Media Lift Incubator 2025: Here Are the Startups

Media Lift Incubator 2025: nextMedia.Hamburg Is Supporting These Five Startups

nextMedia.Hamburg announces the five teams selected for the Media Lift Incubator 2025. The incubator supports promising startups at the intersection of content and technology. Each team will receive €15,000 in funding, comprehensive mentoring and coaching over four months, and workspaces at SPACE in Hamburg.

The five teams selected for 2025 are:

1. PHONT

Founders: Paul Leo Langendörfer, Frederik Merkel, and Marcello Eiermann
Concept: PHONT is developing an AI-powered solution to visually adapt subtitles to content and emotions. The first product, PHONT Studio, helps content creators automatically generate appropriate subtitles, saving them a tremendous amount of time.
Website: phont.ai

2. NURIO

Founders: Heiner-Martin Wacks, Sebastian Gerdemann, Torsten Sander, and Marco Clasen
Concept: NURIO is an employer benefit for high-quality journalism—similar to JobRad for bicycles. Companies offer their employees tax-free access to quality news, thereby strengthening both their employer brand and informed public discourse.
Website: www.nurio.org

3. master.io

Founders: Puyan Mayer and Jona Winkler
Concept: master.io is a video platform that combines AI-powered automation with professional production. It optimizes the entire process from concept to analysis and ensures efficient, consistent content.

4. LensChangeAI

Founders: Martin Hübsch, Jan Hoydem, and Daniel Grootz
Concept: LensChangeAI is developing software that uses AI to replicate the look of various cinema lenses in post-production. This allows filmmakers to flexibly adjust their visual style without having to use expensive lenses.

5. NewsShift

Founders: Fabian Roeben, Christopher Roth, Felix Chopra, Ingar Haaland, and Vanessa Sticher
Concept: NewsShift is an AI-powered news app that allows users to customize articles in real time according to their preferences. Content can be simplified, made more neutral, or more entertaining without altering the facts.
Website: www.news-shift.com

The teams were selected by a distinguished jury consisting of Mirja Meyer (Managing Director, Jung von Matt TECH), Philip Brandecker (VP of Business Management, New Work SE), Zamina Ahmad (Co-Founder of shades & contrast), Dr. Nina Klaß (Head of nextMedia.Hamburg), and Claas Schüddekopf (Head of Media, Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media).

“With our Media Lift program, we support innovative business ideas in the fields of content and technology. The five teams impressed the jury with their ideas. Now the goal is to take their prototypes to the next level. The Media Lift program supports the teams through three phases: from validating their idea, through developing their product, to successfully positioning it on the market. They’ll be supported by over 50 mentors who are available to assist the teams with any questions. Over the next four months, we’ll be bringing these products to market.” Bruno Marks, Media Lift Program Manager.

The Media Lift Incubator has already supported successful startups such as musicube, BotTalk, and the Female Leadership Academy in previous cycles and is now entering its seventh round. The kick-off for the new batch took place on March 24, 2025, at SPACE in Hamburg.

An overview of all teams and further information about the Media Lift program can be found at: nextmedia-hamburg.de/programme/media-lift/