foundersXchange April 2026

Mentoring Matters – Learning from Experience
The upcoming foundersXchange is dedicated to a topic that is crucial for start-ups and founders at every stage of their business: mentoring. Whether you’re just starting out or already growing, experience, honest feedback and the right kind of dialogue can make all the difference.

The event will centre on a practical presentation by Philo Boras (founder of Aurora Life Science) and Martin Lacher (Managing Director of Lacher Großküchen GmbH), who will explain how their mentoring relationship came about and what concrete benefits – ranging from personal development to business growth – it has brought to both parties.

foundersXchange Februar 2026

Grants: Founders just wanna have Funds

The first edition of foundersXchange 2026 is being organised by the ATHENE Digital Hub Cyber­security. Under the slogan “Funding: Founders just wanna have funds”, the various funding programmes from the foundersXchange network will be presented.

Are you feeling lost in the maze of funding options? With the funding navigator, you will find the right funding programme - from insightful talks, to discussions about funding with experts and other founders.

ATHENE at the it-sa 2025

Cyber­security is one of the key challenges that companies must overcome in order to protect their business processes and meet compliance requirements. The Fraunhofer Institutes SIT and IGD, which are involved in ATHENE, will be showcasing their latest developments and solutions at the Fraunhofer Society's joint booth in Hall 6, Booth 416. Our experts will also be giving presentations at itsa-insights. Another highlight will be the presentation of the ATHENE Startup Award UP25@it-sa at the trade fair.

Final Pitch Day 2025

The final event of the fifth edition of our ATHENE Accelerator SpeedUpSecure – live in the Fraunhofer SIT, Darmstadt. Our selected startups will pitch their business ideas to a high-profile jury and the audience.

B2B Sales and Go-To-Market

Learn practical strategies for successfully entering and scaling in B2B markets.

Learning Lunch: Policy Update Cyber­security

Navigating the complex web of regulations that govern your industry can be a daunting task. Understanding the regulatory landscape and ensuring compliance is essential to protect your startup, build trust with customers, and avoid legal troubles.

foundersXchange April 2025

Crashkurs Bürokratie & First Steps bei der Gründung

Die zweite Ausgabe des foundersXchange in diesem Jahr wird vom ATHENE Digital Hub Cyber­security durchgeführt. Unter dem Motto "Crashkurs Bürokratie & First Steps bei der Gründung" widmen wir uns den wichtigsten bürokratischen Aspekten bei der Gründung. Neben spannenden Insights erwarten dich Austausch mit Expert*innen und Networking mit anderen Gründer*innen.

Info Session ATHENE Accelerator SpeedUpSecure

Applications for our ATHENE Accelerator SpeedUpSecure program 2025 are now open! To kick-off the application period, let's come together in an online meeting so you can ask us any questions you may have in regard to the application process and the program. 

foundersXchange Xmas Edition

At the December Advent edition of the foundersXchange, it’s all about: Start-up F*CK UPS! 
No start-up journey without fck ups. Mistakes, oversights, misjudgments – they happen. Not every entrepreneurial decision is a bullseye. Fck ups and the entrepreneurial spirit go hand in hand.

At the fXc Xmas Edition, founders will share their personal stories about what went wrong on their start-up journey, how unexpected doors opened through networking, and how a successful pivot can turn things around.

Afterward, the stage is yours: the Open-Mic Session invites you to share your own f*ck ups and personal challenges with the community.

Gingerbread, hot and cold drinks, and festive Xmas vibes will be waiting for you – just come by and join us!

Lunch Lecture: Obligation to inform data subjects and obligation to document data protection implementation

Data protection is an important topic for all of us, regardless of whether we are startups, SMEs or corporations - and it is very complex. Our data protection law experts from Fraunhofer SIT will talk online about many aspects of data protection during a joint lunch break.