Empowering the Next Generation of Tech Entrepreneurs
Since its founding in 2017, CODE University of Applied Sciences has established itself as Germany's leading private university for tech talent and technology-driven founders. With around 600 students from over 80 nations, CODE has created a unique ecosystem where students don't just learn about technology—they build companies that shape the future.
Our students have founded more than 60 companies, many of which have become highly successful startups. In terms of the ratio of students to companies founded, CODE is Germany's most active startup university.
CODE offers a hands-on, project-based curriculum that encourages students to develop and launch their own ventures, with mentorship from industry leaders and access to a robust network of partners including Porsche, Meta, AWS, Telekom, and Bosch.
This list is far from complete — CODE has produced 60+ companies, and we'd love to feature yours. If you're a current student, alumnus, or know someone who founded a company while at CODE, send us your details and we'll add it.
The startups featured here were collected from publicly available sources. No private data, scraping, or LinkedIn alumni access was used. Specifically, the data came from:
Every founder listed has either a verifiable CODE University connection in their public bio or has been mentioned in CODE's own published materials. If you spot an error, an outdated detail, or a missing company — please open a GitHub issue or get in touch.
CODE University is supported by Germany's leading startup entrepreneurs, including Rolf Schrömgens (founder of Trivago), Benjamin Otto (heir to the Otto Group), Stephan Schambach, Patrick Adenauer, Ijad Madisch (founder of ResearchGate), Verena Pausder (founder of Fox and Sheep), and Heiko Hubertz (founder of Bigpoint).
The university offers a Summer Startup Program, a structured two-month program that turns CODE projects into companies over the summer break. With partnerships with companies like Porsche, AWS, Meta, Telekom, Bosch, and Masterplan, students have unparalleled access to industry expertise and resources.
Notable success stories include students like Valentin von Albrecht and Hendrik Hofstadt, who sold their high-frequency trading startup Certus One to Jump Trading after less than two years, and then reinvested their success back into CODE University through their family office Bool Capital.