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Press Release
Düsseldorf/Bielefeld, June 18, 2026. The winners of the 2026 OUT OF THE BOX.NRW Award have been announced. In the finals of the statewide startup competition at the Hinterland of Things conference in Bielefeld, Osphim, Kaarlo, and Foresaight emerged as the winners. The three startups impressed the jury and the audience with their digital solutions and were honored during the awards ceremony on the main Hinterland stage.
1st Place: Osphim
AI-powered plastics manufacturing. They use AI to stabilize plastics manufacturing processes, thereby reducing scrap, material consumption, and reliance on manual expertise.
2nd Place: Kaarlo
Psychosomatic care—digital, scalable, and human. Kaarlo is closing the gap in psychosomatic care. They make psychosomatic care accessible and scalable without losing the human touch.
3rd Place: Foresaight
Foresaight is building Europe’s “invisible” AI forecasting intelligence and transforming uncertainty into confident, real-time decisions across supply chains.
“North Rhine-Westphalia is a hub for startups—and that’s a reason to celebrate! Digital solutions and artificial intelligence are not ends in themselves: When implemented correctly, they can make our everyday lives more sustainable, simpler, and better. The startups at OUT OF THE BOX.NRW are showing how this can be achieved—with creative business ideas, bold decisions, and a commitment to actively shaping the future of our state. The competition highlights the enormous creative potential in NRW—a real asset for a competitive and resilient economy. Congratulations to all the winning teams,” said Deputy Minister-President and NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur.
OUT OF THE BOX.NRW is the statewide startup competition organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia (MWIKE NRW). The competition was launched to highlight North Rhine-Westphalia’s most innovative digital startups and provide them with access to growth opportunities, visibility, and networks. The award is supported by NRW.BANK with prize money totaling 50,000 euros. The Founders Foundation gGmbH from Bielefeld organizes the competition and hosts the finals at the annual technology conference “Hinterland of Things.” State Secretary for Economic Affairs Paul Höller presented the awards to the winning teams this year.
The competition began with numerous applications from all over North Rhine-Westphalia. After several rounds of selection, the TOP26 were first determined, followed by the TOP10.
The grand finale took place at the Hinterland of Things conference in Bielefeld. The conference brings together startups, investors, family-owned businesses, and innovation leaders every year and is considered one of the most important platforms for B2B innovation in Germany. Under this year’s theme, “and ACTION,” the focus was on how ideas can be turned into concrete actions, how innovation can lead to sustainable economic value creation, and how technological possibilities can become real solutions to the challenges of our time. The more than 2,000 participants discussed not only the future of business and technology, but above all how this future can be actively shaped. The conference thus provided the ideal setting for the finals of the OUT OF THE BOX.NRW Award, which honors precisely those startups that don’t stop at just thinking, but are already driving change today with their innovations.
The top 10 finalists first pitched their ideas to a panel of experts and the conference audience. The jury consisted of Dr. Gesa Miczaika (General Partner, Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund), André Christ (General Manager & Co-Founder of SAP LeanIX and recipient of the 2025 OOTB.NRW Special Award), and Antonia Nörthemann (Investment Manager at NRW.BANK). Together with a live audience vote, the three finalists were then selected. They subsequently presented their projects once again on the main Hinterland Stage, where the winners of the OUT OF THE BOX.NRW Award 2026 were finally announced.
NRW.BANK supports the competition as the main sponsor and is providing the prize money totaling 50,000 euros.
The OUT OF THE BOX.NRW Award is initiated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, supported by NRW.BANK, and organized by the Founders Foundation. The goal of the competition is to highlight North Rhine-Westphalia’s most innovative digital startups, promote their development, and strengthen the innovative capacity of North Rhine-Westphalia as a business location.
Further information:
Press contact:
Anna-Luisa Korte
Founders Foundation gGmbH
anna@foundersfoundation.de
+49 160 99244635
