Who is the Berlin Startup School AI Accelerator designed for?

Any company ready to move from experimenting with AI to actually implementing it — startups, SMEs, and impact-driven organisations across all industries. The key requirement is readiness to implement, not prior AI experience.

What does dedicated AI consultancy mean in the BSS AI Accelerator?

Participating companies can bring current and planned projects into 1:1 consulting sessions. The BSS team helps assess and sharpen use cases, prepare implementation, choose the right tools, and advise on integration, workflow design, and successful rollout.

How many companies are accepted per cohort?

A maximum of 20 companies per cohort, ensuring every participant gets meaningful access to consultants and experts. Applications are reviewed within 2 business days.

What results do companies achieve in the BSS AI Accelerator?

On average, participating companies create 12 new AI workflows, automate 4.7 business processes, and save 11 hours per week per company by the end of the 6-month program.

Is the AI Accelerator conducted in English?

Yes, all masterclasses, consulting sessions, and materials are fully in English, allowing the program to serve companies from across Europe and beyond.

Program Schedule Companies Pricing FAQApply Now

Applications open - next cohort starts in September 2026

The First AI Accelerator with Hands-On AI and Business Consulting

Q: How much time does the AI Accelerator require each week?

Roughly 4-6 hours per week, including bi-weekly masterclasses, monthly challenges, Knowledge Hub resources, and implementation work. Everything is designed to plug directly into your real work.

Q: Is there a cost to join the AI Accelerator?

Public funding allows Berlin Startup School to offer 20 fully funded seats per cohort for eligible impact companies and organizations. Once those free seats are filled, admission remains possible subject to the regular one-time program fee.

A 6-month Berlin Startup School program for startups and SMEs that want to implement AI in real workflows, marketing, operations, and growth.

Apply Now Learn More

This is what you get in six months

Practical AI implementation, not another course.

The program is built around measurable progress inside your company: workflows shipped, tools adopted, and a team that knows what to do next.

12New AI workflows per company

4.7Processes automated on average

11hSaved per company per week

25+AI tools and formats tested

What's Included

A focused setup for companies that want to apply AI immediately.

Every format has one job: help your team move from ideas to useful implementation.

12 Expert Masterclasses

Bi-weekly sessions with AI practitioners and business experts, focused on concrete areas of artificial intelligence and real business use cases.

1:1 AI & Business Consultancy

Direct support from an AI coach and a business coach to identify opportunities and turn them into practical workflows.

Coworking Days at The Delta Campus

Offline implementation days at The Delta Campus with selected 20+ cohort companies, peer-to-peer learning, offline coaching, progress showcases, additional sessions, and formal get-togethers with food and drinks at the start and end of the cohort.

Weekly Check-ins & Knowledge Hub Access

Weekly online check-ins, monthly challenges, session materials, templates, recordings, and practical AI implementation resources.

Think of us as your AI implementation partner for six months. Whatever comes up, we are here to help.

Apply Now

The Schedule

Month by month, from AI fundamentals to market growth.

Each month focuses on one practical AI theme, combining expert input with direct implementation inside your company.

Build a shared understanding of AI and where it creates real business value. Teams leave with a practical mindset for using AI responsibly and productively.

AI fundamentals and opportunity mapping
Prompt and context engineering
GDPR & EU AI Act basics

Explore the AI tool landscape and learn how to select, set up, and integrate tools that fit your company's workflows.

Tools and tech setup
AI agents, skills, and workflow integration
Open-source models

Map repetitive processes and turn them into useful automations that save time, reduce bottlenecks, and improve internal knowledge access.

Process mapping and automation design
Company brain with RAG

Use AI to support product thinking, research, prototyping, and faster testing of ideas with customers and internal teams.

AI-supported product research
Prototyping and vibe coding

Build AI-supported systems for content, messaging, brand consistency, and faster campaign production.

Design system with AI
AI content system

Use AI to strengthen visibility and founder-led communication, with a focus on search, AI discoverability, and personal brand growth.

SEO & GEO
Personal branding

Customer Voice

Built with founders, operators, and teams.

Perspectives from companies using the program to turn AI from a topic into a working business capability.

Floriane

Founder, Codressing

"The program introduced me to automation tools like n8n, which we now use to streamline our customer communications. Abinav and Yascha provided excellent support during the implementation, making the process much easier than I expected. As someone without a technical background, I found it incredibly inspiring to discover the practical applications of AI, from automating workflows to creating content. The experience gave me valuable insights and tools that I can immediately apply to grow my business."

Customer comms automated

Madison Wells

Business Development | Operations and Automations Lead, Form21

"Through the inspiration, guidance, and hands-on support of the AI Accelerator, we've built dozens of automations using tools like n8n that are now running across the organisation. We've been able to put structure and automation behind processes that were previously done manually. We're really glad we joined the AI Accelerator and would recommend it to anyone who wants to integrate AI and automation into their business."

