A venture program for Europe’s gaming future

Gaming has become a central driver of culture, technology, and consumer engagement. With BurdaGP, we aim to actively shape the European gaming ecosystem by combining venture building, strategic insight, and early-stage capital.

BurdaGP is a multi-stage incubator and venture program supporting founders from early research to market entry and investment readiness. The program brings together academic excellence, industry expertise, and a strong, connected ecosystem that provides access to a wide network of founders, mentors, and partners across Germany and Europe. It is specifically built for gaming, interactive entertainment, and enabling technologies, and offers tailored venture support and investment opportunities at both early and growth stages.

The three entry gates into the gaming program

BurdaGP is structured across three complementary phases, allowing teams to enter at the stage that matches their level of maturity. As an industry partner, Burda contributes its media assets, brands, and audiences to UnternehmerTUM’s venture-building and academic ecosystem. Closely connected to the Gaming Chair of Prof. Johanna Pirker at the Technical University of Munich, BurdaGP offers access to frontier research in gaming engineering, AI, and many more.

From Research to Forming a Team
Supported by TUM Venture Labs Software & AI

Early-stage founders gain access to UnternehmerTUM’s ecosystem, including entrepreneurship education, technical infrastructure, and talent from research and student initiatives.

Become part of Venture Labs here.

From MVP to Market Entry
Supported by XPRENEURS

Teams with a prototype or MVP are supported in building scalable businesses through modules such as business modeling, go-to-market strategy, IP and legal topics, hiring, financial planning, and investor readiness.

Apply to XPRENEURS here.  (Application opens in July 2026)

Initial Funding
Deepening Core Areas – VC or Corporate Readiness
Supported by Burda Prinicpal Investments

In the final phase, BPI focuses on strategic positioning and execution. Key areas include storytelling, design, customer strategy and testing, VC vs. corporate cases, and preparation for first or early-stage investment.

Get in touch with BPI for strategic partnerships and investments here.

The rationale behind BurdaGP

Gaming is the fastest-growing segment in entertainment, with global revenues reaching $260 billion in 2025 and over 3.4 billion active players worldwide. In Germany alone, 37.5 million people play video games — more than ever before. Growth is driven less by reach and more by long-term engagement, live services, and community participation. AI is now amplifying this momentum as a transformative technology wave: 90% of game developers already integrate generative AI into their workflows, and the AI-in-gaming market is projected to grow from $3.3 billion in 2024 to over $51 billion by 2033. At the same time, the line between players and creators is dissolving. Platforms like Roblox and Fortnite have turned audiences into developers — across the top three UGC ecosystems, developer payouts reached approximately $2.2 billion in 2025, a 47% increase over the prior year, and Roblox alone now has 3.5 million actively creating developers. Gaming sits at the intersection of technology, storytelling, and community — and we believe it is one of the most compelling investment opportunities in digital media today.