LEKKER Bikes Opens Office in Berlin and Plans to Expand to the U.S.
The Berlin Business Office, USA spoke with Niels Bark, CEO of LEKKER Bikes. The company designs and manufactures bikes, accessories, and electric bikes and is an advocate for sustainable urban mobility solutions. The company successfully conquered Amsterdam and Australia and is about to open up their store in Berlin and to expand to the U.S. as well.
Niels Bark CEO of LEKKER Bikes
"We believe we should all get comfortable with the thought of eBikes being the solution for urban mobility complexities we see worldwide. Leaving cars in the past and pushing for acceptance for bikes as means of transportation allows cities to move forward, and become future-proof."
After a successful Series C round ($330M) in April 2022, the company exceeded the desired billion-dollar valuation for the first time. Grover is a role model for businesses in circular economy and they have interesting plans for the upcoming years! Read our interview with them and find out how they got here!
Berlin Launches "Skytrain" a Network to Support U.S. LPs (Limited Partners) Investing into Venture Capital Funds in Berlin
Skytrain´s goal over the next year is to connect investors "across the pond" to share knowledge about how to setup funds, clearing up the bureaucracy of investing in Germany and generally making it easier to build a capital bridge so that more early-stage investment can come to Berlin.
The very heart of the project is a series of dinners with local Berlin early-stage VCs & Angels to gather information about their existing LP networks, about legal forms and requirements in the U.S. and Germany and about the funds' metrics (ROI + exits).
The City of Berlin and Berlin Finance Initiative (BFI) has launched the transatlantic finance & tech network, “Fin-Tech Leaders,” to accelerate internationalization and business cooperation between Berlin- and U.S.-based startups and organizations.
“Berlin Zukunftsorte” – Future Innovation Sites! Science and Technology Park Berlin Adlershof
The Berlin Adlershof Science City is one of the most successful high-technology sites in Germany and Berlin’s largest media location – embedded in an integrated urban planning concept. It is home to 1,187 companies and scientific institutions with 24,500 employees on an area of 1136,68 acres. In addition, there are about 6,650 students and around 1,000 trainees.
The 532 companies and 10 non-university research institutes in the Science and Technology Park at the heart of the Adlershof Science City focus on:
“Dit is mir schnurz piepe” refers to something that has not much importance to you. It could be translated as "I don´t give a damn about it" or "I don´t care about it". A general lack of interest is expressed with it.
In the Spotlight: Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Steglitz-Zehlendorf is one of Berlin's twelve boroughs, also known to be the wealthiest among these. It is located in the southwest of the federal capital, directly neighboring Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg.
Steglitz-Zehlendorf is home to 81 startups, 4 VCs, 752 startup employees and 9 corporates. In 2021, around 10 billion € has been invested in Steglitz-Zehlendorf-based businesses.
Computational Biology – Shaping medical progress with computer-aided data analysis
The evaluation of complex data, for example from high-throughput experiments or the sequencing of genomes – in short: Computational Biology – provides valuable insights in medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology and has become indispensable in research and practice. With its mix of companies, research and medical institutions, the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region offers an optimum environment for the development of related technologies and the translation of findings into business and clinical applications.
Contact: Dr. Jasmin Podufall, Project Manager Innovation Biotech | Pharma, Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, jasmin.podufall@berlin-partner.de
GREENTECH FESTIVAL GOES NYC
After a successful GREENTECH FESTIVAL edition in Berlin in June, the GTF’s long-term ambition is to be able to bring amazing stories about green business transformation to a global audience. That’s why we’re reaching out to international destinations with a diverse program of high-level speakers focused on all relevant topics around sustainability and technology. First stop will be NYC on September 15th & 16th at The Shed, New York City.
The leading international trade fair for transport technology will be held at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds from September 20 to 23, 2022. InnoTrans' five exhibition segments include Railway Technology, Railway Infrastructure, Public Transport, Interiors and Tunnel Construction. InnoTrans is organized by Messe Berlin. The event occupies the entire Berlin Exhibition Grounds, including the track and open-air areas, which have a total track length of 3,500 meters and offer a direct link to the exhibition halls and the public rail network.
