DLD Munich 2025: Shaping a ‘Future Positive’
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the DLD conference, an event that was created with the aim to explore the internet’s early impact in 2005 and evolved over the years to address the world’s most pressing challenges with cutting-edge solutions in digital, life, and design. In 2025, Steffi Czerny and the DLD team again brought together a vibrant and unique community of entrepreneurs, investors, artists, and changemakers in Munich under the theme ‘Future Positive’ willing to openly share opinions and insights.
The conference covered a diverse mix of topics, from AI’s role in managing decentralised energy systems to advancements in ocean-based carbon capture and fusion energy. Panels also addressed how quantum breakthroughs are redefining industries, the potential of psychedelics in mental health treatment, and emerging tech solutions tackling climate and biodiversity challenges. These forward-thinking discussions reflect the themes we actively explore at Burda Principal Investments (BPI), such as sustainable innovation, transformative technologies, and bold ideas that can shape a better future.
For this year’s DLD conference, our global BPI team members travelled from Berlin, London, and Singapore to join their Munich-based colleagues in exchanging ideas, diving into innovation, and reconnecting with some of our portfolio founders who attended the event. BPI’s CEO, Christian Teichmann, also led two thought-provoking panels during the conference, spotlighting exciting innovations around sustainability and fusion energy.
Materials Reimagined: Plastic, Steel, and Cocoa
For the first panel, we brought together three of our portfolio companies, Uluu, Stegra, and Planet A Foods, to showcase how sustainable materials are transforming industries. Michael Kingsbury, co-founder of Uluu, explained how the company produces biodegradable plastic from seaweed, replacing fossil-fuel-based plastics while reducing carbon emissions and restoring ocean ecosystems. “98% of all plastic ever produced is still on Earth, and the other 2% was burned – neither of which is a good solution,” noted Christian Teichmann, underscoring the urgency of developing sustainable alternatives. To demonstrate how their materials seamlessly integrate into existing supply chains, Michael also shared exciting applications for Uluu’s pellets, from cosmetics packaging to textiles.
Christoph Zinsser highlighted Stegra’s revolutionary approach to decarbonising the steel industry with green hydrogen at their plant in northern Sweden. “Our process replaces coal with green hydrogen, but the output is still steel – unchanged in quality, performance, and specifications,” he explained. By replacing coal with renewable energy in the steelmaking process, Stegra offers high-quality, emissions-free steel while maintaining the same performance standards. And finally, Dr. Sara Marquart from Planet A Foods presented their sustainable, cocoa-free chocolate alternative “ChoViva” made from sunflower seeds, a solution that not only reduces CO₂ emissions significantly but also stabilises supply chains and eliminates ethical concerns like deforestation and child labour.
What unites these three companies and underpins our investment thesis in the space is their shared mission to rethink the materials we rely on every day, whether in packaging, construction, or food, keeping the same product specs, while ensuring they are produced in a more sustainable way. At BPI we believe in the power of innovative materials to drive meaningful environmental change without compromising on the product offering. These companies exemplify how technology and sustainability can go hand in hand, and we are proud to support their journey towards reshaping industries for a better future.
Game-Changing Engineering: A Blueprint for Industrial Transformation
For the second panel, Christian was joined by Francesco Sciortino, founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion, to discuss the future of clean energy. Francesco explained the transformative potential of Proxima’s stellarator technology, which uses magnetic confinement to achieve fusion energy. Through machine-learning-based, simulation-driven engineering, Proxima has drastically accelerated the design process, testing hundreds of thousands of designs to overcome the challenges of creating this clean, abundant power source.
Francesco emphasised how fusion energy could become a cornerstone of Europe’s energy strategy, with its ability to provide a sustainable and scalable alternative to fossil fuels. He also highlighted the importance and advantage of Europe’s manufacturing expertise and collaborative networks, which are essential for building the necessary infrastructure. “Europe has no excuse to miss the ball on fusion energy. We have invested the most, and we have the manufacturing strength to lead,” Francesco stated, reinforcing the continent’s unique position to spearhead this technological shift.
With Proxima targeting the production of a functional stellarator by 2031, the panel showcased a roadmap to revolutionising energy systems globally. As part of our ongoing focus on the energy sector, we’re closely monitoring this space at BPI, with a particular interest in the innovations driving change. Our connection with Proxima Fusion was made possible through the XPRENEURS program and our strong partnership with UnternehmerTUM, and we look forward to exploring future opportunities in this transformative field.
Looking ahead
As DLD 2025 came to an end, we came away inspired and motivated to continue fostering innovation and sustainability through our investments in the year ahead. We’re proud to have been part of this vibrant gathering and are excited for the groundbreaking ideas and new developments next year’s conference will bring. At BPI, we remain committed to supporting transformative ventures and driving meaningful progress toward a ‘Future Positive’.
Watch the full videos from DLD Conference here:
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Default. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationMaterials Reimagined: Plastic, Steel and Cocoa (Kingsbury, Marquart, Zinsser, Teichmann) | DLD25
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Default. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationGame-changing Engineering (Sciortino, Teichmann) | DLD25