Sophia humanoid robot to open new.New Festival in Stuttgart

This year’s new.New Festival in Stuttgart, Germany will be jointly opened by Sophia, the humanoid robot, and the Baden-Wuerttemberg Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut.

“My goal is to shape a future of AI that benefits society,” says Sophia, adding, “I look forward to meeting up with path-breaking startups, digital pioneers, and corporate innovators, so don’t wait too long to secure your ticket. I hope to see you there.”

Ending with a cringeworthy wink, Sophia the humanoid robot sent out an open invite to the new.New Festival taking place October 8-10 at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Hall in Stuttgart.

The festival will revolve around the topic of Intelligence X.0 and the opportunities offered by digital transformation.

The CODE_n CONTEST

During the festival, some 50 finalists from 15 countries will be taking part in CODE_n CONTEST, the international startup competition which lasts three days. Contestants will unveil a diversity of innovative business models under the banners of Beyond Reality, Machine Intelligence, and Cryptographic Trust.

Moritz Gräter

“The emphasis at the new.New Festival lies in the opportunities offered by digital transformation. Our aim is to think systematically through an exciting question: Where will people feature in all of this?” said Moritz Gräter, Managing Director at CODE_n in a statement.

“We’d also like to look beyond individual disciplines and think outside the tech box, which is why we’re also topping up the festival program with music and art. Diversity and achieving a balance in life are important prerequisites for developing new business models and coming up with innovations,” he added.

The 50 finalists of the CODE_n CONTEST will also present their ideas on the first day of the festival in a series of Top 50 Startup presentations, which will take place in front of a mixed audience on the event stage.

After this, the top 10 entrants will be asked to present in startup pitches on the Tuesday morning, an ideal opportunity to win over the jury of VIPs. The prize winners will be announced in the evening as part of the official award show. The total prize money for the CODE_n Awards amounts to €30,000.

Interactive Workshops, Live Music and Meditation Sessions

Additionally, there will be a number of open panel discussions and interactive workshops on important fields such as AI and innovation processes. These will include the ‘Future Room’ event staged by Harry Gatterer, plus a hackathon. To allow startups at the event to meet up with established companies, there will be a number of networking events such as speed dating sessions. This will also be an ideal opportunity for different innovators to explore potential partnerships.

Human issues will also feature prominently during the three-day event. Every morning and afternoon there will be moderated meditation sessions on coping with stress through mindfulness.

There will also be daily live music on the Piazza to provide entertainment between networking sessions. Bands appearing at the festival include Fear Josie, a new duo from Mannheim, and an indie electronic band from Stuttgart called Eau Rouge.

200 Companies, Established Firms and Institutions

Nearly 200 new companies, established firms, and other institutions will be appearing at the event – among them eight StartupBW accelerators, a variety of innovation initiatives offered by the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, plus multiple traditional companies showcasing their innovative programs and inventiveness at the event.

This underscores the diversity of the different partners taking part in the festival and how important this diversity is in shaping the nature of digitization.

There will also be a world-class supporting program offering a variety of interesting events during the three-day CODE_n CONTEST. These will include a series of talks by experts at leading companies, universities, and research institutions from no less than 20 countries. Their presentations will cover topics such as AI, VR, and XR.

The last early bird tickets will be sold on September 14 at https://www.newnewfestival.com/tickets/.