Demo Day Summer 2026

On 1 September, Frankfurt School hosted the Demo Day of the FS Accelerator Summer ’26 at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (FS), bringing six ambitious teams to the stage after an intensive accelerator journey. From AI-powered logistics and mortgage technology to Bitcoin-backed lending, public-sector sales intelligence, women’s health and critical infrastructure, the cohort showed how focused technology can turn complex challenges into scalable businesses.

The evening brought founders together with investors, mentors and the Frankfurt School startup community for a final round of pitches and conversations. A total of €50,000 in prize money was awarded, with €30,000 going to the first-place winner and €20,000 to the runner-up. The programme also featured a keynote by Bedeir Rizk, Frankfurt School alumnus and CEO of PARAGON | ADEER.

HyperAxes takes first place and €30,000

The top prize went to HyperAxes, which received €30,000 for its AI-powered approach to monitoring subsea pipelines and cable corridors. Today, analysts still spend significant time comparing point-cloud surveys by hand. HyperAxes replaces that slow process with a versioned 3D baseline and proprietary change detection that can show what changed, where and with what level of confidence in minutes.

The outputs feed automated reports, a 3D viewer and audit-ready records aligned with EU critical-infrastructure cybersecurity requirements. The team has bootstrapped the company so far, is running three active pilots across defence and the commercial sector, and is now raising a €1.2 million seed round.

HyperAxes was founded by FS alumnus Fernando Piccirilli, Master’s degree in Corporate Finance (Class 2017), and Nicola Sabino.

Lila takes second place and €20,000

Second place and €20,000 went to Lila, an AI-powered FemTech company tackling one of the most underserved stages of women’s health: perimenopause. Its science-trained AI coach tracks symptoms, medication and cycles while delivering personalised nutrition plans and Obstetrician-Gynecologist support through one app.

Lila is already gaining strong traction in the United States. It is the #1 perimenopause app in the US App Store, with retention in the top 5% of all health apps and cash-flow-positive customer acquisition. The company is now raising a $3 million seed round, with a super pro-rata from Gradient Ventures confirmed.

Lila was founded by FS alumnus Sebastian Jorna, Master of Science in Finance (Class 2017), and Henry Wynaendts.

Meet the rest of the Summer ’26 cohort

Boro.today

Boro.today is building over-collateralised, non-custodial Bitcoin-backed lending infrastructure that lets Bitcoin holders access liquidity without selling their assets. Its APIs can extend credit to consumers, businesses and AI agents. With Bitwala as its first distribution channel and a Bitcoin-miner LOI signed, Boro.today is now raising a $2 million round. 

Founders: FS alumnus Dennis Daiber, Diplomierter Bank-Betriebswirt (Class 2025), and Jan Goslicki.

freitir

freitir is building an AI layer for road freight that connects the systems operators already use, learns from every real-world execution and predicts failures before they happen. The startup has co-developments running with Welch Group in the UK and Fritz Gruppe in Germany, alongside a research partnership with Fraunhofer IML. It is now raising a €750,000 pre-seed round with a commitment from Carbon13.

Founders: FS alumnus Anil Kumar, Part-Time MBA (Class of 2023) and Matthias Bohner.

GovIntel

GovIntel helps technology vendors spot government opportunities before a tender becomes public. Its platform enriches public procurement data and uses machine learning to surface signals such as expiring contracts, available budgets and buyer-supplier relationships. With paying pilots including Celonis, the team is raising a €450,000 pre-seed round and has already secured 50% of the round.

Founders: FS alumnus Leon J. Rückert, Business Management with Focus on Management Philosophy & Economics (Class 2020) and Alex Polovian.

Navera

Navera is an AI-native mortgage broker in Germany that helps retail borrowers find the right mortgage across a network of more than 600 banks. Its fleet of AI agents and context-aware expert LLM automate the application assembly and submission process, allowing in-house brokers to spend far more time on tailored advice and become up to five times more productive.

Founders: FS alumnus Markus Joachim, Master of Arts Banking and Finance (Class 2005).

Frankfurt School alumni return as jurors

The winners were selected by Mario Geiß, Judith Vogel and Anies Khan, Frankfurt School alumni who returned to campus to share their experience and support the next generation of founders.

Building the next generation of founders

The Demo Day captured what the FS Accelerator is designed to do: give ambitious founders the space, support and connections to move faster. Across six startups, the Summer ’26 cohort demonstrated how AI and digital infrastructure can create tangible value in logistics, finance, public procurement, critical infrastructure and women’s health.

With HyperAxes taking first place and Lila securing second, the evening ended on a high note and marked the start of the next chapter for all six teams as they move into new pilots, partnerships and fundraising conversations.

A special thank you goes to Prof. Dr. Nils Stieglitz, President & CEO of Frankfurt School, Karolina Kristic, Chancellor & CFO, and Ram Shoham, Director of Entrepreneurship, together with the Entrepreneurship Centre team, for their continued commitment to growing entrepreneurship at Frankfurt School and creating an environment in which new ideas and founders can thrive.