🚀 @stagetwo.io 2026: 900+ founders, 250+ investors and more than EUR 300 million raised since 2021
This year, Stage Two returned for its sixth edition, and once again university founders from across Europe showed what their ideas can become. 🌍
👥 Participants: almost 50 startups from across Europe.
💡 Challenge: two-minute pitches in front of investors and industry leaders to secure funding and partnerships.
Since 2021, Stage Two has grown into a European network for science-based founders:
🎓 Startups: almost 300 startups and about 950 founders.
🏛️ Universities: 70+ universities and entrepreneurship centers from more than 25 countries.
📈 Funding: at least EUR 300 million in investments and grants, at least EUR 200 million of it in investments.
🤝 Investors: 250+ investors, from venture capital funds to business angels, have backed teams from the network.
Together with @rwthaachenuniversity, HHL has built Stage Two into a European ecosystem for university spin-offs, designed to strengthen European sovereignty.
We were thrilled to cheer on our HHL startup Graini. Graini uses brewer’s spent grain, a by-product of brewing, to create tasty, healthy and affordable snacks. 🌾
Congratulations to all winning teams! 🏆
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made Stage Two 2026 possible, especially the organizing team around Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner, Dr. Maurice Steinhoff and @hhl_digital_space, as well as Prof. Dr. Malte Brettel, Lukas Ellmann, Natalia Ahmadian and the team at RWTH Aachen.
We are grateful for the support of our partners, @bertelsmann_careers, @europeaninvestmentbank, @mckinseyco, Siemens, exist,@hubraum_official, @gatewayfactory and our friends from @orrickcareers. Together, we give university founders a stage to turn ideas into companies.
🎬 Watch the aftermovie and relive Stage Two 2026!
🎥 Video © Stage Two/ Tilo Turian & Pola
#HHL #Entrepreneurship #StageTwo #UniversityStartups #ScienceBasedStartups