Hello there,
big news: we are starting a new series of meetups, the Everyday AI Club, and I think you should be there. It's for non-technical people curious about AI. Registrations are now open. We will be curating the crowd in the coming weeks. You can register as a speaker or show your demo.
Related, we relaunched our hands-on workshop: Build your first app with AI in one evening. The first edition is happening tonight at Impact Hub. (Ask your manager for your L&D budget!)
That is not all: we are also organising our first hackathon together with Alpic, where we will be building MCP apps. Registrations are open. There will be pizza, goodie bags and awards for the best teams.
A lot is coming, so I am looking for volunteers to help me run events.
📌 Pinned
What do you think about Germany and Berlin? I lol’d at this “Germany is a great place if you’ve stopped wanting things” post. It was interesting to read all the comments on alternatives to Germany in the EU in another post. The amount of engagement is a clear sign that some people had had enough. But to be fair, these are excellent engagement hooks for social media, almost like who is better, Ronaldo or Messi, are for kids.
Do you plan to leave Germany/Berlin?
👀 Jobs are still on a break
Job board will be back soon! Meanwhile, the new Hacker News thread Who is hiring in May is up: 13 posts with a Berlin filter.
💸 Funded in Germany
Since the newsletter was on a break last week, we have more to cover this time.
SPREAD | Berlin | AI engineering intelligence for industry | $30M Series B | Careers.
LiveEO | Berlin | Satellite AI for infrastructure & defense | €28M | Careers.
All3 | Berlin | Robotics for housing construction | $25M seed | Careers.
Patronus | Berlin | Emergency smartwatch for seniors | €11M | Careers.
Tacalyx | Berlin | TACA-targeted cancer antibodies | €11M seed extension | Careers.
VREY | Berlin | Shared-rooftop solar for multi-family homes | €3.3M seed | Careers.
Nox Mobility | Berlin | European night train network | €2M pre-seed | Careers.
iDEL Therapeutics | Dortmund | Cancer drug delivery shuttle technology | €9M seed | Careers.
QuoIntelligence | Frankfurt | AI-powered cyber threat intelligence | €7.3M Series A | Careers.
ENVIOTECH | Frankfurt | Smart street lighting retrofits | €1M pre-seed | Careers.
Primogene | Leipzig | Enzymatic HMOs for infant formula | €4.1M seed | Careers.
ATMOS Space Cargo | Lichtenau | Reusable orbital cargo capsules | €25.7M Series A | Careers.
mbiomics | Munich | Microbiome therapeutics for cancer | €30M Series A | Careers.
Dehaze | Munich | AI for early chronic disease detection | €3.2M seed | Careers.
Linexa | Munich | AI for industrial automation systems | €2M pre-seed | Careers.
Mobility Signage | Munich | Real-time public transport passenger info | €1.8M pre-seed | Careers.
PolymerActive | Offenburg | Pollutant filters from recycled plastic | €2.5M Series A | Careers.
eleQtron | Siegen | Ion trap quantum computers | €57M Series A | Careers.
Sereact | Stuttgart | AI robotics for industrial automation | $110M Series B | Careers.
Ad
Stop typing what you could say in 10 seconds.
Wispr Flow turns your voice into clean, professional text inside any app. Emails, Slack, client updates — speak once, send without editing. 4x faster than typing.
