ONE Hundred Award - €100,000 Investment

The main category for Heilbronn Slush'D Pitch Competition is a game-changing investment of €100,000 through a convertible loan from one of our network partners.*
‍
This investment will provide the fuel your startup needs to thrive and make an impact on the world.

*Subject to successful due diligence

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Pre-seed stage startups with B2B focus, ecosystem-fit, and initial market interest.

HOW WILL THE WINNERS BE CHOSEN?
A distinguished panel of judges comprised of industry experts, successful entrepreneurs, and investors will judge each startup's pitch, business model, market potential, and overall impact to decide the winner.

Apply for a Startup Ticket to take part Apply for a Startup Ticket to take part

One Hundred Award 2025 Finalists

Jury: Oliver Hanisch, Jens Horstmann, Günter Steffen, Marian Pufahl

EcoComply
"The AI Compliance Agency for manufacturers. We get your products certified and market-ready in weeks, not months"
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Ziflo
"AI-powered end-to-end visibility and compliance for global supply chains"
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Alithea Bio
"Precision medicine for immunotherapy"
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Powered Orthotics
"Dedicated to enhancing the lives of the millions worldwide affected by hand paralysis and hand weakness"
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DataHarmony
"We de-risk gene therapy R&D with our AI-powered gene editing cockpit to help cure genetic diseases."
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Covelant
"Covelant is a cutting-edge sports analytics startup based in Germany, built on the belief that every athlete—no matter their level—deserves access to elite tools and insights."
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The GoodMiles
"Connect marketing and public relations with employer branding and workplace health promotion."
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IMPADY
"IMPADY empowers B2B software providers to clearly communicate the individual impact of their solutions – data-driven, customer-specific, and easy to understand."
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koup AI
"The Operating System for AI Agents"
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Materia
"Unlock real-time CBAM intelligence with our AI-Driven Platform"

ONE Driving Force Award

The ONE Driving Force Award is a € 10,000 cash prize. It embraces innovative and disruptive technologies in the field of deep tech, supported by D11Z. Ventures.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
This prize is open to all startups in the field of deep tech & artificial intelligence.

HOW WILL THE WINNERS BE CHOSEN?
A distinguished panel of judges comprised of industry experts, successful entrepreneurs, and investors will judge each startup's pitch, business model, market potential, and overall impact to decide the winner.

One Driving Force Award 2025 Finalists

Jury: Sebastian Pyzalski (D11Z), Jan Ludwig (D11Z), Marian Pufahl (Campus Founders), Etienne Seitz (Campus Founders)

‍Microstream
"MicroStream is the very first Java-native Persistence. Create ultra-fast in-memory database apps & microservices."
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Fyndera
"AI Co-Pilot for tax professionals"
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Get Mika
"Our AI is your new team member. mika does the accounting, you come up with the big ideas"
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IALTAG GmbH
"We optimize your manual intralogistics processes through open interfaces to our sensor platform."
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MATVIS
"Our innovative AI firewall monitors incoming and outgoing data in real time and filters out sensitive information such as personal data. In addition, our penetration testing solution proactively identifies and fixes vulnerabilities in your AI systems."
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Nature Robots
"Nature Robots develops autonomous robots for regenerative agriculture."
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NextStepHR
"With artificial intelligence toward greater success in recruiting. Optimizing your recruiting budget across the best channels."
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Project-S
"Safeguarding Space Access and Exploration - for all humanity."
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Servio AI
Stealth

Sleak AI
"The training ground for sales teams with AI sales training & role-playing platform."
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Co-Innovation Award

The Co-Innovation Award offers a unique opportunity to test your concept in practice under real conditions.

AUDI AG is our first Partner in this category offering a predefined budget of € 25,000 for a Proof of Concept (PoC), with the goal to enable the development of impactful, forward-looking solutions.

This award is designed to foster disruptive innovations across key business areas —spanning e.g. development, sales, production and logistics — with the focus on AI.
The winner of this year’s Co-Innovation Award will get the chance to push their product to the next level in a PoC with the experts of AUDI AG –Let’s drive innovation into “Vorsprung”!

CO-Innovation Award 2025 Finalists

Jury: Henning Loeser, Andreas Kuehne, Sebastian Reinisch, Michael Kott

Ecoro
"ecoro operates a transport system for pallets that enables the automation of the entire transport process - from loading to unloading."
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SmartFAB
"smartFAB makes products for human-driven analysis of real-world manufacturing problems."
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Hermetik
"A cloud-based platform using Confidential Computation with Kubernetes clusters to build Trusted Collaboration Spaces (TCS)."
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MicroAGI
"MicroAGI is unlocking the intelligence of human experience to power the future of physical AI."
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Infinite Motion
"Infinite builds energy efficient autonomous legged platforms that bring robotics to places they have never been."
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VuseXR
"We enable companies to train & sell in mixed reality."
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common sense robotics
"Reliable automation for industrial touch labor tasks"
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Kaizenics (emITi)

Aqestra

Cellios
"We offer our customers a ready-to-use complete solution for assembly – from hardware to software, including integration and support. In doing so, we bridge the gap from pre-assembled cabling to an automated solution for what has so far been manual assembly."
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Female Founders Award

The Female Founders Award is a € 5,000 cash prize that celebrates women entrepreneurs and highlights the crucial role of female-driven businesses in fostering diversity in the entrepreneurial landscape and driving economic growth.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
This prize is open to all impact startups with an all-female or mixed founding team that contribute to positive societal change.

HOW WILL THE WINNERS BE CHOSEN
A distinguished panel of female judges comprised of industry experts, successful entrepreneurs, and investors will judge each startup's pitch, business model, market potential, and overall impact to decide the winner.

