South by Southwest - SXSW 2018
South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference & Festivals celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries during 10 days of sessions, screenings, showcases, exhibitions, parties, art installations, and networking in Austin/Texas.
It is one of the world’s largest events for the international digital and creative economy and attracts more than 400,000 visitors from more than 90 countries each year. Austin is the ideal location to present Berlin as Europe’s leading startup metropolis – for the first time under the umbrella of the Reason Why Berlin campaign in 2018.

REASON WHY BERLIN: March 10 - 12, 2018
Explore Berlin from quite a different point of view! Get exclusive insights and meet the people shaking up Berlin’s startup and music scene!
Berlin will bring startups, corporates and musicians to Austin and invites them to present themselves by participating in the activation space opposite of the Austin Convention Center (503 East Cesar Chavez Street) from March 10 to 12 – in panel discussions and pitches as well as thematic network meetings.
Program Highlights
More information and registration via EVENTBRITE
Saturday, 3/10
- SportsTech Panel - hosted by leAD Accelerator
- New Mobility Lunch - hosted by moovel & New Mobility World
- Start Alliance goes SXSW - International Startup Meetup
- Early Stage Startup Meetup - hosted by Startup Guide World
Sunday, 3/11
- Discover Berlin through various installations from |pipe|, Mimi & Filmtank
- Hangover Breakfast - Berlin Style
- TOA Worldtour: New Kids on the Blockchain (Panel + Party)
Monday, 3/12
- Female Founders Breakfast feat. Wo/men Inc., DMW-Digital Media Women, StartupSpot Female Founders
- Perceptions of Cities by New York Times, Berlin Partner, visitBerlin & Hoyne
- Talk the Talk: Discoursive Lunch - hosted by raumlaborberlin
- Waffles meets IoT - co-hosted by BOSCH, de:hub & Factory Berlin
- Shark Tank - the Berlin Version: Best of Berlin Startups
More information and registration via EVENTBRITE

The Berlin events will take place in the Spacebuster - a mobile urban activator that transforms public spaces into impromptu community zones. The Spacebuster continues its “We Like America” tour in Austin, which is enabled by its creators raumlaborberlin and the Übermut Project, an initiative of visitBerlin and Hamburg Marketing (www.ubermutproject.com). The tour explores facets of urban practice in great American cities, seeking out new frontiers by transforming nomadic, transgressive, and transitory spaces. The Spacebuster is nominated for the SXSW Place by Design Award and part of the SXSW Cities Summit programming.
Start-ups
Berlin will bring the following 8 creative start-ups under the roof of Start Alliance to Austin:
- BearRadio.org
- HearDis!
- Infopark AG with their platform Scrivito
- Jolocom
- Mimi Hearing Technologies
- |pipe|
- weeve
- Xapix

Monday, 3/12 from 8:00 PM
OFFICIAL SXSW SHOWCASE:
Hamburg x Berlin Music & Interactive Night
Come to our grand finale - the Berlin x Hamburg Interactive Night ! Together with Musicboard Berlin about 15 artists will travel to Austin to demonstrate their talent during this official SXSW Showcase at the "German Haus“ on March 12, from 8pm at Barracuda Austin (611 East 7th St.).
- Hosted by
Berlin Partner and The City of Hamburg, supported by Musicboard Berlin - Acts
Alice Phoebe Lou, Emma Elisabeth, Fenster, Gemma Ray, Jaguwar, Perel, Linda Lee, World Brain, Ace Tee - Location
German Haus @Barracuda
- RSVP here via EVENTBRITE
Wondering what these other guys from Germany are doing right next door? Our dear friends and partners from Hamburg are presenting their exciting projects, please find more info here.
Locations
- The Berlin activation space with the Spacebuster is located next to the Reeperbahn Hamburger space – in the heart of downtown Austin, opposite of the Convention Center from March 10 to12: 503 East Cesar Chavez Street
- The Berlin x Hamburg Interactive Night will take place at the "German Haus“ on March 12, from 8pm at Barracuda Austin : 611 East 7th St.

Presented by
The REASON WHY BERLIN program is a cooperation between Berlin Partner, Musicboard Berlin, Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, VisitBerlin, raumlaborberlin, and Openers.
Header Image: Lady Bird Lake Outdoor stage at 2018 SXSW Music Festival | © SXSW.com/press-image | Merrick Ales