Hamburg meets Silicon Valley- ARIC and Plug and Play enter into strategic partnership

At the beginning of 2021, Plug and Play and the Artificial Intelligence Center Hamburg (ARIC) have entered into a strategic cooperation and agreed to work closely together in the future.

“The collaboration will involve more than hosting joint events such as the International Talks on AI or joint AI Startup events. Both partners want to open their networks and create synergies for their business partners”, says Nieky Ipektchi, Director of Partnerships, about the cooperation.

ARIC is planning to establish its third international satellite location in Silicon Valley and is looking forward to the support of Plug and Play, which originated in the Valley. ARIC, in turn, helps Plug and Play review and identify interesting European AI startups and technologies. Both partners see a great gain through international collaboration and interdisciplinary exchange.

The cooperation is intended to further strengthen Hamburg’s innovative power and establish close links to technology hotspots worldwide. In doing so, ARIC is also opening up its AI networks in Europe and in the metropolitan innovation ecosystem.

“The partnership between ARIC and Plug and Play is a winning initiative for the metropolitan region. Technology-oriented startups thus have access to a strong AI community and know-how and at the same time benefit from the international programs, networks and locations,” says the CDO of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and ARIC Ambassador Christian Pfromm.

The two initiatives aim at a long-term and sustainable partnership with joint projects, training measures and information formats on the agenda. Startups can also enjoy access to international investors and support and networking formats.

ARIC will also have a live virtual booth at Plug and Play’s Supply Chain Europe Expo, which will be hosted from Hamburg virtually on 26 March 2021 from 12pm.

The Artificial Intelligence Center Hamburg is the cross-topic and cross-sector know-how center for AI in the metropolitan region. ARIC simplifies and coordinates access to the future topic of AI, initiates and accompanies projects and provides a comprehensive AI network. By including and connecting business, science and society, the expertise from the different worlds is brought together and bundled. For more information, visit www.aric-hamburg.de

About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley, CA. Plug and Play is one of the world’s most active investors and has a global presence with 18 different industry-specific accelerator programs and corporate innovation platforms. Plug and Play’s goal is to drive technological progress faster than ever before. Since its founding in 2006, Plug and Play has provided startups and corporations with the resources needed to succeed not only in Silicon Valley, but also globally, in over 30 locations worldwide. With over 10,000 startups sourced annually and over 500 corporate partners, Plug and Play has created the ideal startup ecosystem for any industry. Plug and Play also has a network of over 200 leading venture capitalists available as potential investors and hosts over 1000 networking events a year, which can now be attended virtually. The companies that have gone through Plug and Play’s accelerator programs and/or are part of the Plug and Play portfolio have raised more than $7 billion in funding to date. Successful portfolio companies include N26, Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club and PayPal. For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/hamburg/