Female founders Award 2025 Finalists

Jury: Katharina Rust (Wissensstadt & WoMent), Christine Rittner, Amela Turkmanovic (VDU & encourageventures), Patrick Burkert (Campus Founders)

TradeComply
"TradeComply (former AILOGI) is an AI-driven compliance automation platform designed to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in navigating global trade regulations."
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Meinhaus Digital
"Architecture-as-a-Service - powered by AI"
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Dop.Care
"Transforming ADHD struggles into superpowers through an all-integrated, AI backed App."
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Change Path
"Change Path is your safe space for job or career transitions."
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CatMedica

Zoro Energy
"Unlock your building's hidden energy savings."
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When to take What

Opterra
"Co-financing platform to easily scale investments into regenerative agriculture"
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CU Mehrweg
"Driving the transition towards reusable packaging in the food industry"
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Clyr
"AI agents for order-to-cash."
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Campus Founders Community Award

The Campus Founders Community Award is a € 5,000 cash prize that celebrates the Campus Founders community members and gives a chance for our members to be represented on-stage at Heilbronn Slush’D!

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
The Campus Founders Community Award is open to all current, active members of the Campus Founders Community.

HOW WILL THE WINNERS BE CHOSEN
Unlike the other categories, the winner of the Campus Founders Community Award will be the startup that earns the most votes by the community.
Voting will happen live at Heilbronn Slush’D on October 23^th.

Campus Founders Community Award 2025 Finalists

Jury: Heilbronn Slush'D 2025 audience

Count from Above
"Industry Quality Object Detection from Above"
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DeepGolf
"DeepGolf, the new way to improve your golf game!"
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GenerIO
"We make 3D modeling child‘s play."
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LivingLines
"The digital math notebook that leaves no one behind"
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Bloom Future
"Our app makes career orientation modern—specifically for Gen Z. Through interactive dialogues about hobbies, interests, and everyday preferences, it creates an individual strengths profile that encourages young people to reflect on themselves."
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Moozz - Muzico Innovations GmbH
"Moozz is a user-friendly AI music generation app that creates original and legal content with just one click."
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SHAI Creative Technologies B.V.
"Pre-produce movies and ads at a lighting speed by applying generative AI to storyboarding, planning and budgeting."
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wemote
"The ecosystem for corporate workation and remote work – your next big employee benefit!"
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Zalion
"We develop AI-powered purchasing agents that take the tedious work off your team’s hands."
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AICU GmbH
"Build scalable data and AI pipelines using a chat."
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Applications for the pitch competition
are now closed

Apply for a Startup Ticket instead

FAQ

Who can apply?

As for eligibility, any young startup founder from around the world can apply. We welcome applications from ambitious entrepreneurs who have a passion for innovation and are ready to take their startup to the next level. In order to apply, you need to purchase a ticket as precondition to participate in the Pitch Competition.

Do I need to have a ticket to Heilbronn Slush'D to compete?

Yes, you need a ticket for Heilbronn Slush’D to qualify for the Pitch Competition.

How do I apply?

You need to apply for a Startup Ticket through our ticket sales process. When you have been accepted for a ticket and completed the purchase, you are eligible for pitching.

As a Startup Ticket Holder you will receive a call for participation, when the categories and criteria are defined. Fill out the required information about your startup, including your pitch deck and any other relevant details. Make sure to showcase the uniqueness and potential of your idea or solution. Our application process is designed to be straightforward and accessible for startup founders from all backgrounds. Our team will get in contact with you to gather the details and check your eligibility and define the prize category for your pitch.

When is the deadline to apply?

The deadline to apply for the 2025 pitch competition (all categories) is September 23, 2025.

When will we know if we are part of the pitches?

The pitching startups are informed and announced on October 7, 2025.

What are the main categories?

The main category for Heilbronn Slush’D Pitch Competition is a game-changing investment of €100,000 through a convertible loan from one of our network partners*. It’s an opportunity to secure the funding your startup needs to accelerate its growth and make a significant impact in the market. The investment is subject to successful due diligence.

We also have an amazing opportunity this year for the first time, where the winner of the Co-Innovation Award will be offered a predefined budget of €25,000 to support a Proof of Concept with the corporate partner.

What cash prizes are awarded at Heilbronn Slush'D 2025?

ONE Driving Force Award: 1 x €10,000 cash prize in one category for deep tech startups supported by our Network Partner D11Z. Ventures

Female Founders Award: €5,000

Campus Founders Community Award: €5,000

What is the Campus Founders Community Award?

Startups from all stages who are current active members of the Campus Founders Community are eligible for this award. The winner of the Campus Founders Community Award will be the startup that earns the most votes by the community at Heilbronn Slush’D.

How will the winner be chosen for the Campus Founders Community Award?

The winner of the Campus Founders Community Award will be chosen by the community via popular vote at the event.

What pitch deck do I need to prepare?

Keep in mind you have 4 minutes for your pitch, so keep it short, on point, and not boring. You’ll receive a virtual pitch training on the 9.10. at 14:00 pm from us and you have time until the I4.10. at midnight to submit your pitch deck as a .PDF. Please make sure to use a standard format (16:9) and don’t exceed a file size of 10 megabytes.

How does the pitch work on the event day?

You have 4 minutes for your pitch and 1 more minute to answer one question from the host, so it’s 5 minutes of stage time in total. For each pitch category, there will be two 30-minute slots of pitches with 5 startups per pitch slot.

Who chooses the winners?

The winners will be chosen by a distinguished panel of judges comprising industry experts, successful entrepreneurs, and investors (except the Campus Founders Community Award – see FAQ). They will assess each startup’s pitch, business model, market potential, and overall impact. Rest assured, the selection process will be fair and impartial, ensuring that the most deserving startups emerge as the winners.