Silicon Allee is the venture lab at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute. We help founders build deep tech companies by unlocking access to advanced research and technical expertise.
Travis Todd
Co-founder & Director
Florin-Catalin Chici
Head of Startup Acceleration
Grace Williams
Marketing & Communications Manager
Dr. Michael Wehrheim
Strategic & Financial Advisor
Adaeze Okelze
Marketing & Partnerships Associate
Franziska Ivens
Venture Architect
Khaled Mahd
Creative Director
Vitória Dias
Platform Manager
Julius Werling
Head of Venture Building
Eylül Kantürk
Assistant Startup Analyst
Florian Rosendahl
Operations Manager
Alyssa Kirst
Head of Startup Incubation
Jo Teichmann
Venture Builder
Anika Schneider
Event Manager
Contantin Wolf
Venture Builder Developer
Silicon Allee began in 2011 as one of Berlin’s first international tech communities. We supported the city’s growing ecosystem through grassroots events, an English-language tech blog, and a mission to help founders succeed.
We helped launch the Factory Berlin campus, built and operated our own startup campus in Mitte and later created the Berlin Founders Fund, backing early-stage teams with funding, guidance, and access to our network. That experience gave us a strong track record in spotting talent early and helping turn ambitious ideas into successful companies.
In 2023 we joined Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute to build startups from advanced scientific research.
Traditional tech transfer often works against founders, with complex licensing, rigid terms, and equity demands that make it hard to get started. The result is a system where most research never makes it out of the lab (in Europe, as high as 90%).
We saw an opportunity to change that. Together with Fraunhofer HHI, we created a model that gives founders access to breakthrough technologies and a cleaner path to building with them.
Our mission is to empower entrepreneurs to turn advanced research into successful startups.
2011 - Silicon Allee is co-founded by Travis, Schuyler and David as one of Berlin’s first international startup communities with a Monthly Meet Up, now Berlin’s longest-running tech event.
2012 - We launched Berlin’s first English-language news site
2013 - We are the first company to move into and help launch the Factory Berlin campus, creating a central hub for the city's tech scene.
2016 - Working with Factory.com, we launch our own campus in Berlin housing companies like Stripe, Point Nine Capital, Propstack, Klara, Techstars, Ocean Protocol and others.
2019 - We create the Berlin Founders Fund, backing first-time impact founders with funding, guidance, and access who have gone on to raise over €100M.
2023 - We joined Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute to launch a new model for building startups from scientific research.
Today - We work with founders across Germany to turn advanced technology into deep tech companies.
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