Christian Teichmann From BurdaGP: “Gaming Is a Driver of Innovation”

BurdaGP was recently launched as a brand new cooperation between Burda Principal Investments and TUM Venture Labs at DLD Munich 26. Who is involved and what is it all about?

Christian Teichmann: BurdaGP is a joint initiative of Burda Principal Investments and UnternehmerTUM Venture Labs Software / AI. The aim is to support the next generation of European founders in gaming – from talent and the initial idea to the investable startup. The TUM Venture Labs are responsible for the early phase: from the initial research idea to the team, concept and first prototype. To this end, they offer access to infrastructure, scientific excellence and entrepreneurship education. XPRENEURS follows on from this as an accelerator. It takes over the phase from MVP to market entry, with very practical support in areas such as business modeling, hiring, IP or scaling. We at Burda and Burda Principal Investments contribute market knowledge, media experience and investment power. This includes, for example, the areas of storytelling, customer understanding, product design and positioning and, in perspective, initial early investments.

Is the procedure always the same?

Teichmann: These building blocks from TUM Venture Labs, XPRENEURS and Burda as well as Burda Principal Investments can be used flexibly depending on the maturity of a project; they can build on each other, run in parallel or be run through individually. Together, we are creating a very coherent and flexible offer for talents who really want to make a difference in the gaming sector.

BurdaGP wants to fully exploit the potential of gaming

How did the initiative come about?

Teichmann: The initiative arose from a clear observation: gaming is no longer just an entertainment medium, but a key driver of digital interaction, culture and business. More than six out of ten people in Germany play games – and in this context, they are not just consumers, but active creators of content and digital spaces. At the same time, trends such as community-driven content, immersive technologies and growing engagement show clear parallels to other digital media and economic sectors.

What did you conclude from this?

Teichmann: Against this backdrop, it became clear to us that gaming is a driver of innovation that has an impact far beyond traditional entertainment formats. With this initiative, we want to strategically combine this potential: We want to translate the creative and technological energy of the European gaming scene into viable, scalable business models – while consciously supporting and helping to shape a strong, value-creating ecosystem in Europe. At the same time, gaming offers advertisers a variety of formats, from traditional digital advertising to the launch of new products or collections in the gaming environment even before their physical launch in stores.

How does this succeed – “bundling the creative and technological energy of the gaming scene”?

Teichmann: Our aim is to develop European gaming talent into investor-ready start-ups. We deliberately focus on a “multi-pathway” program: teams can be accompanied from the very first idea to the early-stage startup – depending on their level of maturity, they join the program at different points.

Why gaming in particular? What potential do you see in the gaming sector?

Teichmann: Gaming is the logical next stage in the evolution of digital entertainment – culturally, technologically and economically. Culturally, gaming is now one of the most important spaces in which people meet, exchange ideas and express themselves. They are no longer just a pastime, but social networks, cultural platforms and creative tools all rolled into one. Economically, we are talking about a huge, growing market with strong business models – from in-game economies and virtual goods to live services, tools and infrastructure related to games.

Can media companies also benefit from this?

Teichmann: Absolutely! Gaming is highly relevant for media companies in particular: It demonstrates how deep user loyalty works, how communities are created and what interactive storytelling can look like. For us at Burda, it is precisely this interface of content, community and technology that is exciting – because this is where the next business models in which we want to invest will emerge.

BurdaBP addresses the entire ecosystem of the gaming industry

In your opinion, what role does Munich play in the context of gaming?

Teichmann: Munich is one of the most exciting locations in Europe when it comes to the intersection of technology, media and entrepreneurship. With TUM, UnternehmerTUM and the TUM Venture Labs, there is an exceptionally strong tech and start-up ecosystem here that brings together talent, research and entrepreneurial spirit. At the same time, Munich is a central media location – also for us at Burda – and therefore a natural hub for topics such as content, storytelling and brand. This is where technical excellence, creative minds, an international network and access to capital come together – ideal conditions for gaming innovations. BurdaGP is building on this to establish Munich as a strong European hotspot for gaming.

Your press release states: “The aim is to promote leading European gaming talent and develop new digital experiences.” Who exactly are you referring to?

Teichmann: When we talk about leading European gaming talent, we deliberately don’t just mean traditional game studios, but the entire ecosystem: creative teams, developers, tech talent and founders who are creating new digital experiences. This includes everything from content and communities to tools, platforms and underlying technologies. We want to address teams and founders from all over Europe who are serious about gaming as a business – regardless of whether they are still very early on or already have a first product to show. But we are also targeting students who haven’t even thought about starting a business yet. This is because far too much potential is currently being left by the wayside, for example because the topics of entrepreneurship and start-ups do not play a role in gaming and developer degree programs. Our aim is to turn talented, creative minds into companies that are internationally relevant and shape new digital experiences in the gaming sector.

What role does XPRENEURS play in this?

Teichmann: As an accelerator, XPRENEURS takes over the phase from MVP to market entry – in other words, precisely when an initial prototype is to become a marketable product. The team provides very practical support, for example with business modeling, hiring, IP or scaling, so that a good idea becomes a growth startup.

The Chair of Gaming at the Technical University of Munich, headed by Prof. Johanna Pirker, is also involved. Why is that? What synergy effects do you see at the interface between gaming, research and the media market, especially in view of the fact that “BurdaGP innovations are to be incorporated into the Burda portfolio in a targeted manner”?

Teichmann: It was clear to us from the outset that if we really want to be at the forefront in the gaming sector, we need to be in close proximity to research and teaching. This is exactly what Prof. Johanna Pirker’s gaming chair at the Technical University of Munich stands for. New technologies and forms of interaction are being developed there, as well as a deep understanding of how people play, learn, network and use digital worlds today. The synergies with Burda’s media and platform world are obvious: TUM brings scientific excellence, experimental formats and access to highly qualified talent.

Burda brings gaming start-ups together with strong brands and investors

And you…?

Teichmann: At Burda, we contribute strong brands, reach, data expertise and a clear market and product logic. We bring both together in BurdaGP. This allows us to test new concepts from the gaming context at an early stage to see whether they could work as a product, platform or service in the media market. Conversely, teams and start-ups can work with us to think about realistic use cases, test fields and distribution via the Burda portfolio. In this way, we ensure that innovations can flow specifically into marketable solutions and – where appropriate – into the Burda portfolio.

AI in particular acts as an additional booster for digital technologies related to gaming – and conversely, technologies used in the context of games have always been a driver of innovation for areas beyond the games industry. What role does AI play for you and for BurdaGP?

Teichmann: AI is one of the key drivers of the next stage of development in gaming – and therefore also a key factor for BurdaGP. In the games context, we have long since seen the importance of AI not only in obvious areas such as NPCs or procedural content, but along the entire value chain: from development tools, automated testing and personalization to community management, moderation and new forms of interactive storytelling. What is exciting is that many of these technologies have an impact far beyond the games industry – for example in simulations, training environments, education or in the creator economy. For us at Burda and in BurdaGP, it is therefore about supporting teams that use AI as an enabler for new, scalable products and platforms. AI is a lever for creating better user experiences and developing business models that can hold their own against international competition.