MatthiasWalenda

Matthias Walenda is an entrepreneur, AI visionary and the founder of dcyphr.®. He sees himself as a bridge builder: a translator between technology and people, between research and business. His driving question has stayed with him for years: how do research results that are just leaving the lab become applied solutions and viable business models – fast, practical and, above all, for the Mittelstand?

With more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he has been helping companies since 2024 through dcyphr.® to translate artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and digital transformation into real economic impact. His focus is on applied AI, AI agents, AI processes, automation, physical AI and robotics.

Before that, he built Europe’s largest tech-recruiting events with the ITCS® conferences. After the successful exit in 2023, dcyphr.® is his fifth startup – an AI-first company focused 100 % on AI.

His AI journey began in 2017 with “1337Bots – AI Development”, his first AI company – at a time when the barriers to entry were high, the market was not ready and many use cases were ahead of their time. That early experience shapes his clear view of what AI really changes: processes, business models, organisations and entire industries.

In recent years he has worked with major companies, brands and technology players, including Microsoft, Porsche, IBM, OTTO and SAP. He now brings the experience from complex structures and demanding projects to mid-sized companies, startups and growth-oriented organisations.

As initiator and curator of AICon, Matthias Walenda has built one of the most successful AI conference formats in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region in recent years: with up to 150 speakers and 50 partners per event, around 1,000 attendees – from the City of Heidelberg and Bosch to IBM, SAP and Heidelberg University – and humanoid robots that stand live on stage rather than on slides. AICon is where science and business come together and applied AI becomes tangible.

With dcyphr.® he is building a company that will work fully AI-driven – one that does not merely explain AI but lives it consistently in strategy, processes, products, scaling and value creation. His long-term vision: robot labs, robot shops like car dealerships and an automated future in which intelligent machines do not remain abstract but become tangible and economically usable.

Beyond dcyphr.®, Matthias Walenda is engaged in the region: dcyphr.® is a member of the City of Heidelberg’s Alliance for Training and Work (Bündnis für Ausbildung und Arbeit), where he works in the “Future of Employers” working group. As a member of the Heidelberg-Palo Alto Club (HPAC) he also sees himself as a bridge builder between Silicon Valley and Heidelberg – true to his guiding principle “Think Silicon Valley. Build responsibly in Europe.”

Matthias Walenda believes in collaboration, open partnerships and active co-creation – in people and organisations that do not wait for the future but want to build it together. To further develop dcyphr.®, an investment round is being prepared; conversations with strategic partners, investors, co-creators and companies are welcome.

His guiding principle: Technology needs responsibility. The future needs execution. Think Silicon Valley. Build responsibly in Europe.

Matthias Walenda is an entrepreneur, AI visionary and the founder of dcyphr.®. With more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, he has been helping companies since 2024 to translate artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and digital transformation into economic impact. He sees himself as a bridge builder between technology and people: his focus is on bringing the latest research results out of the labs and into applied solutions and business models fast – above all for the Mittelstand.

His AI journey began in 2017 with “1337Bots – AI Development”. With the ITCS® conferences he built Europe’s largest tech-recruiting events; after the successful exit in 2023, dcyphr.® is his fifth startup – an AI-first company focused 100 % on AI. He has worked with companies such as Microsoft, Porsche, IBM, OTTO and SAP. As initiator and curator of AICon he has established one of the most successful AI conference formats in the Rhine-Neckar region – with up to 150 speakers per event and humanoid robots live on stage.

He is engaged in the City of Heidelberg’s Alliance for Training and Work (“Future of Employers” working group) and is a member of the Heidelberg-Palo Alto Club – a bridge builder between Silicon Valley and Heidelberg. His topics: applied AI, AI agents, automation, physical AI and robotics. His vision: a fully AI-driven company and robot shops like car dealerships. His guiding principle: Think Silicon Valley. Build responsibly in Europe.

Matthias Walenda is an entrepreneur, AI visionary and the founder of dcyphr.® in Heidelberg. An entrepreneur for more than 25 years, founder of the ITCS® conferences (Europe’s largest tech-recruiting events, exit 2023) and active in AI since 2017, he translates the latest research into applied solutions for business with dcyphr.®, his fifth startup and an AI-first company – above all for the Mittelstand. As initiator and curator of AICon he brings up to 150 speakers per event to the stage. His guiding principle: Think Silicon Valley. Build responsibly in Europe.

Matthias Walenda, serial founder (ITCS®, exit 2023), founder of dcyphr.® and initiator of AICon, translates AI research into economic impact – for corporates, startups and above all the Mittelstand.