tech2b at this year's SXSW Festival 2024

The innovative minds of the Upper Austrian creative & startup scene could be found at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. SXSW has evolved from a music festival into the world's leading platform for the interaction of creativity, technology and business. Nowhere else can you get as close to the digital future as in Austin. The event has been held annually since 1987.

Organizations such as tech2b and the Creative Region Linz & Upper Austria made it possible for selected companies to be present at the famous festival. Together with the start-ups Celantur, cirqular/qapture and True Live, we were on site. The aim was to make new contacts, build partnerships and learn about new technological developments. The start-ups were also able to present their innovations. The international festival with more than 300,000 visitors and 1700 events provided ample opportunity for this.

A boost for the Upper Austrian startup scene

The festival offered a unique opportunity for local companies to present themselves to an international audience, establish networks, build partnerships and drive forward specific projects. Participation is an important opportunity to bring the diversity and quality of Upper Austrian innovations to the international stage.

"By participating in SXSW, we are bringing the latest developments and future trends of the international digital economy to the Upper Austrian start-up scene. The startups that took part in the trip as part of their programs at tech2b had the opportunity to gain access to the most well-known personalities in the industry and present their own innovations in a lower-threshold way than is otherwise hardly possible" Raphael Friedl, Managing Director tech2b.

Dominic Koll, CO-FOUNDER qapture GmbH:

"Our trip to SXSW in the USA was really enriching and more than business as usual. The talks, especially Amy Webb's on foresight, were incredibly inspiring and opened up new ways of thinking. It was also a great opportunity to deepen and strengthen our relationships with longtime companions of our startup (tech2b, celantur, SPK,...) as well as friends and acquaintances from Linz. We also took the opportunity to meet interesting new people from a wide range of specialist areas and expand our network. The mix of tech/business and creative industries was exciting."

"Another highlight was our (unexpected) visit to San Francisco, which resulted from a conversation with Advantage Austria at SXSW. The invitation to the "Spring Networking Night" event gave us the opportunity to pitch our startup to other founders and investors who live and work in San Francisco. This allowed us to meet other impressive personalities from the startup scene, including founders who have already raised several million in fundraising as well as connect with committed investors. These experiences were not only professionally valuable, but also personally enriching."

Christoph Endt, CEO true GmbH:

"SXSW 2024 was an event that is hard to beat in terms of input. With an impressive line-up of exciting talks and excellent organization, the conference provided a platform for the exchange of innovative ideas and trends. Particularly noteworthy is the cool group of Austrian entrepreneurs who gathered there. Our team from true was right in the middle of it and was able to take away a variety of insights and news from different areas such as audio, film, web, campaigns and artificial intelligence. This experience was a real enrichment for our startup true-live."

"The opportunity to think big and develop our ideas further was given in this inspiring environment. Special thanks go to tech2b and especially Nina Gruber, who not only gave us this great idea, but also actively supported us. Participating in SXSW 2024 showed us how valuable the exchange and networking at an international level is for startups like ours. It encouraged us to dream big about our visions and drive them forward with new energy and fresh ideas."