UBI Global, the Stockholm-based innovation intelligence company and community known for the assessment and mapping of business incubators and accelerators, have released the top lists and top challengers as assessed by the World Benchmark Study 2021-2022. SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator from Leipzig is the only German accelerator among the best in the World Benchmark Study. This was announced on Tuesday by UBI Global. SpinLab was listed as a top challenger in Europe, placing it among the top eight European startup accelerators and among the top 23 in the world.

European VC fund Atomico led the round. The fund joined previous investors byFounders, Gradient Ventures, and Partech. Atomico Principal Andreas Helbig will join Digitail's board as part of the investment. According to Dealroom it is one of the largest Series A rounds in recent years in Romania’s young startup ecosystem. Digitail works with over 750 clinics worldwide, serving around 1.4 million pets.

SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator gains Actemium Germany, the VINCI Energies brand for industrial process solutions, as new innovation partner. Actemium is a powerful worldwide network with 400 Business Units located in 40 countries across the world. Operating throughout the entire industrial life cycle, from design to maintenance, Actemium innovates in order to support the long-term development of industrial customers, sustainably.

The partnership strengthens SpinLab's ecosystem and startups participating in the accelerator program will benefit from Actemium's expertise, resources and network. This also includes the planned allocation of a coworking space at Schkeuditz near Leipzig. In the new premises, the development of market-specific solutions will be driven forward together with Actemium employees. Moreover, the partnership facilitates the industrial service provider's access to smart solutions from highly innovative young companies. In this way, practical use cases can be developed even better - and applied directly in customer projects. 

Prodlane, the SaaS platform for data-driven product management in the manufacturing industry, has raised an EUR 760,000 pre-seed funding round. The round is led by a Swiss family office with an industrial background, with participation from S2S Ventures AG and several business angels from the industry, product management and HR. Prodlane will use the funding to expand its sales and development team and to enter the market.

Prodlane was part of the 13th SpinLab class and first SpinLab Summer School for diverse startups. Photo: Fabian Thüroff

With around 400 applications from all over the world, we reached a new record. The freshly incoming 14th class startups are as diverse as they are promising: a mental health lifestyle app for Gen Z, a chip like the human brain, road reconstruction through radio waves, or the production of hydrogen only from sunlight and water. Like 118 other startups before them, the new class is supported in scaling their their business by an extensive program. Clear numbers prove that the SpinLab ecosystem works: Over 1000 new jobs have been created by the startups that have already gone through the program. A total of 10 startups from SpinLab, such as mementor, Rhebo or Infrasolid, managed a successful exit and were acquired by international companies. Exciting pilot projects will also follow in the future - not least due to a recently concluded partnership between SpinLab and Leipzig University Hospital. 

More than any other service sector, the healthcare industry is facing the challenges of demographic and digital change. The impact of innovations in healthcare on society is enormous. This was recently demonstrated very clearly during the corona outbreak. In this context, startups are increasingly gaining relevance. However, strict regulations, complex systems, and long time-to-market bring specific hurdles for e-health startups. Given this background, University of Leipzig Medical Center and SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator have agreed on a strategic partnership.

California-based medical equipment company ResMed today announced the acquisition of  mementor. The first product "somnio of the e-health startup is Germany’s first and only permanently approved Digital Health Application (DiGA) in the field of sleep medicine. It’s also compliant with the European Union’s data protection requirements under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). With somnio, mementor has developed a scientifically based, digital solution for the treatment of sleep disorders that can be used on the smartphone. 

In a follow-up funding, SpinLab partner Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen (TGFS) increases its investment in the AI startup from Leipzig. Since 2018, TGFS has been supporting we.do-ai as financing partner. With Foodcall, the founders Dr. Sebastian Hecker and André Naumann created Germany's first intelligent voice chatbot for the gastronomy industry, which can take orders, reservations or other requests from callers in one fluid conversation.

The founders Philipp Omenitsch and Manuel Kraus first launched in 2019 with a chatbot for the US market, and then switched to an app certified by German health insurers: just 3 years later, the e-health startup successfully exited. Stresscoach app has been sold to KGA Inc. The US company helps organizations to create and sustain a healthy, engaged and productive workforce. Both parties have agreed not to reveal the acquisition price. Mental health problems are unfortunately still a taboo in our society and people have to wait very very long until they get professional support. That is where Stresscoach comes in - the first psychological chatbot in Germany. The app guides users through interactive, conversation-based therapy programs in which they develop the skills to cope better with anxiety and stress.

The next Summer School For Diverse Startups will kick off soon! This time we teamed up with the incubator HHL Digital Space. Diversity drives company success. That’s a result many studies have shown. Yet, diverse startups still lack access to networks and resources like funding. Our mission: more diversity, equality and inclusion in the startup world. Of course this cannot be achieved alone. It’s a major challenge that we must tackle together. We are extremely happy to have strong partners who support our important mission. As a partner we could win the city of Leipzig, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen.