From 19 to 20 November, the MediaTech Hub Potsdam joined the German delegation at Slush 2025 in Helsinki, together with the de:hub Initiative and Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI) With more than 6,000 startups, €4 trillion in assets under management and countless scheduled meetings, the conference provided an ideal stage to showcase the Babelsberg ecosystem to an international audience. For the Hub, the focus was on exchange, network building and the visibility of our startups.
A strong team from the MediaTech Hub Accelerator travelled to Finland with xounds, TripLeap, Trueffles, JYMMiN, Zenaris and Sectorlens. The six startups represent the full breadth of our innovation fields – from MediaTech, HealthTech and EdTech to accessibility technologies, knowledge platforms and AI-driven enterprise solutions. A particular highlight was the pitch by xounds on the German Startup Stage, marking a visible moment for the entire Babelsberg ecosystem. Alongside intensive meetings, networking formats and investor conversations, the MTH team used Slush to gather insights on AI innovation, Europe’s scaling challenges, deep-tech funding and the state of European technology policy – feeding them directly into the further development of our programmes.
Our Startups in Helsinki
xounds: AI-based platform for user-generated audio erotica: safe, anonymous, diverse.
TripLeap: EdTech Interactive GPS tours & AR puzzle games for playful family city exploration.
Trueffles: Community-based platform that structures complex knowledge and accelerates research.
JYMMiN: Music-integrated training: less pain, more motivation.
Zenaris: Accessible technology for real digital inclusion.
Sectorlens: AI-powered software discovery: analyses company needs and creates evidence-based shortlists.
Insights from Slush 2025
- Europe needs to move faster
- US startups receive seven times more growth capital than European ones.
- Regulation remains a bottleneck: small firms navigate up to 26 national rules.
- AI Act: unified but complex – uncertainty slows development and research.
- Political will is growing: “Scale-up Europe” fund underway; 25% reduction in SME regulatory burden in progress.
- AI ecosystems are global – Europe is not yet sovereign
- Data flows to the US and China remain a structural issue.
- Critical infrastructure is heavily dependent on US providers – including pricing power.
- Sovereignty requires deregulation, stronger European data structures and cross-border policy alignment.
- Deep Tech & Dual Use: opportunities, but complex markets
- Defence-related innovation offers early proof-of-concept routes, but procurement cycles are long.
- Investors often seek balanced models with 20% defence and 80% commercial market.
- Bottlenecks lie less in innovation itself and more in the pipeline between product maturity and procurement processes.
- Europe is strong in research, weak in scale-up
- Biotech, HealthTech and AI are among Europe’s strongest fields.
- Founder quality is “higher than ever before”.
- Main hurdles: market fragmentation, limited access to capital, cultural risk aversion.
What we take with us
Slush 2025 clearly demonstrated the dynamism of the European startup ecosystem. Our presence strengthened international visibility for regional innovation hubs: with six startups, numerous conversations and valuable impulses, the MediaTech Hub Potsdam returns with fresh insights for programme development and the continued positioning of Babelsberg within the European MediaTech landscape.
Many thanks to the organisers of the German delegation, the teams from the de:hub Initiative and GTAI, and to our startups for their strong presence in Helsinki.
Some impressions from Helsinki.
Images: Hannes Schmidt