📅 Events
From our partners
Berlin AI Day is a full-day event bringing together 550 leaders, operators, and builders to explore how companies are implementing AI and automation in their work. Speakers from AWS, HiBob, Revolut, HelloFresh, Mobile.de, FINN, and more will share what's working, where they've struggled, and lessons learned. The day runs across three tracks: Leadership & Transformation, Product & Development, and Revenue & Operations. 25% discount at checkout! | Tue, 15/09 9:00 | Festsaal Kreuzberg
The IamExpat Fair is back! 🎉 It’s an international one-day event designed to connect and support the expat community in Berlin. Whether you're a new arrival or long-term resident, there's a lot to learn about life in Germany. Tickets are FREE, including several interesting workshops. Check the schedule! | Sat, 30/05 10:00 | Estrel Berlin
Our picks
Ravio x Handpicked Berlin: Berlin tech salaries 2026 – What the numbers actually say | Tue, 12/05 15:00 | Online
Tempelhofer Feld walk: I want out of tech | Tue, 12/05 18:30 | Tempelhofer Feld
AI Breakfast: The Future of Neuroscience | Wed, 13/05 09:00 | Merantix AI Campus
WahlheYmat Talks - Building a better democracy | Wed, 13/05 18:00 | America-Gedenkbibliothek PopUp
From prompt to pipeline: how to build an outbound engine | Tue, 19/05 18:00 | HubSpot
Deep-Tech Co-Founder Matching Night | Wed, 20/05 18:30 | Antler
Bringing SF to Berlin | Fri, 22/05 18:00 | web3.hub
Founder Communication Workshop with Matteo Cassese | Thu, 04/06 18:00 | Neuland (NLND)
Nucleate Germany Presents: The Innovation Forum 2026 | Fri, 12/06 16:00 | CIC Berlin
☕️ Coffee Talk
Rajiv Desai is a Berlin-based diversity, equity and inclusion advisor, consultant and trainer, originally from India. He has lived, studied and worked in the US, Spain, Mongolia, the UAE, and Belgium before he finally landed in Berlin. I loved his suggestions:
Restaurant - Patakha - “Best Indian food in Berlin?” is a hard question because Indian cuisine itself is not a monolith. My tips: Avoid Google reviews, go with an Indian friend, and avoid places with extensive menus (typically means the use of cooking short-cuts that affect overall authenticity). My go-to is Patakha for their menu, flavours and friendly service.
Helpful Food Rating App - Yuka - Finally, an app that helps evaluate food and body care products not just on calories and nutrition but also additives, with one composite score (and details supporting the score). Scary how many products that look good, score badly. Scan a food product barcode and check it out for yourself. It’s made grocery choices tougher but more conscious.
German Language Cafe - Cafe Refugio - When I started German courses, I visited a few ‘Sprachcafes’ and many were ineffective - either too many levels mixed in one group or not enough moderation and support. My favourite is the German Language Café at Café Refugio. A huge, lovely space, with separate tables for various levels and a moderator at each table. It’s free. Just show up.
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
Zukunft.Gründen is the German Lead for ClimateLaunchpad 2026! Early-stage Green/Climatetech startups can gain global exposure, access to funding, personalised coaching, and a chance to pitch on a global stage in Singapore! Apply by April 30.
Sonntag Grant for Photography — Berlin-based grant supporting FLINTA artists. Their photobook open call accepts submissions until 31 May; the selected artist works with Replika Publishing on a new photobook.
Help Andreea from Talent Crunch win the Community Champions Award 2026. She deserves it because she is doing an amazing job. It takes 3 minutes. You can skip the descriptions.
In the last issue, I asked you about what you do when you notice AI writing. “I stop reading” came out on top with 33.59% of the votes! The audience is definitely biased, but keep the low percentage of “nothing, content matters” in mind when you prompt ChatGPT for your LinkedIn post next time.
🧭 Career compass
For everyone looking for ideas on what to build: YC summer 2026 request for startups is out.
An interesting development in south-western Germany: starting in August, Bosch is ending its extensive work-from-home policy (up to 100%) and requiring employees to spend at least 60% of their working hours on-site or with clients. [more] While we are in the south, I enjoyed the discussion about German engineering in this comment thread on Hacker News (the article was about Mercedes-Benz bringing back physical buttons).
Excellent piece of advice: start with nothing. Clean up your work surface, close down tabs and start with a clean slate. It truly is much easier. (Writing this after I cleaned my desk)
Advice from a recruiter about jobs posted that will never actually fill. In short:
a) Many job postings exist only to satisfy internal policy; the role is already promised to someone inside.
b) Companies post fake roles to build talent pipelines for openings that don't yet exist.
c) Listings often stay up for months after being filled because no one bothers to take them down.
It often has NOTHING to do with you and your CV!
Don’t miss
Need help with finding a flat, insurance, have problems at work or are you lost in career or life? Talk to our Handpicked Experts.
Going into a salary review or offer? Walk in with the numbers and 12 negotiation tips.
