Letters from Silicon Valley: Winter 2023 – a Journey into the world of AI

New settlement in Bremen: for three decades, the Brüning Group had its company headquarters in Fischerhude. In the summer of 2023, the rapidly expanding company moved its head offices to the Überseeinsel in the Überseestadt (the New Harbour District) in Bremen. A modern brick-built office block with a glass facade now stands where Kellogg's once stored rice.

The real estate sector is currently in a crisis. However, if we look back into the past, data from previous decades shows that Bremen's property market has remained stable, despite the challenging times.

A top stock from Vietnam briefly becomes the third most valuable car manufacturer worldwide and hydrogen becomes a key factor for the future in Vietnam. These and other topics are covered in our letter from Vietnam, directly from Ho Chi Minh City.

When was the last time you enjoyed a Beck’s beer? Or told your children the story of the Bremen Town musicians? The North German Federal State of Bremen is home to 685,000 people and is world-famous for premium brands. It's also the key to Europe.

New in Bremen: Juicy dumplings, freshly prepared, with savoury or spicy sauce - Mr. Dumpling brings Chinese flair to Bremen's city centre.

Once a year, renowned analysts collect information for the Real Estate Market Report. This is a review of the past year, combined with forecasts based on the market data available within the first six months. The 2023 report shows stable results despite the current difficult market conditions.

In May this year, Malte Blank took over as project manager for Turkish companies that want to establish a presence in Bremen.

High interest rates, soaring rents, faltering supply chains and low consumer demand: does this mean the end of the good times for the once record-breaking logistics facilities sector? How is Bremen doing as a property hotspot and how can it safeguard its future?

Science plays a leading role in Bremen: in the laboratories of the university, at one of the more than 50 research institutes or in the green botanika. There are many opportunities for visitors to experience science at first hand.

Tailor-made support to successfully bring your own idea to the market - or into space? That's possible in Bremen with the ESA BIC Northern Germany incubation programme. Start-ups from a wide range of sectors can apply. Inge Heydt from the Starthaus explains for whom the incubator is suitable and what is behind it.

The entry of Chinese companies into the port of Hamburg or into the German heat pump market caused a stir. China is Germanys most important trading partner, but at the same time the trade war, sanctions and new Chinese laws are changing the business model. Dr Florian Kessler knows how companies must deal with this now.

BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG’s AutoTerminal in Bremerhaven is a record-breaking automotive hub. Every year, the terminal handles some 1.7 million vehicles. But that’s not all.

Catherine Rau finished her studies at ECOMAT and has now found a job at Airbus in Bremen. So she's now also encouraging other young professionals to consider working in the aviation and aerospace sector in Bremen.

A year ago, ENGINIUS began producing the first hydrogen truck with EU type approval in Bremen. Today, 100 employees already work at the plant. The plans are still set for growth, thanks to tailwind from Bremen and strong demand from around the world.

The greenest major city in Germany is Bremen - with an average of 60 square metres of sports, leisure and recreation space per person. Parks, sports facilities, but also water areas invite you to relax from the hustle and bustle of the city every day.

Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe is the largest trade fair for suppliers of hydrogen technologies. It takes place in the Hanseatic city of Bremen every September. The big names in this sector will meet up there, once again, on September 27th and 28th 2023.

What does the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank mean for tech start-ups in San Francisco? Our USA expert, Tim Ole Jöhnk, investigates. Also in our Spring letter: Chat GPT is conquering the world – but is it a sustainable business model?

Anyone flying on vacation with an Airbus will almost certainly come into contact with products from the Bremen-based aviation supplier AES Elektro/Elektronik System GmbH. But they are not only to be found in vacation planes - even German Chancellor Olaf Scholz cannot do without them.

Around 8 million euros were invested by foreign companies in Bremen in 2022. Especially in the technology sector - as these three examples of successful settlements show.

ChatGPT is on everyone's lips. But the ingenious artificial intelligence has its flaws and limitations. What can the next step look like? In Bremen, a completely different AI is being created with MUHAI - which for the first time really understands what it says, sees and does. And thus solves an old problem.

Despite crises and economic challenges, Bremen remains an attractive real estate location – as proven by these 8 selected new construction projects completed in 2022.

Artificial intelligences are becoming more and more sophisticated and at the same time easier to use. We took this as an opportunity to ask an AI: How do you see Bremen?

Robot football, exports, fish fingers and sundials – here are nine examples where Bremen is often at the top of the podium.

Climate-neutral hydrogen is an indispensable component of our future energy supply. In Bremen, more than one billion euros are being invested in sustainable hydrogen projects.

Bremen and Vietnam are growing closer together and hydrogen projects from Vietnam - insights into Vietnam's economy are provided by Huong Thi Hoang, director of our Bremeninvest office in Vietnam.

Old and new, work and home, culture and leisure – modern, urban living spaces are being created in Bremen on 20 hectares of the company grounds of a former cigarette and tobacco factory.

Coffee in Bremen - that's a tradition. Almost every second bean is imported via Bremen or Bremerhaven. In recent years, numerous coffee roasting companies have been founded that bring a whole new coffee enjoyment.

Who are Bremen's hidden champions? Hidden champions are small and medium-sized businesses that are among the global market leaders in their niche industry; they are usually owner-managed and highly influential in shaping the market with their products – but few people have heard of them. A number of these hidden champions can be found in Bremen. They come from all areas of business, including the maritime, aerospace and digital industries. They show that Bremen is regarded as one of the most innovative locations for industry in Germany – and rightly so. The city has the highest export quota of all Germany's federal states – products that are manufactured here are in demand all over the world.

