Good morning,
I'd like to further improve this newsletter, so I decided to run a simple poll instead of the pinned topic this time. I will work on improvements in August, but I am already thinking about the direction. It's not clear yet...
But it's for sure clear where I'll be next Friday! I'll be welcoming you at our Summer Get-together in Mitte. We managed to free up some more tickets, so grab them while they last.
📌 Pinned
It's been a few months since I split the newsletter up. Careers got a bigger events section, but the rest is more or less the same. If you could decide on one single thing that would make you open the newsletter more, what would it be?
Which single thing would make you open Careers (even) more?
👀 Jobs
This week I haven’t managed to work on further improving the board, but I did manage to further clean the “Other” category.
💸 Funded in Germany
ARC Intelligence | Berlin | AI-native finance operating system | €4M seed | Careers.
Porelio | Berlin | Adsorbents for metal recovery, PFAS | €2.4M pre-seed | Careers.
Krops | Berlin | AI insights platform for executives | €1M seed | Careers.
Tentris | Bielefeld | Graph database for enterprise AI | €2M pre-seed | Careers.
Quantum Systems | Gilching | Reconnaissance drones for defense | $1.2B Series D | Careers.
Auxilius | Munich | AI-powered GRC compliance automation | €1.3M pre-seed | Careers.
Stenon | Potsdam | Real-time soil analysis for agriculture | €18M Series B | Careers.
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📅 Events
This week we reviewed 60 upcoming events and handpicked 15. Check all 35 events at luma.com/handpicked
From our partners
🍸 Wrap up your workday with drinks and great conversations at ESMT Berlin. Meet the Master's & MBA community to grow your network. | Thu, 23/07 17:00 | ESMT Berlin
Stop switching between isolated AI tools. Learn to build agents with Vercel and bring them directly into the Notion workspace where your team collaborates. Practical workflows, not purely technical! | Tue, 28/07 10:00 | virtual
learn how to build your first AI App by lunch -- a few more spots left: Build your first app with AI before lunch | Sat, 25/07 10:00 | Neukölln
Our picks
AI Safety Lunch + Coworking @ CIC | Thu, 09/07 10:00 | CIC Berlin
The Hideout Pop-Up: Camp Olympics | Sat, 11/07 15:30 | Treptower Park
Berlin. Vibe Coding Club: Demo Night | Mon, 13/07 18:00 | Deel
Young Builders Night | Tue, 14/07 18:00 | Merantix AI Campus
Berlin Bald Together | Sat, 18/07 14:00 | Gôrlitzer Park
see you at After Work at Fotografiska | Wed, 15/07 18:00 | Fotografiska Berlin
GTM Garage with Benedict Körling | Thu, 16/07 18:30 | The Delta Campus
☕️ Coffee Talk
Miriam Partington is a former Sifted journalist now turned independent tech journalist. We agreed that AI writes like AI and can probably never replace us. She started her own Substack that you should totally check out and subscribe to. This is what she prepared for you:
THF Tower - The former air traffic control tower on Tempelhofer Feld, transformed in 2023 into a rooftop terrace, is hosting live music sets from various musicians this summer every Friday and Saturday. For the next four weeks, Neukölln bar Honeylou is serving drinks up there. It’s the perfect place to chill and watch the sun go down on a warm, summery night.
Jasmine Sun's Substack - I’m a big fan of Jasmine Sun, who writes about AI & Silicon Valley culture on Substack. She has a gift for translating what’s happening inside the US tech industry for audiences outside the bubble. I like her meditations on how AI is shaping culture, careers, and society at large, informed by her perspective as a curious insider in San Francisco.
Reading a book on the U-Bahn - Yes, it sounds simple - maybe obvious. But if you look around you on the underground, nearly everyone is staring at their phones, their eyes flickering with each new reel they view. Next time, try to take a book. Reading makes me feel calmer and less wired than looking at my phone after a busy workday.
Don't miss what Berlin's talking about
Thousands start their week with my Berlin weekly briefing. News, business, tech & culture you won't find elsewhere. Mondays, 7 AM. Free.
Most popular last Monday:
🌍 From the Community
we did not have any submissions: what a pity!
Last week I asked you how often you open Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn or X on a normal day, and the situation is pretty bad:
🧭 Career compass
Signals from Monday: Infineon (Dresden) opened its €5B Smart Power Fab, adding 1,000 jobs [careers]; Siemens (Munich) investing €300M and 700 jobs by 2030 in energy-distribution manufacturing [careers]; Axel Springer (Berlin) completed its £575M Telegraph Media Group acquisition [careers]; Personio (Munich) hit first-ever profitability at €260M ARR [careers]; Almedia (Berlin) opened a London office and is expanding its data team there [careers].
In German: What is it like to be a BVG bus driver? Two interesting comments, showing insights into the work.
A great essay on why AI hasn't replaced software engineers and won't. It's because of the bottlenecks: "(1) deciding and specifying what to build, (2) verifying and being accountable for what is delivered, and (3) the deep human understanding — of the codebase, the business, and the environment — required to carry out both of these."
Very much related, by Mr Zuckerberg: "the trajectory of the agentic development over at least the last four months hasn't really accelerated in the way that we expected," and that the company's bets on the new structure "haven't come to fruition yet." Zuckerberg was referring to AI agents, automated systems that can execute tasks on behalf of a user."
I just spoke with someone last week who wasn't sure what to do next with their career. I almost started to smart-ass and then remembered that I could suggest career coaching. In fact, it's usually better to pay an expert to help. It's the same as with therapy: you need to start it to see the benefits. Have a look at our career coaches. Also, read the article for inspiration.
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