In the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy and Chair of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Board of Trustees, KAUST hosted a Saudi-German innovation summit during an official visit to the Kingdom by H.E. Katherina Reiche, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy. The summit, hosted by KAUST President, Sir Edward Byrne AC, convened senior representatives from government, industry leaders, startup ecosystem organizations and research institutions to explore how international collaboration can accelerate innovation and economic resilience. 

The visit reinforces KAUST’s role as a research-driven institution working at the intersection of science, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Discussions focused on how research-driven innovation and startup ecosystems can accelerate technology development, commercialization and economic resilience in areas of shared strategic interest, including energy, sustainability, and artificial intelligence. 

“Saudi Arabia and Germany bring complementary strengths to the next phase of innovation in energy and industry,” said Sir Edward Byrne AC, President of KAUST. “Germany’s leadership in industrial engineering and technology scale-up aligns strongly with Saudi Arabia’s pace of investment in research-led innovation and new ventures. KAUST operates at this intersection, translating science into deployable technologies and companies, and connecting partners ready to move from promising ideas to real-world systems.” 

As part of the summit, KAUST signed a series of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with leading German startup ecosystem organizations, BRYCK Startup Alliance, Start2 Group GmbH, and SWX Innovators GmbH. The MoUs establish a framework for closer engagement between the Saudi and German startup ecosystems, with a focus on supporting early-stage companies as they navigate research translation, market access, and international collaboration. 

Through these collaborations, the partners will work to connect startups and innovation networks across both countries, including through joint events, exchange activities and access to expertise spanning regulation, technology development and industry pathways.  

By linking German startups to KAUST’s research environment and innovation networks, the ongoing collaboration is intended to help early-stage companies test, refine and scale technologies.  

The Saudi–German innovation summit formed part of KAUST’s ongoing engagement with global partners and high-level delegations, reinforcing its position as an institution for international collaboration in science, innovation and technology development.