Startup Pitch Night San Francisco

On January 28, founders, entrepreneurs, and representatives of the Bay Area German-American community came together for German Accelerator’s Startup Pitch Night in San Francisco. The live event was hosted by SAP and featured not only business pitches from four emerging German startups, but also remarks from German government and business representatives, as well as a Q&A with potential investors.

German Accelerator (GA), run by Start2 Group and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), provides tailored support for German startups to scale globally and operates across key international markets. GA also connects startups with mentors and investors, providing hands-on guidance and access to global networks to accelerate their international growth. While the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) focuses on technology transfer and research spin-offs, GA offers programs to support German startups entering the market.

In his opening remarks, COO Christian Jörg underscored GA’s role fostering entrepreneurship in the Bay Area and worldwide, noting that its first office opened in San Francisco in 2012. Marta Kujawa, Economic Counselor at the German Consulate General, provided some background on Germany’s growing startup ecosystem: 3,500 new startups were launched in 2025, a 30 percent increase year-over-year. Both speakers expressed confidence that German tech entrepreneurs will continue to make a visible contribution to Silicon Valley’s cutting-edge innovation landscape. An expert panel of Marvin Liao, Investment Committee Member at Sukna Ventures, Holger Ippach, EVP Product & Marketing at Swift Navigation, and Dr. Yvonne Lutsch, Investment Director at Lam Capital, offered direct and substantive feedback to the evening’s pitch contestants.

Opening the pitch session, CEO Simon Fiechtner of “Deep Care” presented his startup’s smart solution for workplace health. Their hardware device, “Isa”, leverages AI and advanced technologies to help individuals maintain health, minimize workplace risks, and create a safer working environment. The AI health coach has attracted more than 200 business subscriptions and is now looking to expand in the U.S. market.

The second startup, “doinstruct”, has developed software that modernizes training for blue-collar workers. CEO and Co-Founder Charlotte Rothert explained how “doinstruct” automatically creates workplace trainings from company documents, increasing adoption and significantly lowering training times. With her AI-enabled, mobile-first platform, Rothert emphasized, onboarding and training become simple and accessible.

UC Berkeley alum Frederik Neuhaus introduced „clockin“, an “invisible Chief Operating Officer” that manages administrative and compliance tasks for small and midsized businesses. His startup delivers significant administrative savings and already boasts over 7,500 customers in Europe, with plans for continued expansion in the U.S. His mission, according to Neuhaus, is to allow business owners to focus on growing their business rather than navigating red tape.

The final contestant, “THESE GUYS”, presented an AI-driven emotion data platform that analyzes facial and camera data. Their experiential lab, as Co-Founder and Co-CEO Ron Schneider puts it, transforms live events into actionable insights, helping businesses increase attention and dwell time. The software allows customers to monitor event data in real time, track guest behavior, and measure guests’ sentiment data, offering a novel approach to the $1.2 billion experience economy.

The audience selected Frederik Neuhaus and “clockin” as the winner. At an ensuing dinner buffet, the young entrepreneurs had the opportunity to exchange experiences and build connections with members of the German-American business and government community. By bringing together such a diverse audience, SAP’s Startup Pitch Night proved not only an impressive showcasing of tech entrepreneurship, but also a valuable forum for connecting within Silicon Valley’s fast-moving innovation ecosystem.