Dozens of automations running

Andrea Berten

CEO, Eloquendo

"We didn't walk into the AI Accelerator as beginners, we'd already spent years building with AI in healthcare. That made the program even more valuable: a space to exchange ideas with people who truly understood what we were working on. The workshops were practical and genuinely useful, and the coaching helped us cut through the noise and turn 'AI could theoretically help here' into things we actually shipped. Exactly the right support at exactly the right time."

AI ideas turned into shipped solutions

Companies in the Program

Cohort companies

A dedicated space for the first cohort and the next group starting in September 2026.

Circular Fashion

Co-dressing

Offers designer clothing and accessories to rent or buy, making premium fashion more flexible and circular.

Education & Impact

Form21 GmbH

Builds participatory learning formats and explores AI for CRM, sales funnels, and education innovation.

Food & Consumer Goods

ECKN

Brings a gluten-free take on American-style cheddar crackers to Germany.

Accounting Automation

mika AI

Automates accounting for SMEs and applies AI across marketing, operations, and process efficiency.

Knowledge Hub Exclusive Access

A practical AI library for implementation.

Participants get access to a curated, living resource base designed to help teams apply what they learn directly in their business without losing time searching for the right material.

Tool assessment library

Curated AI tools with notes on use cases, fit, risks, and how to test them in a real company workflow.

Tutorials and implementation guides

Step-by-step resources for applying AI in marketing, operations, research, automation, and team productivity.

Monthly challenges

Focused implementation tasks that help teams turn each month of the program into shipped internal progress.

Templates and workflows

Ready-to-adapt prompts, briefs, checklists, automations, and operating documents for day-to-day use.

Recordings and session materials

Workshop recordings, slides, and follow-up resources so teams can revisit the material when they implement.

Latest AI news and updates

Filtered updates from the AI landscape, translated into what matters for founders, operators, and SMEs.

The Team

Program experts from Berlin Startup School.

A hands-on team combining startup building, AI implementation, coaching, and operations.

Tino Schmutzler

Berlin Startup School Founder & CEO

Martin Schoene

Berlin Startup School Co-CEO

Yascha Roshani

AI Project Lead & Entrepreneur

Abhinav Choudhary

AI Consultant & Coach

Samaa Saad

Working Student AI Program

Brigitte Maas

Administration and Back Office

Pricing and Funding

The first 20 seats are free for eligible impact companies and organizations.

Public funding allows us to reserve 20 fully funded seats per cohort. Apply early to secure a free spot. Once this allocation is filled, admission remains possible subject to the regular one-time program fee.

A premium program made accessible through public funding.

The AI Accelerator is designed as a 7,999 EUR net program. ESF and EU-backed support significantly reduces the participation fee for eligible companies.

The first funded cohort has already passed.
The next cohort starts in September 2026.
20 fully funded impact seats are available per cohort.

AI Accelerator

What participants get

Prices apply from 1 August 2026 or as soon as the first 20 free spots are taken.

6 months of guided AI implementation
12 expert-led masterclasses
1:1 AI consulting for your company
Monthly challenges and accountability
Exclusive Knowledge Hub access
Templates, playbooks, and implementation tasks

Normal program priceEUR 7,999

Regular funded priceEUR 1,999

All prices are net prices.

Apply Now

Funded and EU-backed

Funding notice for the Nachhaltig wirken program with BMWi, European Union ESF Plus, and IBYKUS logos

Application Process

Four steps from application to onboarding.

The process is intentionally simple, with quick feedback so companies can plan ahead.

Apply via Typeform

Tell us about your company, your team, and what you want to implement with AI.

Short fit call

We schedule a call within 1-2 business days to understand your goals and answer questions.

Decision

You receive feedback within 1 business day after the call if it is a fit for the program.

Formal onboarding

Selected companies complete the onboarding and prepare for the September 2026 cohort start.

Apply Now

FAQ

Common questions

Short answers to the questions teams usually ask before applying.

The program is designed for Berlin-based startups, SMEs, and impact-driven companies that want to move from experimenting with AI to implementing useful workflows in marketing, operations, research, and growth.

Most teams should plan around 4 to 6 hours per week for masterclasses, monthly challenges, Knowledge Hub resources, and implementation work. The goal is to connect the work directly to your business instead of creating extra side projects.

You can bring your current projects and planned projects into the sessions. Together, we assess and sharpen the use case, prepare the implementation, find the right tools, and advise on integration, workflow design, and successful rollout.

The next funded cohort starts in September 2026. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and funded seats are limited.

Public funding allows us to offer 20 fully funded seats per cohort for eligible impact companies and organizations. Once those free seats are filled, admission remains possible subject to the regular one-time program fee.

Yes. The first 20 seats per cohort are free for eligible impact companies and organizations. Eligibility and availability are discussed directly with our team during the application process.

Yes. The program works best when the right internal stakeholders are involved, for example a founder plus a marketing, operations, or growth lead.

Yes. The program, masterclasses, and core materials are planned in English so international founders, teams, and experts can participate.

Any remaining questions?

Contact us.

Send a note to the Berlin Startup School team and we will get back to you as soon as possible.