Cyber Valley Day 2026

Cyber Valley Day will shine a spotlight on the scientific backbone of our ecosystem, the Cyber Valley Innovation Campus, while bringing together the people, ideas, and organizations that make Cyber Valley what it is today. Throughout the day, you can look forward to inspiring talks from leading researchers and innovators, an exhibition showcasing cutting-edge research projects, a Start-up Basecamp where start-ups are showcasing their excellent work, an investor "Ask me anything" session, plenty of opportunities to connect across disciplines and organizations, and an evening event with lots of time for networking while enjoying refreshments from food trucks.

Beyond the stage program, the anniversary celebration is designed as a meeting point for our entire community. Our shared goal is to strengthen Cyber Valley, create new connections, and further grow the sense of community that has shaped the ecosystem over the past decade. We are all Cyber Valley, and this celebration is something we create together.

Join us to network with distinguished guests from science, politics, industry, and society, enjoy the exhibition and start-up showcase, and end the day with refreshments from a food truck food court.

Agenda

Main Stage

9:00

Registration and Check-in

10:00

Welcome addresses 

• Moritz Hardt (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems)
• Cem Özdemir (Minister President of Baden-Württemberg)
• Boris Palmer (Mayor of Tübingen)
• Karla Pollmann (President of the University of Tübingen)
• Simone Schwanitz (Secretary General of the Max Planck Society)
• Florian Mayer (Managing Director Cyber Valley GmbH)

Host: Linda Behringer (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems)

10:45

Keynote by Manuela Veloso (Herbert A. Simon University Professor Emerita, Carnegie Mellon University)

11:30

Cyber Valley Voices

• Bernhard Schölkopf (ELLIS Institute Tübingen)
• Matthias Bethge (Tübingen AI Center, University of Tübingen)
• Tamim Asfour (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

12:15 Lunch break

13:15

Cyber Valley Voices

• Katherine J. Kuchenbecker (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems)
• Steffen Staab (University of Stuttgart)
• Werner Kraus (Fraunhofer IPA)

14:00

Keynote by Alex Smola (CEO and co-founder, Boson AI)

14:15

Talk by Rafael Laguna de la Vera (Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIN-D))

14:30 Break

14:45

Special Keynote

15:15

Panel Discussion "Building what's next—How bold ideas move from research to impact" with

• Saadet Baltaci (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems)
• Aline Defranceski (Data Coffee)
• Antonia Georgopoulou (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems)
• Maike Kaufman (Polybot)
• Theodora Preda (Plug and Play)
• Katharina Schmidt (apic.ai)
• moderated by Larissa Holzki (Handelsblatt)

16:00

Cyber Valley Start-up Voices 

• Prashanth Halady (Bosch)
• Mario Krenn (Feyer)
• Jonas Müller (Black Forest Labs)

16:45

Special Announcement

17:00

Networking with food and drinks 

PLUS

Ground Floor:

10:45-17:30

Exhibition from our academic partners and projects, with the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, the Haptic Intelligence Department, Max Planck Foundation, the IMPRS-IS, the University of Stuttgart (IntCDC, IRIS, MLIP, KI-SIR), the University of Tübingen (ML Cluster, Tübingen AI Center), Bionic Intelligence Tübingen Stuttgart (BITS), ELLIS Institute Tübingen, Hertie Institute for AI in Brain Health, ARENA2036, BWKI, Cyber Valley GmbH and PAB, High Performance Humanoid Technologies Lab (H²T) from KIT, KE:SAI, Oktonex, Polybot, Prior Labs, and more!

6th Floor:

11:00-16:30 

Start-up Basecamp with start-up presentations from:

• Bergsonne Labs
• Denkbox
• NUVUS
• Computomics
• Feyer
• MaiTY
• Istari AI
• TextVerstehen
• Tanocrix
• Data Coffee
• Yugen Space
• IntegraSkin
• MIRA vision
• Startup Center Tübingen
• Tübingen AI Center

Talks in the Auditorium on the 6th floor:

11:00

"Ask me anything-"Session

Investor 101 + Q&A: What Researchers & Future Founders Need to Know
 
Get a practical introduction to how investors think, what they look for in early-stage ventures, and what researchers should know when considering the path from research to startup. After an Investor 101, bring your questions to an open Q&A with investors.
 
Investors:

• Capnamic
• Fly Ventures
• AI Fund
• Mätch VC 

13:15

C. David Remy and Philipp Rothemund (University of Stuttgart)

14:00

Chandan Kumar (Fraunhofer IAO)

... and much more!

When? 

Wednesday, 09.09.2026 
09:00–21:00

Where? 

Maria-von-Linden-Str. 1 
72076 Tübingen 

Registration for waiting list:

Due to the high demand, we have already reached our full capacity. However, you can still register for the waiting list via Eventbrite. 

Once a free ticket becomes available, you will be contacted with further instructions on how to receive your ticket.

We look forward to celebrating this special anniversary with you.