We’re excited to announce that Nikolas Bullwinkel, Founder and CEO of Circus Group, will join us at the EU-Startups Summit 2027, taking place on May 13-14 in sunny Malta! Nikolas will deliver the keynote AI robotics and how Europe can scale DeepTech from lab to market.
Nikolas is a serial entrepreneur currently building at the intersection of artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous infrastructure. Through Munich-based Circus, he is working to automate one of the world’s most fundamental activities: producing meals.
The company develops AI-powered robotic systems designed to autonomously prepare food for enterprise customers across commercial, industrial, and defence environments.
Drawing on his experience building both Flink and Circus, he’ll explore what it takes to turn ambitious European technology into commercially viable products, move from prototypes to industrial production, and compete globally in the emerging field of Physical AI.
His Story
Before founding Circus, Nikolas was one of the co-founders of Flink, the Berlin-based quick-commerce company that became one of Europe’s fastest-growing delivery startups. During its rapid expansion, Flink grew to around 12,000 employees and more than 140 locations, while a €669 million ($750 million) funding round in December 2021 valued the company at €2.5 billion ($2.85 billion) post-money.
Nikolas subsequently turned his attention towards AI and robotics.
He founded Circus in 2021 alongside Carsten Wille, Helge Plehn, and Fabio Haebel. The company initially set out to rethink food production and delivery through technology, automation, and its own micro-kitchen infrastructure.
By 2022, EU-Startups reported that Circus had secured €11 million in investment and expanded its services across several German cities.
A major step in its evolution came with the acquisition of Berlin-based culinary robotics startup Aitme in 2023, bringing robotics expertise and automated cooking technology directly into Circus. The following year, Circus completed its Xetra listing and began trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, marking its transition into a publicly listed European DeepTech company.
Today, Circus is focused on its CA-1 autonomous food-production robot, combining robotics, proprietary AI, software, and automation into a system capable of producing meals with minimal human intervention. Its technology is being developed for a range of civilian and defence applications, with Nikolas continuing to lead the company as CEO.
EU-Startups Summit
On May 13-14, 2027, we’ll be bringing the European startup ecosystem together once again for the EU-Startups Summit in sunny Malta. We’re expecting around 2,500 founders, investors, startup enthusiasts, and ecosystem players for two packed days of networking, inspiration, and learning.
The event will showcase many of Europe’s hottest startups and bring attendees face-to-face with some of the most successful entrepreneurs and innovators of our time. With inspiring keynotes, fireside chats, workshops, a buzzing exhibition hall, and plenty of opportunities to make valuable connections, it is set to be another unmissable edition.
Ready to join us?: Secure your ticket to the EU-Startups Summit 2027 today!
