Hey, dear reader!
When was the last time your DB train arrived on time?
I can't remember. In the last 3 months I took 8 journeys and every single one had a delay or a cancellation. In September, only every other train arrived on time.
A year ago I read Baustellen der Nation by the team behind one of my favourite politics podcasts, Lage der Nation. One chapter is about the railway and DB, and the scale of the problem was shocking to me.
At the current pace of construction and renovation, we'd need at least 10 (!) more years to bring the infrastructure to where it should be today. So if you were expecting change soon, I have to disappoint you.
On the bright side, nothing brings strangers together like the announcement "Unser Zug hat eine Verspätung. Wir bitten um Entschuldigung." You can pick up some rich German Schimpfwörter or laugh it off with people next to you. Deutsche Bahn: connecting people :)
It isn't all hopeless though, especially for us in Hamburg.
Nox Mobility, a Berlin-based startup, is bringing back the overnight train between Hamburg and Munich. Tickets are already on sale, and the first train leaves in March next year (if you want to see how the train looks inside, check out this video)
The train leaves Hamburg at 21:22 and arrives in Munich at 8:14, three times a week. One-way tickets start at €87. By 2035, they want to connect 100 European cities.
Sounds lovely!
Thing is, DB used to run night trains too: CityNightLine. It was discontinued in 2016 due to low profitability and competition from budget flights. Today only a few connections are left, mostly Nightjet, operated by Austria's ÖBB.
The book blames the 1994 reform, which turned DB into a profit-driven company, for much of today's mess.
Would Nox arrive on time? They run on DB's tracks, which are chronically strained. Night means fewer trains, but also more construction work. So no guarantees.
In all honesty, even fewer delays or cancellations would feel like a big win already.
Would you book your next ticket to try it out?
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🎙️ Beyond the headline
Alongside our monthly podcast, we're starting rapid-fire talks with the people behind the latest startup headlines in Hamburg and beyond.
For episode one, Hugo sat down with Christian Noske, general partner at Uplift Ventures, shortly after the fund's €100M launch.
Christian explains how a fund backed by a single corporate investor still moves at VC speed, and where European deep tech startups get stuck between seed and Series A.
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🗓️ Startup Events
Handpicked for this week.
🤖 AI Everywhere
Tue, October 6
AI.WOMEN Circle: Autumn Edition (English): Connect with women working with AI, exploring use cases or just starting out, at the autumn edition of the circle.
THINK REACTOR Meetup (German): Hear practical talks on putting AI into production, from compliance automation to evaluation, with Northern Germany's AI community.
Wed, October 7
AI Builders (English): Swap notes on AI dev tools, agent frameworks, RAG and Claude Code at an informal meetup for the biggest AI nerds.
n8n Meetup (English): Trade practical automation and AI workflow use cases with the local n8n community.
Thu, October 8
Data&AI Meet-Up (German): Dive into data strategy, AI and digital transformation with talks, use cases and networking, hosted by data expert Jonas Rashedi.
🧑💻 Tech Bite
Thu, October 8
Defence Tech Meetup (English): Meet the people building, funding and supporting defence technology across Germany and Ukraine.
Wed, October 7
#2 Hardware Afterwork (English): Meet Hamburg's hardware builders at the second afterwork, following the end-of-August kickoff.
Sat, October 10
agentic coding studio (English): Build with AI agents on a Saturday morning, in a session made for people who work on weekends anyway.
🔨 Startup 101
Tue, October 6
Founders Toolbox: Customer Discovery Basics (German): Learn to prepare and run customer interviews that show what your future customers really need.
Fr, October 9
build fridays (English): Work on your own startup alongside other founders doing the same, and end the week with something shipped.
✨ Get Inspired
Mon, October 5
Deep Tech Club: Scientists' Founder Journey (English): Hear three scientist-founders explain how they turned deep research into biotech and battery startups.
Thu, October 8
House of AI Happy Hour (English): Unwind with the House of AI community over drinks, with no agenda and plenty of conversation.
Female Future Meet Up (German): Hear 8+ women speakers on the main stage, with panels, empowerment stories and networking at a festival in small format.
Sat, October 10
Founders Running Club (English): Run an easy Saturday loop with founders, investors and startup people, then stay for the networking half.
📍 Monthly Highlights
Thu, October 15
Körber Start-Hub Final Pitch (German): Watch six teams under 30 pitch their society-focused startups in three minutes each, with prize money for one winner.
ProductTank Hamburg (English): Hear two product leaders on guiding teams through shaky ground and on what stays constant in product management.
Google AI Day × ambition (German): Learn how AI is changing marketing and business strategy, with two tracks for executives and practitioners, sessions from Google and a networking dinner.
Fr-Sat, October 16-17
DevFest Hamburg (English): Get two days of sessions, workshops and showcases on mobile, web and cloud, hosted by the Google Developer Groups.
Fr, October 23
MAKE AI WORK (German): Skip the AI hype for case studies from real users, with 36 human speakers and a second stage run entirely by AI.
📣 Open Calls
Startup grants, programs, and opportunities.
HSV Tech & Innovation Day — For founders with solutions for stadium experience, sustainability or AI tools. Pitch at the Volksparkstadion with an award for the best pitch. Deadline: October 13.
STARTERiN Hamburg 2026 — For female founders and mixed founding teams from Hamburg. The winner gets a Ströer outdoor advertising campaign worth €20,000, not cash. Deadline: October 20.
SPRIND AI-Native Chip Design — For teams using AI to design high-performance chips in weeks instead of years. Up to €9.6M per team across two stages. Deadline: November 30.
💼 Job Picks
3 open roles worth a look this week.
AI Engineer at Clariness, a health startup building AI-powered tools for the healthcare sector.
Venture Client Manager at Uplift Ventures, the venture arm of Jungheinrich that works with startups as paying customers.
Business Analytics at zipmend, a Hamburg logistics startup digitalizing freight forwarding and transport management.
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That’s a wrap!
Check out the tune of the week from the found playlist
🏄♂
See you next week,
Kyrylo from found