Open Austria

?? Heidi Goes AI: A Fusion of Tradition & Tech ? Last night, the Swiss Consulate in San Francisco and the Heidiseum Foundation unveiled the "Heidi Goes AI" exhibition at Pier 17 and the Open Austria team was invited to attend! ???? This unique showcase featured AI-generated reimaginings of Heidi, Switzerland’s beloved literary icon, bringing together artists from the U.S. and Switzerland. The evening kicked off with insights from the Consul General Balz Abplanalp and President of the Board of the Heidiseum Peter Otto Büttner, followed by a dynamic panel on AI’s impact on art and culture. Guests explored thought-provoking artworks that blend heritage with innovation, sparking conversations about AI, creativity, ownership and the future of storytelling. It was interesting to see the prompts that were used by the artists to create their art being displayed next to their work. AI art and innovation are central to our work at Open Austria, and we are excited to see how AI is reshaping creative expression. The exhibition runs for two months—don’t miss out on seeing it. Congratulations to our Swiss colleagues for hosting such a great event. #HeidiGoesAI #AIArt #OpenAustria

Dive into the heart of Austrian gaming innovation at the Austrian Play Room – #Spielsch?n @ #GDC2025 If you are visiting this year's GDC, stop by our game room and meet taltend game developers from Austria! ? Step into our?Austrian Play Room – Spielsch?n?at?GDC 2025?in San Francisco - (?????????? ??????????), where you can experience firsthand the latest projects from Austria's top game developers. Get exclusive hands-on demos and discover the future of gaming, all while celebrating the creative spirit of Austria's gaming scene! ? We are looking forward to this year's participants: ?? Bongfish GmbH | Christian Stocker ? GDC ?? Mi'pu'mi Games | Stefan Srb ?? GDC ?? Purple Lamp | Tanja Goenye, Jason Mallett, Lukas K. ?? stillalive studios | Julian Mautner ?? Belvedere Museum | Markus Wiesenhofer ?? Bindus Games | David Z. ?? Broken Rules | Felix Bohatsch ?? Flat Head Studio | Daniel Wiendl ?? Microbird Games | Regina Reisinger Reignite Games | Raffael Moser ??A special thanks to our partner Pioneers of Game Development Austria | Martin Filipp and Julian Mautner. PGDA is the game development association focused on supporting, showcasing, and accelerating Austrian games, developers, and business. ?------ ???? “State of play” in Austria | A glimpse into the Austrian game developer scene ? The Austrian game development scene has seen impressive growth over recent years. As of 2024, there are 149 game development companies operating in Austria, marking a remarkable 71.3% increase compared to 2018. In terms of employment, the number of people working in the game development sector has also surged. With 1,080 individuals employed, this represents a 127.8% increase compared to the 2018 workforce. In 2024, Austrian game development firms generated a total turnover of €92.8 million, up from €24.1 million in 2018. ? #GDC2025 #OpenAustria #GamesDeveloperConference

Stronger Together: Celebrating #Connection & #Empowerment on International Women’s Day??? ? On the occasion of?#InternationalWomensDay, we came together at Open Austria for an inspiring?Women’s Breakfast, celebrating the power of connection, support, and collaboration. ?? It was a morning filled with meaningful conversations and shared experiences, with voices spanning generations and diverse professional backgrounds. From?CEOs and Founders?to?students shaping the future of our community, and?seasoned professionals reflecting on their journeys, each story added depth to our collective experience. Hearing these perspectives reminded us how far we’ve come—and how much we can achieve when we support each other but also how much more still has to be done. #AccelerateAction One thing was undeniable—when women uplift and empower one another, the impact is unstoppable. ??? The energy in the room was electric, and many of us left not just with new insights, but with a shared determination to stay connected and continue supporting one another beyond this event. A huge thank you to all the incredible women who joined us! Let’s keep building, inspiring, and shaping the future—together. ?? ?Happy International Women’s Day!??? Isabella Tomás, Silke English, Katherina Anderl, Anna Koessler, Anna Miklas, Anna Schuhmann, Annelies Rainer MD, Emilia Pasquier, Emily Brunner, Sandra Wasicek-Woegenstein, Sandrine Scheller, Silke Telsnig #IWD2025 #OpenAustria #SheInspiresMe #WomenEmpowerment #StrongerTogether #WomenOfTheWorld #AustriansInTheUS

