Neurons & Neckar – Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Conference | Heidelberg

October 16th, 2025

Heidelberg is a hub of artificial intelligence innovation. Research groups, start-ups and established companies are pushing the technology forward every day. Their work touches everything from life sciences to manufacturing. From basic research to tooling.

Discover the latest developments in AI. Strengthen your connections and make new ones. If you’re fascinated by artificial intelligence and excited about influencing the future, join us. Let’s shape what’s next together.

Learn more Get tickets

Science Partners

Heidelberg Startup Partners is a joint initiative of the following scientific, educational, and tech transfer organizations.

The Conference

Neurons & Neckar has two key ingredients: Show and Talk! Short lightning talks to get everyone inspired about new ideas. Long coffee breaks to ask questions, discuss, and get to know each other.

Lightning Talks
(15 mins)

Learn what others in Heidelberg (and beyond) are working on. Expect talks about state of the art machine learning applications as well as the necessary tooling and infrastructure. These are expected to be rather technical talks but with applications and demos in mind.

Initiative Pitches
(2 mins)

There are plenty of great artificial intelligence initiatives in Heidelberg (and beyond): Meetups, accelerators, research communities, educational programs, and art. Get to know their purpose and the people behind the initiatives. These will be short pitches.

Great coffee, food,
and networking

This will be the time for questions and networking. Sessions will never be longer than 45 minutes with at least 30 minutes of breaks. This is the time to approach speakers, ask questions, schedule a meeting, and of course enjoy some great coffee and food together.

If you’d like to contribute with a lightning talk or a initiative pitch, please get in touch.

The Schedule

09:00h – Doors Open

Grab your badge, get a cup of artisan coffee and start networking.

10:00h – Session I

Welcome and Introduction
Overfitted Promises, Underestimated Futures: AI in Coding Research
Alexander Hendorf, Pioneers Hub
Trust Through Transparency: Explaining GenAI
Carolin Lawrence, NEC Laboratory Europe
The Orchestra Inside the Machine
Rustam Bekmamedov, Black Forest AI

10:45h – Networking Coffee

11:15h – Session II

BrainScaleS: brain-inspired neuromorphic processors from Heidelberg
Johannes Schemmel, Heidelberg University
From Breakthrough to Venture Scale: Translating (AI) Research into Real-World Companies
Alexi Malikotsinas, LEA Partners
Industry-ready image generation with controllable generative AI
Sven Wanner, Artificial Pixels

12:00h – Lunch Break

Share some great food and discuss your thoughts on what you’ve heard

13:00h – Session III

How AI Is Reshaping Oncology
Christian Aichmueller, PAICON
Agentic AI in Environmental Research: From Data Harmonization to Ecosystem Intelligence
Swati Chandna, SRH
Connecting the Dots in Knowledge Graphs for Biomedical Discovery
Ahmad Wisnu Mulyadi, BioMed X

13:45h – Networking Coffee

14:15h – Session IV

AI Agents: Today they manage your inbox – tomorrow they manage your supply chain
Thorsten Heilig, paretos
Listening to Molecules with Photoacoustics: AI-enabled smart diagnostics
Tom Rix, DKFZ
Doing More with Less – The Edge of AI in Medicine
Lars Riedemann, University Hospital Heidelberg

15:00h – Networking

Enjoy some snacks and after-work drinks together

After our Neurons & Neckar conference the “KI x Mittelstand Anwenderkonferenz” will take place at the same location. Participants of Neurons & Neckar are cordially invited to join in the late afternoon as well and spend the evening at the BDC. However, this is an independent event with limited seating. An additional registration is necessary KI x Mittelstand Anwenderkonferenz!

