and early conversations to what may blossom into meaningful partnerships and investments.

The founder of kiteKRAFT, a startup based in Munich, Florian Bauer pitching during Investor Dinner 2019

Once it was time for the event to begin, guests found their way to an elegant table set for a seated dinner and three exciting rounds of startup presentations. After a short program from the Climate-KIC team, 5 startups: Tracks, KOMP-ACT, ESG Plus, Beamler, and Faunder kicked off the first pitching round. Over the first course of dinner, investors and startups dove into discussion while also enjoying a tasty vegetarian appetizer. The second round of 5-minute pitches were led by teams: HYDROGRID, AgroSustain, kiteKRAFT, Adaptive Balancing Power and Breeze Technologies. We heard about innovative use cases, impressive traction, and major growth plans for the future — there was lots to discuss and digest during the second course and main dish of the night, but 4 final pitches were still to come.

Concluding the final pitching round were teams: PlanBlue, Alterdyne, Ridetronic, and MeduSoil. Team Volterion arrived later in the evening, just in time to squeeze in a few talks with potential investors. The 2019 Investor Dinner was a fun, memorable and successful event with exciting discussions that went on well into the evening. We we’re thrilled to be able to showcase such a wide range of climate innovation startups in the programme and celebrate another year of growing success and positive impact.

The Climate-KIC DACH Accelerator team gather for a group team shot

Investors looking to drive social and ecological benefit while getting a return on their investment, please join us next year for Climate-KIC’s 2020 Investor Dinner. We look forward to supporting the cleantech entrepreneurs of today, and impact the market and the climate of tomorrow together with you!

Author: Aimee Apel, EIT Climate-KIC