Bits & Pretzels 2025 - A Two‑Day Journey through Europe’s Startup and Innovation Landscape
Last week, FLUID had the opportunity to dive into the heart of Europe’s tech scene at Bits & Pretzels 2025 - a standout event held in Munich that brought together an inspiring mix of founders, investors, industry leaders, and policymakers. Representing our team on the ground was our co-founder Roman Gebhard, who spent two days exploring the evolving innovation landscape and engaging with leading voices from across the startup, VC, and tech communities.
While FLUID collaborates with clients around the globe - from Europe to the U.S. and Asia - this event offered a sharp and timely view into the energy, talent, and ambition building across the European ecosystem.
Day 1: Bold Ambitions, Grounded Realities
The first day featured a high-impact mix of talks and panels focused on the challenges and opportunities facing European innovation. Sessions ranged from Europe’s role in the new space era to strategies for scaling startups and creating meaningful user impact. The clear message: Europe has deep reservoirs of talent, technological strength, and ambition - but now is the time to translate that even better into real products that scale and deliver market impact.
Highlights included talks by Helene Huby of The Exploration Company (developing reusable space capsules), Daniel Metzler of ISAR Aerospace, and Raycho Raychev of EnduroSat, who is helping drive Bulgaria’s rise in space tech. A keynote by Jonas Deichmann, extreme sportsman and entrepreneur, added a powerful personal dimension - “The limit is just me.”
A recurring and powerful message was that European governments must evolve from being just funders to becoming buyers of innovation. Startups across the continent are often faster, more agile, and closer to emerging needs - but procurement processes still heavily favour legacy players. In contrast, U.S. institutions more readily back new ventures by creating demand, not just offering grants.
The evening continued in Munich’s Werkviertel district, where the informal networking vibe fueled deeper exchanges between builders, thinkers, and future collaborators over a good beer.
Day 2: Scaling, Sovereignty & Deep-Tech Momentum
Day two intensified the discussion, with focus areas like AI, digital competitiveness, deep-tech, and climate innovation taking center stage. It began with a collective breathing session led by the founder of Regulat - an energizing way to ground attendees before a full day of content.
Talks like Europe’s AI Moment, The Great Capital Divide, and Deep Tech Strategy featured insights from players like Mistral, Flix, Parloa, Vinted, Silo AI, AMD, and Hugging Face. A common thread: Europe is strong in deep-tech innovation and research - but the structures and funding to scale these efforts globally are still developing.
What made the day especially engaging was not just what happened on stage, but in the hallways. The startup exhibit area was buzzing with prototypes and pitches. Roman had the chance to speak directly with several inspiring founders, and listened to perspectives from leading voices in the startup and VC world on where funding, policy, and opportunity are heading. Many conversations naturally brought about how we at FLUID can support these ventures - helping them bridge the gap between vision and reality through strategic design, UX, and product development.
Another major thread was resilience - not just in systems, but in mindset. Talks like Innovation Under Fire and Next‑Gen Health & Human Performance emphasized the importance of designing with volatility in mind. Europe needs to strengthen its industries, protect its democracies, and secure long-term access to critical technologies - all while remaining open and collaborative globally.
The phrase that captured the spirit of the event: it’s time to shift from “Made in Germany” to “Make it in Germany” - and embrace that mindset across Europe, by building where the talent is and empowering innovation locally. That means creating the conditions to develop products here, attracting global talent, and designing real solutions for pressing challenges - in energy, health, security, and sustainability.
Common Threads and What FLUID Takes Away
Over two dynamic days, several recurring themes emerged - each deeply connected to our work at FLUID:
- Sovereignty through innovation
Europe must build resilience across tech, industry, and policy - while staying globally connected and open. - From Concept to Market
Ideas and technologies only become valuable when they’re translated into products people actually use. That’s where strategic design plays a pivotal role. - Pitch Bigger, Lead Braver
Ambition isn’t optional. European founders need to own their stories, be bolder, and lead visibly. - The Power of Intersections
The most exciting innovation happens where domains meet - AI × health, climate × hardware, tech × society. That’s where we thrive.
Looking Ahead
Bits & Pretzels 2025 was more than an inspiring event - it was a reminder of how vital it is to foster strong ecosystems, rethink how we scale innovation, and move with clarity, collaboration, and courage.
At FLUID, we specialize in product development - collaborating with startups, scale-ups, and global corporates to turn ideas, concepts, and technologies into successful products and services. Ones that resonate with users, scale with purpose, and deliver real-world impact.
Whether the spark begins in Munich, San Francisco, or Singapore—we’re here to help design what’s next.
A big thank you to Felix Haas, Bernd Storm van’s Gravesande, and Andreas Bruckschlögl for starting this movement and building such a meaningful platform for founders, innovators, and thinkers across the ecosystem.
See you at Bits 26.
