STARTUPS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Technology

Hyde is a platform for consumers to monetize their data in a privacy-preserving manner, and for businesses to understand their customers better in a compliant way. Built on a state-of-the-art privacy foundation, Hyde provides transparency, control and data sovereignty for consumers, while allowing businesses to expand their customer data beyond their own premises. The vision of Hyde is to equip consumers with data agency and to equalize business data moats.

Scientific Background

Hyde builds on recent progress in Trusted Execution Environments (TEE). This technology allows to compute on data without exposing it to third parties. Beyond that, Hyde is heavily using Machine Learning Embedding technology to convey consumer taste like music, movies, or shopping. Hyde is led by Dr. Uwe Stoll with a PhD in Semantic Web and Machine Learning, and a long track record in applied AI. CTO Kyohei Hamaguchi (JP) has about ten years of experience in designing complex software systems with an emphasis on information security. 

Technology

Kertos is a no-code SaaS solution connecting an organization’s entire infrastructure to manage personal data and fully automate privacy processes. By executing workflows, handling data subject requests, and building self-maintaining records of processing activities, Kertos makes manual privacy (GDPR) compliance a thing of the past. The integration of external systems plays a central role in the automation of data privacy tasks. This requires corresponding API keys, access tokens or comparable access information. Kertos develops a hybrid zero-trust architecture to make sure data transfer takes place only between the (potentially on-premise) worker nodes and the integrated systems. Thus, the Kertos backend itself never comes into contact with costumers’ API keys or customer data.

Scientific Background

Kertos focuses on the automation of processes, the secure management of privacy requirements and the simplification of everyday workflows for all stakeholders involved. The founders Dr. Kilian Schmidt, Johannes Hussak and Alexander Prams combine relevant practical experience and professional knowledge, which they acquired at renowned universities such as the Technical University of Munich and the Humboldt University of Berlin. While Dr. Kilian Schmidt, with his background in law and first-hand experience with legal processes, takes on the role of "legal expert" in the founding team, Johannes Hussak contributes expertise in product development and innovation as CPO and COO. The team is completed by Alexander Prams, who is responsible for the technical implementation of the Kertos solution in his role as CTO and with his field of expertise, automation.

Technology

LUBIS EDA has developed a software tool for the verification of digital integrated circuits (IC) which are part of a lot of semiconductors. With this tool, LUBIS EDA can automatically generate the Verification Intellectual Property (VIP). This VIP can then be used to ensure that there are no functional flaws and bugs within the IC. Functional bugs can not only lead to a malfunctioning semiconductor but can also be an entry point for security issues. The verification methodology is based on the so called “Formal Verification” technique for semiconductors.

Scientific background

Dr. Tobias Ludwig has developed a new and efficient methodology for the generation of the VIP within his time as a researcher at the TU Kaiserslautern. His dissertation resulted in a software prototype that implements this methodology. Dr. Michael Schwarz has done his dissertation at the same chair as Dr. Tobias Ludwig and is an expert in Formal Verification as well as Hardware-Software-Interfaces. Dr. Max Birtel holds a degree in business engineering and was a researcher at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the SmartFactory Kaiserslautern in the field of Industrie 4.0 .

Technology

Natif.ai is a deep-tech startup in the field of intelligent document processing. The platform provided by natif.ai enables developers to automatically extract all relevant information from common documents via an API and pass it to downstream systems. In addition, developers can automate their own document processes without deep knowledge of modern AI techniques: the Natif platform guides developers through the entire setup process, trains use-case specific models, and makes them available via an easy-to-use API. The AI learns continuously through an active learning approach. Since all AI models are developed in-house and hosted in Germany (including an own deep-OCR), documents can not only be analyzed extremely fast and accurately, but also meet the highest data protection standards. Currently, natif.ai is working on AI-based forgery detection to assess whether documents have been tampered with. Thus, in the future natif.ai will support companies in both automating and securing document-based processes.

Scientific background

Natif.ai employs a large number of AI experts who studied at renowned universities and then either worked at research institutes such as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), some of whom earned their doctorates, or gained experience in the research departments of various commercial enterprises. Today, Natif.ai still works closely with the DFKI and CISPA, participates in funded research projects, and supervises bachelor's and master's theses.

Technology

NetBird is a next generation solution of network access and security that has been developed as open-source software since 2021. The platform combines Zero Trust principles with a highly scalable peer-to-peer network enabling organizations and teams to securely connect remote resources. It is based on Wireguard® and provides a fast and secure network for any use case, that verifies policies and client context at the edge, not at centralized gateways.

Scientific Background

NetBird has a team with over twenty years of experience in software and infrastructure engineering fields. They come from their countries' best information systems and computer networking universities with a focus on information security. They built their careers in data, automation, and security engineering, always providing the best user experience while keeping security a default option. 

Technology

fuse.space is the first secure data and collaboration space that records and protects the complex and collaborative process of creative work, to protect its intellectual property. Our vision is to connect the world in creativity. A world where all people and entities can work together easily and securely, without having to know or trust each other. To do this, we are creating a space that supports, transparently documents, immutably secures, and verifiably protects the collaborative process of creative work. We address music creators, architects or scientists, anyone who shares and collaborates on their sensitive and unprotected intangible assets, such as ideas, concepts, and inventions. With the support of CISPA, fuse.space is further developing its solution to enable a secure collaboration space.

Scientific Background

With the help of over 1,000 creators and institutions in the creative industries, we are working together to create a solution that covers and secures the most important work processes and integrates them into their workflows. We ourselves come from the music industry and know the problem and its potential very well. Andre Angkasa has been building digital media services, products, and brands for over 18 years. Alexander Wittkowski, as a music producer and composer, knows the problem from his own experience. He had two of his songs stolen and published under a different name by a very famous pop star. Unfortunately, he lacks any proof of the collaboration process and his IP.

Technology

At the heart of the Xpect approach to modeling safe processes is a representation formalism that not only maps temporal sequences of actions, but also captures their semantics by linking them to existing knowledge. In this way, it becomes possible to prove central properties of abstract processes and concrete sequences and to correct them if necessary. By monitoring the current execution of a process, the violation of central security or compliance rules can be detected in advance and the occurrence of a critical state can be avoided.

Scientific Background

Most of Xpect's employees have many years of experience in artificial intelligence research. For example, many of them were employees at DFKI, with which there is still close cooperation. In addition, they have gained relevant experience in management consultancies or companies in large-scale industry, which pays off in particular when it comes to identifying relevant issues and assessing the weaknesses of current solutions.

Technology

The Cybervize platform is designed for organizations of all sizes to strengthen their cybersecurity. This solution includes an AI-based SaaS component that identifies risks, recommends cybersecurity measures, and assists with implementation. As an integral part of Cybervize, a moderated user forum promotes knowledge sharing and provides practical guidance. Human advisors provide targeted expert assessments to assist with implementation and conduct periodic reviews upon request.



Scientific Background

Cybervize's technology is based on the application of AI technologies and SaaS solutions to automate cybersecurity processes. The solution draws on proven cybersecurity practices and processes, as well as information security and risk management best practices, to provide a comprehensive and cost-effective cybersecurity solution specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.