German-American Tech Entrepreneurs Receive GABA Award of Excellence for Contributions to Transatlantic Business Relations and AI Innovation
San Francisco, CA / Hamburg, Germany – June 2, 2024 – The German American Business Association (GABA) awarded this year’s GABA Award of Excellence to Petra Vorsteher and Ragnar Kruse, two German serial entrepreneurs and investors. The award was presented at a ceremony in San Francisco on Friday, recognizing their “outstanding contributions to transatlantic business relations and their inspirational success stories on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Vorsteher and Kruse are well known for their passion for technological progress and sustainable business practices. They were early pioneers in the world of e-commerce, recognizing its potential in the early days of online shopping. In 1996, they played a crucial role in developing Intershop from a start-up to a listed company with a market capitalization of 12 billion US dollars. In 2005, they founded the leading global mobile advertising platform Smaato in San Francisco, which was successfully sold.
Today, Vorsteher and Kruse continue to shape the future of innovation and entrepreneurship through their company and growing ecosystem, AI.GROUP. They are committed to the integration of AI in companies and are actively involved in the promotion and development of young AI companies in Germany and Europe through initiatives such as AI.HAMBURG, AI.STARTUP.HUB, AI.IMPACT, the international AI.SUMMIT, and the first European AI fund, AI.FUND. Both entrepreneurs have been living in San Francisco and Hamburg for decades.
Ragnar Kruse states, “The USA is the epicenter of innovation and technology. It is therefore important for German and European AI start-ups to go to the USA, the largest IT market with an immensely rapid spread of technologies. We have numerous exciting AI start-ups from Europe that can definitely compete internationally.”
Petra Vorsteher adds, “Receiving the GABA Excellence Award for our lifetime achievement is a great honor for us. Entrepreneurship that connects people and companies and builds bridges is more important today than ever. In particular, strengthening and promoting German-American friendship and economic cooperation is very important to us and close to our hearts.”
The GABA organization has been promoting the transatlantic exchange of knowledge between US and German business and technology circles since 2003. The GABA Award of Excellence has previously been presented to well-known German entrepreneurs, including SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner, Sun Microsystems co-founder Andreas Bechtolsheim, Sebastian Thrun, co-founder of the online academy Udacity, LinkedIn co-founder Konstantin Guericke, and the former president of Stanford University Gerhard Casper.
Oliver Schramm, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in San Francisco, states, “What Petra and Ragnar have achieved with the numerous initiatives of their Hamburg-based AI.GROUP is truly groundbreaking. They encourage numerous young German talents to realize their potential and accompany them on their way to a successful AI startup. The German government is also pursuing this approach with its AI strategy and the establishment and promotion of AI hubs throughout Germany. Petra and Ragnar are setting completely new standards with what they have achieved and continue to achieve. It is no coincidence that many of the talents they have brought forth are now successful in Silicon Valley as well as in Germany. I wholeheartedly congratulate both winners on this well-deserved award. As a native of Hamburg, I am of course particularly delighted for them!”
Jason Chue, U.S. Consul General in Hamburg, adds, “Petra Vorsteher and Ragnar Kruse are true ‘tech ambassadors’ who give generously of their time, passion and expertise to start-ups on both sides of the Atlantic. It is a great pleasure for the U.S. Consulate General in Hamburg to work with AI.GROUP on programs that promote transatlantic collaboration and support AI experts, entrepreneurs and thought leaders who want to shape a better future for us all.”
About GABA
The German American Business Association (GABA) is an alliance of corporations, organizations and professionals with the purpose of strengthening transatlantic business. Since 2001, GABA has been a leader in promoting German-Californian networking and knowledge sharing, operating at the forefront of international business, trends and technology. The GABA Award of Excellence is presented once a year. More information can be found at GABA’s website.
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Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.