Following two years of pandemic, the Expo Real, one of the leading property and investment trade fairs in Europe, will be returning in its traditional format from October 4th to 6th in Munich. Along with 26 co-exhibitors, the Federal State of Bremen will once again be present, showcasing innovative and pioneering property projects to interested trade visitors.

The federal state of Bremen is home to approximately 676,000 people on 420 square kilometres. Almost 22,000 companies provide more than 336,000 jobs. We present the strong sectors of Bremen as a business location.

What is the best place for a European high-tech expansion? Berlin? Paris? London? The Turkish robot producer Searover has chosen Bremen. Because there's something here that the megacities can't compete with. Welcome to Bremen - Bremen'e hoşgeldiniz!

The pandemic has proven it: When supply routes do not work and production facilities are at a standstill, urgently needed construction and spare parts can often be a long time coming. The Bremen-based start-up WeserCAD has developed an innovative and fast solution.

How does a hydrogen-powered car work? How do you fill it up? And is it all safe? There's a lot of questions about driving with hydrogen. One of the very first users of this technology has given us an insight into this topic on a tour of Bremen and also shown us just what's happening with this volatile gas in the city.

3D printers have been in use in industry for quite some time now. Large corporations such as Airbus, as well as small manufacturers, rely on additive manufacturing. Here comes an industry overview with companies from the Hanseatic city.

The sky is not the limit. Science, production, development and business all agree on this. Aircraft wings, Ariane rockets, Galileo satellites - Bremen is one of the top locations in the international aerospace industry. Five reasons for Bremen's success story.

Is the get rich quick dream over? Dark clouds are gathering for start-ups in Silicon Valley, according to our US expert, Tim Ole Jöhnk. In other news: how Bremen has become the talk of the town in Los Angeles.

New in the airport city: CAE-GmbH trains pilots. "We have come to stay," says CAE Vice President European Strategy, Niels Kröning. And is thus continuing a long tradition.

Navigating the administrative jungle can be a challenge, no matter whether you've only just decided to set up your own company or you already have an established business. By providing a "Single point of contact" and a Welcome Service, Unternehmensservice Bremen supports entrepreneurs and businesses alike by answering questions and helping them overcome the challenges they face.

Additive manufacturing without any support structures, minimizing distortion and efficient - these characteristics can significantly improve metal 3D printing. The start-up AMSIS is creating the basis for this - and thus getting a hearing in additive manufacturing.

Setting up a business in Germany opens up a myriad of new opportunities. New sales markets, excellent infrastructure and a well-educated workforce. But how do you go about setting up your own business here? Here are the details you need.

Established in Bremen with the help of WFB: The medical technology manufacturer ECO is setting up its first European branch in the Hanseatic city. Doctors can use the Chinese manufacturer's instruments to gently treat tumours, thyroid nodules or varicose veins.

Travelling to Vietnam has recently become possible again. We have compiled five tips for business travellers to Vietnam.

In Bremen and Bremerhaven, the transformation to climate-friendly energy with hydrogen is starting. A conversation with Saskia Greiner and Dieter Voß about current projects.

In 2021, more than 90,000 trade marks were filed at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. Find out here how applying for a trade mark can help even very young companies to get ahead, what to consider during the prior trade mark search and how the application actually works.

At up to 5,000 degrees, a new smelter in Bremen produces alloys from high-strength titanium that are in demand worldwide. For the company behind it, this was a long-standing venture that is now paying off.

Trade and industry are Bremen's economic heavyweights. This is an infographic of the sectors, revenues and products involved.

Prosthetic extremities a speciality: GehProTec, the company run by Peter Wehmeyer and Birgit Greubel, manufactures around 400 tailor-made prosthetic arms and legs per year. Patients from all over Europe come to Bremen to receive help.

Will we soon be driving Vietnamese cars? And why has the Corona crisis hit Vietnam much harder in 2021 than in 2020? More on this and a little preview of 2022 in ourletter from Vietnam directly from Ho Chi Minh City

Online trade is booming, and not only since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. We present 11 e-commerce companies from Bremen that are market leaders in their niche areas.

A year ago, hsag ON relocated to Bremen. For company co-owner Matthias Schmidt, the move has paid off: more than 100 employees will soon be working in the new offices in the Tabakquartier. How did this rapid growth happen?

Classic cars are collectors' pieces and investments. Anyone who wants one can call on the services of Michael Esin: his company, LPL Automotive, sources classic cars all over the world and brings them to his customers' preferred locations, via the Bremerhaven container terminal.

How will town planners and traffic management systems have to adapt when computer-controlled cars become part of the cityscape? These questions have been under investigation by the EU "ART Forum" project since March 2019.

One year after Brexit, companies are continuing to be severely impacted by the effects of the UK leaving the EU. In Bremen, this means a great deal of work for Ubbo Oltmanns. He is the Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany (BCCG), and wants to strengthen economic relationships between the two countries. He knows that Britons and people from Bremen have more in common than many may think.

Some people lose their speech capacity because of an illness that makes them lose control over their muscles. There is now hope for those affected by this: a team at the University of Bremen has succeeded in transforming the brain's signals that are involved in imagining words into sounds that can be heard via loudspeaker.

"It's basically a win-win situation," says Egbert van der Veen about the collaboration with the Northern Germany Innovation Office, which is supported by Bremeninvest. After one year, the Bremen-based satellite builder draws a positive balance - and wants to take an even bigger step across the Atlantic in the future.

Farm animals usually get soybean and fish meal mixed into their feed as a protein source. The Bremen-based start-up Farmcycle offers a climate-friendly alternative: It breeds the black soldier fly. Their larvae have high-quality protein. Feed producers like the idea.

Becks and Melitta may be high-profile brands, but international food and beverage companies also manufacture lots of other products in Bremen and Bremerhaven. Here are twelve examples.