The Montgomery Summit 2025 just finished and it sure provided a lot of food for thought! More than 1200 investors, founders, entrepreneurs and executives had exchanges on #tech & #geopolitics, #cybersecurity, #AI or challenges California’s #education system faces, to name just a few. The Tech Diplomacy Network Silicon Valley invited to its second Tech Diplomacy Lunch that brought together representatives from #Europe, the #US and #India to exchange about current challenges in international relations and how the different actors are dealing with them. For the second time, the network awarded an exceptional actor in the field with the #TechDiplomacyAward ??- John Chambers , chairman emeritus of Cisco Systems, member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and much more. In his inspirational speech he hinted at how tech diplomacy can sometimes predict developments that have an effect on geopolitics years before they actually happen. Another highlight ??was the fireside chat of Jamie Montgomery with General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.) on the General’s impressive trajectory; he gave insights on past, present and - possible - future conflicts, US and international engagement as well as his academic endeavors at USC. The panel on the “Future of the Middle East” that featured General John R. Allen, General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.) and Amos Yadlin was nothing short of exceptional. What a pleasure to re-connect with friends and colleagues from the Tech Diplomacy community - keep up the great work and see you all soon! #techdiplomacy #openaustria #monty2025

Meet seeqnc ?????- they offer an AI-powered Content Recognition Platform for a €7B market (tech, media, advertising, TV, etc) Bernhard Famler, CEO & Co-Founder of seeqnc, and Co-Founder Oliver Moser are building the world’s first music recognition and notification platform to track music usage and notify creators, labels and rights organisations in real-time. ? B2B SaaS (consumption-based) ? Enterprise customer base: mainly big tech in USA ?? ? 400% product-led growth (YoY) ?? ? Bootstrapped to profitability ? Seeking first equity round with B2B SaaS/Deep Tech/AI/Media VCs Interested in meeting them – reach out!

We are happy to introduce Katherina Anderl, a Business Law student from Vienna, currently studying at WU Vienna. Katherina is joining our team for a 10-week internship at Open Austria, starting this March until the beginning of May. She has already lived in California during an exchange year in high school and is happy to return to the Golden State. In her freetime, she likes staying active, traveling, especially with friends and is working towards a future in the foreign ministry of Austria. We are excited to have Katherina on our team!

Great to re-connect with Konrad Schreiner, CEO of Plasmics and an alum of GoUSA 2022. Plasmics offers 3D printing solutions, currently focused on customized orthopedic insoles, looking to enter the US market. We love seeing our alumni benefitting from their GoUSA knowledge and expanding their networks in Silicon Valley. We are always eager to support them on their journey! ?? #OpenAustria #GoUSA #AustriaToUSA

In keeping with today's Opera Ball in Vienna, “#Alles #Walzer!” was also the motto last week, when part of the Open Austria team was very honored to participate in the 47th Annual Stanford Viennese Ball in San Francisco. ? We enjoyed an evening full of elegance, waltzes and appreciation for Viennese ball culture at the Marriot Marquis San Francisco. The event started with a traditional polonaise, performed by current and former students of Stanford University. After this splendid beginning, the dance floor was opened for the numerous ball visitors with the traditional “Alles Walzer”-command, given by Sebastian Marsoner, student at Stanford and (Austrian) master of ceremonies. The typical ladies’ donation (“Damenspenden” in German) were gratefully sponsored by the hometown of “The King of Waltz”, Johann Strauss: Thanks to the Stadt Wien, the “Damenspenden” really brought the true ball spirit across the pond. ? Congratulations to the organizers for this marvelous event – we already look forward to next year! ? #openaustria #stanforduniversity #stadtwien #alleswalzer #ballculture #stanfordvienneseball

The European Forum Alpbach offers an incredible two-week experience for young movers and shakers from all around the world in the stunning Austrian Alps. ?? With a programme full of thought-provoking seminars, engaging discussions with decision-makers, and opportunities to build lasting connections, this event is a platform for changemakers.? A scholarship holder from last year’s forum describes: “The EFA was an intense forum filled with new encounters and information, and it rekindled my passion for global issues, inspired me to think critically, and empowered me to be an agent of positive change.” We are especially looking for: ? - talents with a non-academic background? - female* talents in?Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM)? - talents in Urban Development, Engineering, Arts & Culture, Entrepreneurship, Finance Apply for the scholarship programme from 3-25 March 2025, and join a global network of alumni!? Get all the info here: https://lnkd.in/dTNUVQ2w #EFA25 #Scholarships #Opportunity???

?????????????? ???????????? ?????????????????? & ???????????????????? - Open Austria ?? Calm/Storm Calm/Storm Ventures?is an early-stage venture capital fund, investing in digital health companies across Europe and the US. Founded in 2020, they have been recognized as the most active early stage health-tech investor in Europe every year since 2022 by Sifted. Calm/Storm believes in the power of community and the incredible impact it can have on the entrepreneurial journey.?That's why we hosted with Lucanus ?? Polagnoli - founding partner and CEO of Calm/Storm - a joint Digital Health Breakfast with HealthTech founders, investors and industry experts. We discussed how European start-ups can scale in the US and what US investors expect from European HealthTech companies. Thank you for joining us and let's continue to discuss how we can bridge the gap between Europe and the US in the area of digital health.?