Together, the two research institutions will be presenting twelve innovative start-ups. The DFKI spin-offs alangu, Ayand AI, Gretchen AI, intelligentX, insightIQ, and telekinesis will present their technologies and compete with over 100 founders for the prize for the most promising business idea.
Talks and presentations
Digital sovereignty for Europe: France and Germany as the driving force behind a joint AI strategy
"Side-by-side", DFKI CEO Antonio Krüger, head of the scientific committee of the network of German AI competence centers, discusses the shaping of Europe's digital future with Bruno Sportisse, Inria CEO and spokesman for the French AI clusters.
Side by Side Talk:Wednesday, June 11, 2025, 13:45 h, Hall 1, Antonio Krüger, Bruno Sportisse
Tackling the crossboarder market – How start-ups can succeed in France and Germany
In a panel discussion at the French-German Tech Lab stage, experts from France and Germany will discuss funding programs, strategies, and opportunities for start-ups in both countries, as well as explore ways to access new markets.
- Philipp Slusallek, Managing Director DFKI Saarbrücken
- Sophie Pellat-Velluire, Co-Director, Inria Startup Studio, Paris
- Matthias Schmitz, Managing Director, The Bridge Incubator, Saarbrücken
- Emmanuel Vincent, ENACT ENACT AI Cluster, Nancy
Panel discussion: Wednesday, June 11, 2025, French-German Tech Lab, Hall 1, D11
From Research and Innovation to Business – Cooperation in AI in the Greater Region
DFKI site director Philipp Slusallek talks to Emmanuel Vincent, head of the AI cluster ENACT, which brings together players from the Grand Est region, about opportunities for cooperation in the Greater Region.
Panel discussion: Thursday, June 12, 2025, 15:30 -15:50 h, French-German Tech Lab, Hall 1, D11
Robust Brain-computer interfaces in everyday life – A French-German project
Maurice Rekrut, a member of DFKI's Cognitive Assistance Systems research department, and Juliette Meunier from Inria Bordeaux demonstrate the current status of the joint BCI research project NEARBY. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer a promising possibility for human-machine interaction. NEARBY is developing variability-free BCIs for use outside the laboratory to design new, more robust systems that are suitable for everyday use. The scientists will demonstrate a live recording with an EEG headset and present preliminary results of their long-term data collection.
Project presentation:Friday, June 13, 2025, French-German Tech Lab, Hall 1, Stand D11, 14:00 - 14:20h, Maurice Rekrut, Juliette Meunier
Horizon Europe Programme: COoperative Real-Time EXperiences with EXtended reality (CORTEX²)
Alain Pagani from DFKI's Augmented Reality research department will present the CORTEX² project, a modular XR infrastructure for immersive collaboration in safety-critical contexts, as part of a workshop organized by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). As part of the project, the consortium, together with XR Ireland and Action Contre la Faim, developed the Immergensim training platform, which enables humanitarian workers to run through virtual crisis scenarios realistically and flexibly, supported by AI-based mentors, decision-making modules, and real-time communication. The project, which will run until the end of August 2025, is already demonstrating how extended reality can become a resilient tool for training, mission preparation, and crisis management across national and sector boundaries.
Presentation: Friday, June 13, 2025, 12.30-14.30 h, Hall 2.2, Alain Pagani
The DFKI start-ups in detail:
alangu
Cologne-based alangu GmbH develops AI-powered software for automatic translation of text into sign language. The goal is to remove digital barriers and enable real inclusion for deaf people, around 80% of whom struggle to understand written texts, as sign language is their native language. With its Sign Language Avatar Toolkit, alangu offers the world’s first solution to make municipal and digital content accessible in sign language. In addition to supporting public authorities, alangu also helps companies implement barrier-free communication. The company was awarded the European Commission’s "Seal of Excellence" for outstanding technological innovation.
Pitch session: Thu., June 12, 2025, 14:15-14:55h / Presentation: Wed., June 11 – Fri. June 13, 2025
https://alangu.de
Ayand AI
Ayand.ai optimizes the customer experience through AI-supported, multimodal interaction systems for all retail and service channels. The company develops intelligent in-store terminals that recognize when customers approach a product, look at it, or pick it up. Based on this interaction data, a digital assistant provides further information, comparison offers, and personalized recommendations directly on the smartphone in real-time.
www.ayand.ai
insightIQ
InsightIQ is a platform that provides real-time radio channel data. It serves as an extension of the mobile communication infrastructure by opening up the currently commercially unused radio channel as a data source. The AI-based platform enables mobile network operators to monetize their infrastructure beyond the usual service in line with European data protection standards. It also paves the way for over-the-top providers to offer revolutionary smart city services based on a new source of big data.
intelligentX
With specialized AI solutions, intelligentX accelerates innovation in drug development - from molecular analysis to applications in medicine and crop protection. intelligentX addresses the pharmaceutical and chemical industry's need for AI: The company's core competencies include comprehensive, curated knowledge graphs that capture biological and chemical relationships, including sequence data on DNA, RNA, proteins, and enzymes, as well as information on application areas (e.g., disease profiles). This is complemented by specialized tools that utilize domain-specific large language models (LLMs) to optimize research and development processes in the life sciences strategically.
Pitch: Thursday, June 12, 2025, 14:15-14:55h / Presence at the fair: June 11 – 13, 2025
Gretchen AI
Gretchen AI offers a B2B SaaS platform that combines deepfake detection and contextual image verification in a single, modular, and explainable system. Its solution, primarily designed for fact-checkers, newsrooms, and public institutions, with both a dashboard interface and API integration, is now expanding into new business areas, including marketing solutions for industries and corporations, as well as services for financial sectors like insurance. Gretchen AI tackles deepfakes, out-of-context presentations, and malicious storytelling with advanced, agent-based LLM and self-trained detection models that combine visual deepfake analysis and contextual verification, ensuring greater media integrity, faster incident response, and sustained trust in content delivery.
Pitch: Fr. June 13, 2025, 15:50-16:50 h / Presence at the fair: June 11 – 14, 2025
https://gretchen-ai.com
Telekinesis
Telekinesis aims to integrate robots into everyday life worldwide and revolutionize the field of robotics. The founders envision a near future where robots are as commonplace as smartphones and seamlessly incorporate into factories, offices, and, most importantly, homes. To bring this vision to life, the company is developing a cloud platform that enables intuitive programming for all types of robots, including industrial robots, mobile robots, drones, and humanoids. Based on novel AI technologies, the platform allows for robots to learn independently from human data, becoming smarter and more adaptable with every interaction.
https://telekinesis.ai
T1ME ONE
T1ME ONE is developing an AI-based platform for the early detection and assessment of financial risks in companies. The solution combines explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) with regulatory-compliant models to detect risks, such as fraud, insolvency, credit, and performance issues, up to three years in advance. Unlike traditional risk intelligence tools, T1ME ONE is ready-to-use, requires no complex integration, and provides transparent insights into AI decision-making processes. Target groups include banks, investment firms, insurers, and auditors who require precise, understandable, and legally compliant risk analyses.
Presence at the fair at the stand of TU Munich - Institut Mines Télécom
https://t1me.one