Laying the foundations for the new Wibu-Systems head office and House of IT Security

Karlsruhe, Germany – On 11 October 2019, the Lord Mayor of Karlsruhe, Dr. Frank Mentrup, Professor Dr. Joern Mueller-Quade of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Bastian Wieland, Managing Partner of archis Architekten + Ingenieure GmbH, and Oliver Winzenried, CEO of WIBU-SYSTEMS AG, joined hands to lay the first brick for two very special new buildings with a total floor space of almost 8,400 square meter. The first building will be finished by December 2020 and is set to become Wibu-Systems’ new head office. Its sister, the House of IT Security, will welcome startups, researchers, and industry actors in March 2021. Together, the buildings represent an investment of more than €33 million. The experience and digitalization strategy of Wolff+Mueller, who was hired as a general contractor, fits very well with this forward-looking project. Further, Paul Heinze of IBA has supported as project developer.

The speakers praised the investment decision made by Wibu-Systems, confirmed that Karlsruhe is a particularly suitable location for this venture, and emphasized the importance of IT security. They also applauded the cooperative vision that is now becoming reality in the House of IT Security, whose architectural and engineering feats, such as the energy efficiency of the buildings and the striking bridge design, caught their attention. A time capsule was placed into the foundations of the construction site, which holds the construction plans, a current newspaper, and several variants of Wibu-Systems’ CmDongle protection hardware devices safe for posterity.

Wibu-Systems is moving into its new head office, because the company’s old facilities could no longer accommodate the constantly growing and evolving business. The digital revolution, Industry 4.0, Big Data, and AI are heralding increasing demand for Wibu-Systems’ protection, licensing, and security solutions – technologies born in Karlsruhe, but quietly serving users in products around the world, from architectural and engineering software to ATMs, on-board diagnostics in cars, medical devices, or the countless sensors making the Internet of Things possible. The energy-efficient design of the new building, with solar power, e-charging stations, UPS batteries, and top-of-the-range smart building and security technology, will host enough space for many new and attractive jobs.

With the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the FZI Research Center for Information Technology, the Cyberforum, the commitment of our city of Karlsruhe, and the many companies based in the vicinity, the House of IT Security is the perfect place for up and coming IT security startups to find their first home and to spark a productive conversation in their field. It will allow them to follow their mission, create the solutions for the challenges of tomorrow, and turn their ideas into rewarding business models. IBA Immobilien from Baden-Baden has a 40% stake in the House of IT Security.

Oliver Winzenried explains: “Our idea of bringing established businesses and young startups together under one roof in the House of IT Security has been met with a great reception by both the city of Karlsruhe and the state government, even though this unfortunately could not translate into financial support for the important investment into our shared future. I believe that we need to bundle our skills and abilities to create the meaningful and viable IT security solutions that the global market is calling for. This new building is my way of saying: We are doing our part for this ambition.”