Deutsche Telekom debuts Berlin startup incubator, teams with General Assembly [video interview]

This morning at the NEXT Berlin conference, Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann formally announced the launch of a new startup incubator called hub:raum, which will start in Berlin but expand to other territories in the future.

In addition, Deutsche Telekom struck a partnership with New York startup (and ‘startup school’) General Assembly to kickstart a Berlin campus and offer classes on technology, design and entrepreneurship.

With hub:raum, the European telco giant aims to tap into Berlin’s hot startup ecosystem, and beyond. The incubator will provide up to 300,000 euros in seed funding and access to a mentor network, but also actively partner with and provide Deutsche Telekom resources and technical expertise to the startups they back.

The Next Web’s resident video star Hermione Way caught up with Dr. Min-Kin Mak, who heads up New Biz & Partnering at Deutsche Telekom’s Digital Business Unit and is one of the incubator’s leads, to talk about hub:raum’s place in the ecosystem, and the telco’s “many” plans with General Assembly.