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found📍startup incubators & founder programs worth applying for in 2026

Hamburg’s coolest startup and tech events, delivered to your inbox every Monday.

Editor’s Note

Hey, dear reader!

Over the last couple of weeks, I got asked multiple times about startup incubator and accelerator programs running in 2026. If you’ve been a subscriber to the newsletter for some time, you might remember that AI Startup Hub suspended its programs for AI-focused startups.

That said, there are still a few active ones you can check out:

  • 🤗 Next.Generation Incubator — a year-long, free incubator for founders under 30 to develop a socially impactful idea into a venture with workshops, mentoring, coworking space and a chance to win a €50,000 grant.

  • 📹 Media Lift Incubator — a multi-phase incubator helping media × tech startups with workshops, mentoring, networking and up to €15,000 in support to grow early product ideas.

  • 🎶 Music WorX — Europe’s first publicly funded music-tech incubator offering tailored training, coaching, and financial support to help founders refine and launch music industry startups.

From experience, when you’re searching for a co-founder or access to a strong network, these programs can be a solid starting point. Check out startups from the last year’s batch of Next.Generation incubator and my thoughts on the real value such programs can deliver.

If you’re not tied to geography, you can also check out open programs in Berlin for more options. This database is a good place to start.

To finish on a high note: we’re expecting some new programs for deeptech startups from Impossible Founders later this year — stay tuned for details 👀 

And now, to this week’s opportunities and events ⏭️

Open Calls 📣

This week, I have some amazing opportunities you should check out.

OMR 50/50 Founder Pitch — Secure a high-visibility pitch slot at OMR 50/50 to showcase your startup, access top-tier exposure, and connect with investors and partners actively backing diverse founding teams.

Future Founders Program by Procuros — Gain hands-on startup building experience, structured mentorship, and direct industry access through a selective program designed to turn ambitious founders into execution-ready operators.

Technical Co-Founder Wanted — Build a consumer payment app that supports climate protection with every transaction, launches with major German retailers from day one, and offers strong upside including €300k non-dilutive funding plus a joint EXiST grant application. Intrigued? Reach out to Lorenz.

Save the Date 🗓️ 

Want to stay updated on future events? Check out our Luma calendar.

January 27: Future Founder Demo Day (English) — Experience student startup pitches in Hamburg and gain direct access to innovation and connect with other founders.

January 28: Agentic Software Engineering Meetup (English) — Learn how to design, evaluate, and ship agent-based software systems with concrete patterns, tooling insights, and real examples from practitioners building with LLM agents.

January 29: Logistics Tech Meetup (English) — Gain practical insights into digital logistics solutions, real-world use cases, and emerging technologies while connecting with operators, builders, and innovators shaping the supply chain.

This Issue’s Gem 💎 

January 20: Claude Code Special (English) — Dive into agentic coding with live demos and discussions on Claude Code to accelerate your AI-assisted development workflows and connect with local builders.

AI Everywhere 🤖 

January 20: DVC Data & AI Lunch (English) — Gain fresh data and AI insights while sharing pizza and practical experiences with fellow practitioners in a relaxed lunchtime setting.

Startup 101 🔨 

January 20: #100: AI, Search and User Behavior (German) — Explore concrete survey-driven insights on how AI and modern search behavior influence SEO strategies and user engagement for websites.

January 22: Entrepreneurship Lunch: IFB Innovationsstarter’s funding instruments (English) — Discover concrete funding pathways for pre-seed, deep-tech, and growth stage ventures while gaining tailored insights from experts and networking over a light lunch.

January 22: Intellectual Property (IP) basics for start-ups: how to protect your ideas properly (German/English) — Learn how to strategically secure your tech, brand, and content with key IP protections from a patent expert focused on early-stage startups.

January 23: Build Fridays (English) — Advance your product by shipping real features with peer support while networking with local builders in a focused work session.

Tech Bite 🧑‍💻 

January 20: Structured Concurrency in Action (English) — Master Java’s structured concurrency API with hands-on examples and concrete techniques to write safer, more maintainable concurrent code in your next project.

Get Inspired ✨ 

January 21: Startup Date with Fabian Eckert from RECUP (German) — Explore actionable founder insights as RECUP co-founder Fabian Eckert shares real decisions, setbacks, and growth strategies that turned a reusable packaging idea into a market-leading business.

January 21: Female AI Dinner (German/English) — Connect with women in AI over a curated dinner and walk away with new collaborations, insights into real AI applications, and actionable career-boosting conversations.

January 22: Prototyping Lab Reveal (German) — Discover concrete media and tech prototypes from the latest Prototyping Lab cohort and gain insight into how teams turn early ideas into market-ready solutions.

Every Saturday: Founders Running Club (English) — Energize your weekend with fellow entrepreneurs during a judgment-free 5K run followed by coffee and meaningful networking conversations.

That’s a wrap! Thanks for staying with me on this one. Hope you found it useful :)

Before you call it a day…

Let me know what you’d like to see in the coming issues of the newsletter — simply reply to this email or hit me up on LinkedIn.

Looking for good vibes or need a companion for the upcoming issue of newsletter? Check out the official found playlist on Spotify 💿️ 

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See you soon,

Kyrylo from found Hamburg