Berlin, 16 November 2018 – As of now, there is a new place for innovation and co-creation in the German capital: On Wednesday evening, digital consultancy and company builder etventure, together with its parent company, the auditing and consulting company EY (formerly Ernst & Young), launched the new wavespace Berlin in the heart of Kreuzberg during a festive ceremony. In addition to guest of honour Brigitte Zypries, former Federal Minister of Economics and Energy, around 200 guests form the business world and the start-up scene came to experience the wavespace and the innovation work live on location.
“The established industry in Germany needs to work more closely with startups in order to capture the innovations that are happening in digitalization,” explained Brigitte Zypries. “That’s why it’s good that there is now a place where startups and established companies can work together and develop ideas. We need places like this if we want our companies to continue to be among the world’s leading”.
“A milestone in the cooperation between etventure and EY“
The opening of wavespace also represents a major milestone in the cooperation between etventure and EY, approximately one year after the acquisition of etventure in October 2017. “Our aim was never to simply add two companies, but to create something completely new together, to create new opportunities and to increase our strengths,“ Julie Linn Teigland, Regional Managing Partner at EY for Germany, Austria and Switzerland (GSA) emphasized. “The wavespace symbolizes this aim: We have created something that each of us would not have achieved on our own.“ With etventure, a subsidiary of EY has for the first time taken on the lead in the conception, development and expansion of a wavespace. For EY it is the 19th innovation center at 16 different locations worldwide.
1,500 square metres for co-creation and implementation of digital ideas
“Many companies are looking for inspiration outside their core business for their digitalization and want to work more closely with start-ups and the digital scene,“ explains Philipp Herrmann, Founder and Managing Director of etventure. „But in most cases, this cooperation does not go beyond an unspecified exchange and ideas never come to fruition. With wavespace we want to create a place where companies and start-ups, tech and digital experts work hand in hand to develop new digital business models and implement them directly on site.“
With an area of around 1,500 square metres, wavespae offers state-of-the-art infrastructure and a working environment that meets all requirements of innovation work: Project offices for digital teams of established companies, co-working spaces for startups, various event areas as well as its own data lab and a prototyping lab. At the opening ceremony, the guests had the chance to get a first impression of the innovation work at wavespace. They were taken on a journey throughout the space to explore trends and technologies such as virtual and augmented reallity, 3D printing, data thinking, platform economy and the Internet of Things.
For further information about wavespace: www.wavespace-berlin.com