What Transmediale/ does

Transmediale is a Berlin-based non-profit cultural organization (transmediale e.V., registered as a German eingetragener Verein) that has produced an annual festival focused on art and digital culture since its founding in 1988. The festival operates as a single recurring product: each edition features a distinct thematic focus and encompasses exhibitions, talks, workshops, and performances examining the intersection of technology, society, and culture. The 2026 edition (tm26, 'By the Mango Belt & Tamarind Road') and the 2027 anniversary edition (RFC 40, 'groundstates & fragile currents') are publicly referenced, confirming multi-year planning continuity. The organization holds no patents, trademarks, or proprietary technology assets beyond a standard web presence and a Shopify-powered e-commerce storefront for merchandise; there is no mobile application, API, or disclosed SDK.

The business model is institutional rather than commercial. Transmediale has been funded as a cultural institution of excellence by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation) since 2004, which represents the foundational revenue relationship. No ticket pricing, sponsorship terms, or detailed financial figures are disclosed. Ancillary revenue is generated through festival attendance (presumed ticketing/registration for in-person events in Berlin) and a small Shopify merchandise channel. Audience development occurs through an official Telegram channel, an email newsletter subscription, and the annual physical festival held in Berlin. The organization has no disclosed parent company, no venture backing, and no subsidiaries; ownership is the e.V. member structure typical of German cultural associations.

There is no disclosed headcount, management team, or specific leadership beyond a general [email protected] contact. Operating geographies are framed as Europe-wide, though the festival is physically anchored in Berlin. The entity is not a typical PE/VC/M&A target: it is a long-standing publicly subsidized cultural institution with no equity, no commercial revenue model, and no acquisition rationale under conventional frameworks.

Name

Transmediale/

Legal name

transmediale e.V.

Website

https://transmediale.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Transmediale is a Berlin-based non-profit (e.V.) founded in 1988 that produces an annual festival on art and digital culture, funded since 2004 by the German Federal Cultural Foundation and supported by a Shopify merchandise channel and Telegram/newsletter community engagement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Transmediale is an annual festival for art and digital culture held in Berlin, featuring exhibitions, talks, workshops, and performances examining the intersection of technology, society, and culture. Each edition carries a distinct thematic focus (e.g., 2026 tm26 "By the Mango Belt & Tamarind Road" and 2027 RFC 40 "groundstates & fragile currents"). The organization also operates a Shopify online shop selling festival merchandise and related materials.

Product overview

Transmediale is a single unified offering: an annual festival dedicated to art and digital culture. The festival operates as a recurring annual event with each edition featuring a distinct thematic focus. The core product is the transmediale Festival itself, with separate sub-products representing individual year editions (such as the 2027 RFC 40 edition and the 2026 tm26 edition). The festival encompasses exhibitions, talks, workshops, and performances that explore the intersection of technology, society, and culture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• transmediale Festival Annual festival held in Berlin dedicated to art and digital culture, featuring exhibitions, talks, workshops, and performances for artists, researchers, students, and cultural audiences.
• transmediale 2026 (tm26: By the Mango Belt & Tamarind Road) The 2026 edition of the annual transmediale festival, themed 'By the Mango Belt & Tamarind Road' with sub-themes of Compassing, Protocoling, and Metaphoring.
• transmediale 2027 (RFC 40: groundstates & fragile currents) The 40th edition of the transmediale festival (RFC 40), exploring the themes of groundstates and fragile currents.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• MUTEK: Montreal-headquartered international festival of electronic music and digital art with editions in multiple cities; comparable in the focus on digital art, electronic music, and audiovisual performance, and in operating as a multi-edition festival organization.
• Sónar: Barcelona-based festival combining electronic music, creative technology, and digital art with a year-round programming arm (Sónar+D); mirrors transmediale's blend of art, music, and technology programming on an annual cadence.
• Resonate: Belgrade-based festival dedicated to music, art, and technology; comparable to transmediale in its curatorial remit at the intersection of electronic arts and digital culture, though with a stronger music programming tilt.
• Ars Electronica: Linz-based long-running festival and institution at the intersection of art, technology, and society; closely comparable to transmediale in thematic positioning, institutional scale, and recurring annual format.
• CTM Festival: Berlin-based annual festival for adventurous music and art, closely overlapping with transmediale in geography, audience, and the art-plus-digital-culture remit, making it the most directly comparable peer.

Broad incumbents

• SXSW: Austin-based large-scale multi-track festival covering music, film, and technology; comparable as an annual cultural-and-tech festival, but operating at materially larger scale and broader scope than transmediale.
• Venice Biennale: Historic large-scale international art exhibition held in Venice; comparable as a recurring, internationally recognized cultural institution with a long operational history, though focused on contemporary art broadly rather than digital culture specifically.
• documenta: Kassel-based recurring major contemporary art exhibition held every five years; comparable as a long-running German cultural institution with a public-funding backbone, but with a much larger and broader art focus than transmediale's digital-culture remit.

Regional players

• Atonal: Berlin-based festival of experimental electronic music and audiovisual art; comparable as a Berlin-anchored recurring festival in the experimental art and music space, with partial thematic overlap to transmediale.
• Berlinale: Berlin International Film Festival, a Berlin-anchored major cultural event funded with public support; comparable as a Berlin-headquartered, publicly supported cultural institution, though its focus is film rather than digital arts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/transmediale

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Transmediale/