A Decade of Driving Innovation: STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play Celebrates 10th Anniversary at Expo 2026
STUTTGART, Germany, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play, founded in 2016, brings the automotive ecosystem together at Expo 2026 on July 2 in Stuttgart to showcase real startup–corporate collaboration projects and celebrate 10 years of accelerating mobility innovation. The event at the venue Im Wizemann will bring together over 1,500 guests, including board members and C-level executives from OEMs and suppliers, founders, investors, public officials, academia, media, and tech experts.
Open innovation is driving the European technology landscape forward. As a leading accelerator and innovation hub, STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play unites established corporate leaders with visionary startups to co-create cutting-edge solutions for the future. Expo 2026 will bring the tangible results of these collaborations to life through real-world use cases.
Founded by Mercedes-Benz, Plug and Play, ARENA2036, and the University of Stuttgart, STARTUP AUTOBAHN has become Europe's go-to ecosystem for turning bold ideas into commercial automotive success. Guided by this year's motto, "One Decade of Accelerating Mobility Innovation," the Expo serves as a landmark gathering for the people who have shaped the platform's history, bringing together top voices in mobility, new and long-term partners, and inspiring cross-industry speakers to celebrate how far the community has come.
The event features keynote speeches from board members and industry leaders, panel discussions, expert roundtables, workshops, innovation walks, and startup pitches. Attendees can also experience pilot project presentations, show car demos, and exclusive side events, all designed to address the most pressing challenges of the automotive industry, including the circular economy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation & industry 4.0, software-defined vehicles, sensor intelligence, and next-gen mobility ecosystems.
The speaker lineup features the most influential voices of innovation in mobility and those at the forefront of the automotive industry, including:
- Ida Wolf, Vice President Innovations & Operations Development, Mercedes-Benz AG
- Joachim Scharnagl, Member of the Executive Board, Procurement, at Porsche AG
- Dr. Frank Nopper, Mayor of the City of Stuttgart
- Hildegard Müller, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)
- Juan Parra, President, Europe, DXC Technology; Georg Stellmann, VP, Chief Commercial Officer at Bosch Business Innovations
- M. Gürcan Karakaş, CEO of Togg
Barrie Painter, Chief Sustainability Officer & Head of Global Marketing & Communications at Motherson Group - Saeed Amidi, CEO & Founder at Plug and Play
- Kristie D'Ambrosio-Correll, CEO & Co-Founder of Dacora Motors
The event will culminate on the main stage with the presentation of the Plug and Play Global Innovation Award, celebrating the year's most impactful collaborations across Mobility, Manufacturing, Enterprise, and Sustainability. Marking a landmark milestone this year, the platform will also debut the prestigious STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play Award—a special honor dedicated to a pioneering legacy project that has driven transformative, long-term industry impact over the past decade.
For more information about the event, visit the website.
About STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play
STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play is an open innovation platform that provides an interface between innovative tech companies and industry-leading corporations. The basis of the program is the partnership that develops between startups and the corporate business units. The two entities hold an equal footing from the get-go: together they evaluate the potential for a joint venture, move forward to pilot the technology, and work to achieve the ultimate goal – a successful production-ready implementation. Designed with the intention to exceed startup acceleration, STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play moderates a community for collaboration with a focus on implementable results. Since its founding in 2016, the platform has successfully cultivated over 500 projects with more than 350 startups.
Founding Partners: Mercedes-Benz AG, Plug and Play Tech Center, University of Stuttgart, ARENA2036.
Anchor Partners: Porsche AG, DXC Technology, Motherson, Schaeffler, Bosch, NXP Semiconductors.
Ecosystem Partners: Eberspächer, Novelis, Sekisui, OPmobility, Togg, Huf Group, ZF Group, STMicroelectronics.
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're in 60+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies, including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi.
Website:
www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/startup-autobahn
Contact for Press:
Julia Schimpf
PR & Communications Manager
Full version of the press release:
SOURCE Plug and Play
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