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DeepTech Ripples
@Festival der Zukunft 2026 

What’s a DeepTech Ripple?

DeepTech Ripples bring The Drop’s micro-collaboration style to Festival der Zukunft, with a focus on European DeepTech. These small, host-guided sessions provide a space to debate pressing ecosystem challenges, fostering discussion, learning, and actionable exchange. Submissions define the topic and framing, and participation is curated to ensure relevance and quality.

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A Ripple is not a pitch or marketing opportunity — it’s a forum to explore a clear, debate-worthy question, share insights, and co-create solutions, so everyone leaves with new perspectives and tangible takeaways.

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Hosted at the Forum der Zukunft, each session gathers up to 25 founders, investors, corporates, policymakers, and scientific institutions for high-quality exchange within the European DeepTech ecosystem.

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When and where are the Ripples?


All Ripples take place during the Festival der Zukunft on July 2nd 2026.
(Forum der Zukunft, Deutsches Museum, Munich)

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Ripple structure and set up

  • One topic addressing the future of European DeepTech.

  • 2 hosts (investors from different organizations)

  • 45 minutes per session, with four parallel Ripples at a time (4×4 format)

  • Seating for 20–25 participants per session, plus standing space

  • Silent-disco headphones so any number of people at the venue can listen in

  • 2 cabled handheld mics at the table

  • No additional equipment beyond microphones and headphones provided (no whiteboards, flipcharts, post-its, screens, etc.)

Good things to think about before applying to host

1. Choosing your Ripple topic

Strong Ripples are focused, specific, concrete, and discussion-driven.


When shaping your topic, try to avoid:

  • Very broad or generic ideas (e.g., “We need to invest in climate”).

  • General startup advice (e.g., “How to help founders with X”), unless it is highly DeepTech-specific.

  • Topics centered on a single portfolio company or designed to directly promote your fund.

 

A strong Ripple topic frames a debate-worthy guiding question that invites diverse perspectives across the ecosystem.

 

These Ripples are already taking shape around some of the key questions in European DeepTech:

  • Is European tech sovereignty a strategic necessity – or a capital misallocation?

  • Are we overbuilding AI data centers – or still underestimating demand?

  • Where will the next defensible moat in AI compute emerge: chips, architectures, or energy?

  • Vertical mastery vs. generalist ambition: Who wins the robotics race?

  • Fusion, AI, and frontier energy: Is Europe ready to build the next energy industry?

 

2. Choosing hosts

Ripples should have two hosts. Hosts should primarily be VCs and founders shaping the DeepTech ecosystem, but representatives from research transfer offices, public funding institutions, or other ecosystem builders are also welcome.

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3. Preparing your application answers

The answers you submit should be as close to final as possible. If your Ripple is approved, they may be used as is on The Drop website and in communications, though there may be an opportunity for light edits to improve clarity or consistency.

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To make this easy we recommend preparing your answers in advance. Here’s what you’ll be asked to submit:

  • A Ripple title (45 characters or fewer)

  • A 1–2 sentence description of what your Ripple is about

  • Why this topic is timely or urgent in 2026

  • Up to three key questions or challenges your Ripple will explore

  • Who will get the most value from attending your Ripple

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