Open source, neo-geography, cartography, augmented reality – geography is most definitely more than just looking at a map. And an area which merges technology, innovation and creativity is the subject of a two-day conference – or rather, ‘unconference’ – in Berlin next month.
The second annual WhereCamp Berlin will take place on June 22 and 23, bringing together the best and brightest trendsetters, researchers and educators in location and geography.
Pitching here at Seedcamp are cartogami, which personalises property search
It’s quite an address, on the city’s most famous street – Unter den Linden 1. But then it seemed appropriate for Seedcamp’s 2012 event in Berlin given its status as one of the world’s best micro-investment programs.
And there was plenty of international variety on display among the teams of startups who showed up at the BDMI office on Tuesday eager to make the most of such an excellent networking opportunity with some genuinely brilliant mentors. In particular, Eastern Europe was well-represented with teams from Russia, Hungary, Estonia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Latvia. And that, for me, is a sign of the future.
Konstantin Guericke is Earybird's new venture partner in Silicon Valley
Earlier today we revealed how veteran entrepreneur Konstantin Guericke, whose impressive CV includes co-founding LinkedIn, has joined Berlin-based VC firm Earlybird as a Venture Partner in San Francisco.
Silicon Allee spoke to Konstantin earlier this week, and he revealed what his secret formula is take the Berlin startup scene to the next level.
Berlin VC firm Earlybird has added another feather to its cap by appointing LinkedIn co-founder Konstantin Guericke as a venture partner in Silicon Valley. He will act as an advisor to startups in Earlybird’s portfolio – set to grow rapidly thanks to the new $100m fund – as they expand from Europe into the US.
Konstantin grew up in Germany but has lived in the States for 20 years, and he told Silicon Allee in an exclusive interview about his new role promoting startups from Berlin and the rest of the country, and what has driven him to accept it.
Users of myTaxi can now pre-book a cab thanks to a new version of the startup’s app which launched today. The app has been in development for three months and has also been given a new look and feel to go alongside the new functionality.
There will be high hopes that the new app can continue the success of Hamburg-based myTaxi, which has a 80 percent market share in the German smartphone taxi app market with more than a million downloads so far.
Gaming is as hot a space for startups as it has ever been, and now German firms will have the chance to pit themselves against the best Europe has to offer in the Startup 2.0 2012 competition, entitled On Gaming. Registration has now opened for game developers, and will run to May 30.
The five finalists will have the opportunity to present their projects at Nonick, the International Internet Trends Conference in Bilbao, with an all-expenses paid trip.
This Week in Startups is back in Berlin – with, believe it or not, a twist. The event on June 8 at the Ahoy! co-working space will this time feature three German startups pitted against three in London.
A jury will choose the finalists from a pre-selected list of 15 and Jason Calacanis and his sidekick Tyler Crowley will then pick the best three overall – and you can now register you company for the chance the take part.
Facebook’s astonishing $1 billion purchase of Instagram has turned it into a magnet for new users – which is quite appropriate for one Berlin-based startup. Picpack is a personalised printing service that turns your Instagram pictures into magnets to hang up proudly on your fridge.
The service launched last week, and has already caught the eye of some in Berlin’s tech scene, with Readmill’s Henrik Berggren the first customer and the good people at Gidsy also adorning the furniture with their favourite snaps.
The Media Momentum Awards at Nhow
When you turn up at a tech conference in Berlin clad in a t-shirt only to discover everyone else is wearing a smart shirt and jacket, you’re entitled to double check which city you’re actually in. But after re:pubblica and NEXT, the GP Bullhound Summit made an interesting change of pace.
I was fortunate enough to be asked along to the invite-only event, held at the swish Nhow hotel in Friedrichshain, to watch the Media Momentum Awards. And there was good news for Germany, with Flip4New named Europe’s fastest-growing digital company based on revenue and market expansion.
Berlin Web Week may be drawing to a close, but there are a couple more cool events to look forward to – one here in the capital and one in Cologne. Urania Berlin will play host to Buzzwords Berlin, a conference for developers and users of open source projects, on June 4 and 5.
NoSQL matters 2012, meanwhile, will look at the world of databases the week before, on May 29 and 30.