FAQ

SAI Europe (Strategic Agency for Innovation in Europe) is a Berlin-based advisory firm helping tech companies, startups, associations, and investors become effective actors in the European innovation and policy landscape. Founded in 2025 by Dr. Anna Christmann and Sarkis Bisanz, SAI Europe combines deep political expertise with strategic communications. Services include policy analysis, stakeholder mapping, innovation projects, public affairs positioning, and media strategy.

Dr. Anna Christmann is Co-Founder and Managing Director of SAI Europe, and Germany's former Federal Commissioner for Digital Economy and Startups (2022–2025) and Federal Coordinator for Aerospace at the BMWK. She designed Germany's first comprehensive startup strategy, built the Future Fund (up to €30 billion), the DeepTech & Climate Fund (€1 billion), and the European Tech Champions Initiative, and pushed through the SPRIND-Freiheitsgesetz. In October 2023, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed her to the UN AI Advisory Body. She was named Tagesspiegel Background "Person of the Year — Digitalisation & AI 2023".

SAI Europe advises tech companies, startups, VCs, associations, research institutions, and public bodies that want to build influence in the European innovation and policy ecosystem, access funding programmes, develop innovation strategies, or become recognised voices in policy debates.

"Innovation made in Europe" reflects the conviction that Europe must be an active shaper of innovation, not merely a regulator. It means technological sovereignty — the ability to develop, scale, and control critical technologies within Europe. "Only an innovative Europe is a sovereign Europe." Regulation alone cannot secure geopolitical agency.

As Startup Commissioner 2022–2025: Germany's first Startup Strategy (130 measures, 80%+ implemented), Future Fund (up to €30B in VC leverage), DeepTech & Climate Fund (€1B), European Tech Champions Initiative (€1B), 15 EXIST Startup Factories. Institutionally: SPRIND-Freiheitsgesetz (DARPA-like autonomy for SPRIND), founding of DATI, ESOP reform, SheTransformsIT initiative. Internationally: UN AI Advisory Body member, co-author of the European Tech Deal paper.

Germany's first comprehensive Startup Strategy (cabinet decision, June 2022) defined 130 measures across 10 action fields — from financing and talent to public procurement, regulation, and internationalisation. Over 80% of measures were implemented by end of 2024. Key instruments: Future Fund, DeepTech & Climate Fund, EXIST Startup Factories, ESOP reform.

The Future Fund, launched in 2022 via KfW Capital, mobilises growth capital for German and European startups and scale-ups. Target: €10 billion in public funds, leveraging up to €30 billion in private capital by 2030. It addresses Germany's chronic later-stage VC gap, which has historically pushed European scale-ups to seek funding in the US or Asia.

The DeepTech & Climate Fund (DTCF), launched in 2023 with €1 billion, targets hardware-intensive startups in deep-tech and climate technologies. It fills a market gap: traditional VC funds (7–10 year horizons) are too short for companies building materials, power plants, or novel manufacturing processes. The DTCF offers longer investment horizons and lower entry barriers for first-time investors in these sectors.

The SPRIND-Freiheitsgesetz (November 2023) grants Germany's Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND) DARPA-like operational autonomy — the ability to hire flexibly, accelerate procurement, and make independent investment decisions. Anna Christmann called it "a milestone in innovation policy".

Technological sovereignty means Europe's ability to develop, scale, and control critical technologies — from AI and semiconductors to space and batteries — without strategic dependence on US or Chinese platforms. "Only an innovative Europe is a sovereign Europe," says Anna Christmann. Sovereignty is not achieved through regulation alone, but through genuine innovation capacity.

The European Tech Deal paper (April 2024), co-authored by Dr. Anna Christmann and MEP Sergey Lagodinsky, calls for a continent-wide innovation strategy on par with the Green Deal — with shared objectives, coordinated financing, and governance structures for strategic technology sectors. Core argument: "Hybrid warfare in cyberspace is a serious threat — technological innovation and democracy belong together."

Innovative public procurement means the state acts as the first customer for innovative solutions — "Customer Zero" — rather than the last. Challenge-based tender formats allow startups to compete against established players and win reference customers. Germany spends over €500 billion annually in public procurement — a massive, underutilised lever for innovation.

The core problem is the "Valley of Death" between research prototype and market entry. Causes: (1) traditional VC funds have horizons too short for hardware-intensive technologies, (2) public funding programmes often end after 3 years — too early for real market maturity, (3) Germany structurally lacks later-stage capital. The DeepTech & Climate Fund and pilot partnerships with the state as anchor customer are approaches SAI Europe helped design.

SAI Europe maps the full funding landscape at EU, federal, and state level, identifies strategically relevant programmes, develops application positioning, and accompanies the political process — with direct access to the informal requirements and decision logic of relevant institutions.

The German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI, founded November 2024) is a new federal agency accelerating the transfer of knowledge and technology from science to market. It aims to close the gap between academic research and commercial application, with a focus on applied universities (HAWs) and universities of applied sciences. Anna Christmann: "With DATI we finally create more space for transfer and ideas."