Speakers – Lightning Talks (15 mins)

Christian Aichmüller

CTO
PAICON

How AI Is Reshaping Oncology

Thorsten Heilig

CEO
Paretos

AI Agents: Today they manage your inbox - tomorrow they manage your supply chain

Carolin Lawrence

Manager & Chief Research Scientist
NEC Laboratories Europe

Trust Through Transparency: Explaining GenAI

Alexi Malikotsinas

Principal
LEA Partners

From Breakthrough to Venture Scale: Translating (AI) Research into Real-World Companies

Johannes Schemmel

Professor for Neuromorphic Computing Architectures

BrainScaleS: brain-inspired neuromorphic processors from Heidelberg

Swati Chandna

Professor of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

Agentic AI in Environmental Research: From Data Harmonization to Ecosystem Intelligence

Alexander Hendorf

Founder and CEO
Pioneers Hub

Overfitted Promises, Underestimated Futures: AI in Coding Research

Sven Wanner

CEO
Artificial Pixels

Industry-ready image generation with controllable generative AI

Ahmad Wisnu Mulyadi

Researcher
BioMed X

Connecting the Dots in Knowledge Graphs for Biomedical Discovery

Lars Riedemann

Neurologist
UKHD

Doing More with Less - The Edge of AI in Medicine

Tom Rix

Researcher
DKFZ

Listening to Molecules with Photoacoustics: AI-enabled smart diagnostics

Rustam Bekmamedov

CEO
Black Forest AI

The Orchestra Inside the Machine

Speakers – Initiative Pitches (2 mins)

Daniar Achakeev

Initiator
Rhein-Neckar AI and Data Hub

Cansu Cak

Program Lead
KI-Garage Baden-Württemberg

Alexander Hendorf

Initiator
PyData Südwest

Stefanie Baade

Deputy Managing Director
KI Bundesverband

Sebastian Warkentin

Managing Director
Digitalagentur Heidelberg

Swati Chandna

Initiator
Data & Coffee

Paul Becker

Program Lead
AI Lab Heidelberg

Mareike Rimmler

Lead
Innovate in Heidelberg

Tickets and Registration

Early Bird Participant

Full Conference Access until 3:30 pm
Artisan Coffee
Light Lunch
Drinks
Networking Snacks

Available until September, 30st 2025!

EUR 39,-

Regular Participant

Full Conference Access until 3:30 pm
Artisan Coffee
Light Lunch
Drinks
Networking Snacks

Available from October, 1st 2025!

EUR 89,-

Attention

At 3:30 pm – after the Neurons & Neckar Conference – there will be the “Mittelstand x KI Anwenderkonferenz”

Neurons & Neckar Participants are welcome to register for “Mittelstand x KI Anwenderkonferenz” – however a separate registration with limited seating is necessary!

The Venue

Neurons & Neckar will take place at Business Development Center Heidelberg. It is conveniently located within walking distance of Heidelberg Main Station. Located (adjacent to LAB22 and BioLabs) at the entry of Heidelberg Innovation Park and equipped with top of the line conference equipment it has been home to various demo days, pitch events and other conferences.

Business Development Center Heidelberg
Carl-Friedrich-Gauß-Ring 5
69124 Heidelberg

Business Development Center Heidelberg on Google Maps
360° virtual tour of the Business Development Center

BeforeAfter

Network Partners

Company Partners

Contact

Thomas Prexl

Managing Director
Heidelberg Startup Partners e.V.

E-Mail: thomas.prexl@heidelberg.de

Raoul Haschke

Managing Director
Heidelberg Startup Partners e.V.

E-Mail: raoul.haschke@uni-heidelberg.de

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is this an academic conference?

No. This conference is designed as middle ground between an academic conference and a business conference. We’re eager to learn about new approaches – and their applications. If you’re background is in science, focus on a high-level overview of what you’re doing. Don’t forget to include potential applications or a demo.

There will be no formal call for papers, no peer review, and no conference proceedings.

Will I/my audience understand the talks?

We’re expecting an audience that has general knowledge about machine learning.

For orientation: Most participants will know that GPT stands for Generative pre-trained transformer and have a general understanding of how a transformer model works. Some will know less, some will have worked at the forefront of LLM-training.

If you’re a presenter: If in doubt, err on the side of simplicity.

If you’re a guest and unsure if this is the right event for you: If you’re eager to learn, join us.