Happy 2023, as well as a happy Chinese New Year of the Rabbit. 2023 Chris and Joe will again bring you startup news once a month (with a small summer break) wrapping up what was going on — and we found noteworthy — in the GSA / DACH startups scene.

Our Highlights:

WeFox is under fire for growing with acquisitions of insurance broker pools, BioNTech makes largest acquisition in its history, DeepL confirms unicorn status and snipes at Grammarly, Solarisbank in trouble with BaFin, Trade Republic has to disclose numbers and Sono Motors gets longer runway with EU money.

Let’s talk startups:

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Our Enablers

Invest-in-Hessen

This show was made possible by Hessen Trade and Invest with their brand Invest-in-Hessen. You can learn more about them here (https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/). We also run a dedicated sub-podcast with all interviews and news in cooperation with them. Look for Tech Startups Germany here: https://linktr.ee/startupradio

Startupraven.com

The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: 

Startup Raven [https://startupraven.com/]

Top News

WeFox got some splaining to do 🙂

Extensive, but not favorable coverage of insurtech Wefox came out this month. The main complaints are that the growth is basically driven by acquiring existing pools of insurance brokers (not really what you would associate with an insurtech startup). They made that way 600 million Euros in revenue in 2022. But these pools do not get innovative systems from WeFox, or innovative insurance offers from them, they just keep working. Also, there has been no innovative product that really drove the growth at WeFox as an innovative unicorn

BioNTech makes the largest acquisition to date

BioNTech may be one of Germany’s most successful startup companies. We talked about it in our news before, the company alone is responsible for approximately half a percentage point of Germany’s GDP Growth in 2021 — Keep in mind that Germany is the 4th largest country in the world by nominal GDP.

Here is the new piece: Mainz-based pharma company BioNTech (famous for their corona vaccine) makes the largest acquisition in its history with UK-based AI startup Instadeep

Related: BioNTech’s founder on the future of mRNA technology

Cologne-based DeepL confirms unicorn status and snipes at Grammarly

DeepL takes aim at Grammarly with the launch of Write, to clean up your prose.

Related:

Cologne-based translation tool DeepL confirms unicorn valuation for their 2022 fundraising of 100 mn US$

Solarisbank joins N26 in Troubles with BaFin

Bafin is Germany’s bank oversight body (think FSA or SEC). They have already limited the number of customers N26 can acquire due to lapses in following regulations (especially AML), now Solarisbank is in too: “Solarisbank in Germany can now only get new partners (fintech clients) with permission of German finance oversight BaFin, due to continuing problems. BaFin also sends an “observer”

Trade Republic Updates

Trade Republic generates more than 1 bn Euros inflows of new client money with 2% interest rate offer and a lot of favorable press coverage.

Also, Trade Republic has to publish their numbers: There is a legal requirement in Germany to publish your balance sheet 12 months after your business year

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - January 2023

Welcome to This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups, our startup news wrap-up for December 2022 by Startuprad.io with Chris from New York City and Joe from Frankfurt. We recorded this news episode on December 19th, 2022. Keep in mind, this news episode covers everything since our last news episode.

As always: All news not yet included here will be published in our next news episode, which will be January 2023, the first news for 2023. Guys, another year is over! Find all links to the quoted news on our Medium blog, link below

Our Highlights:

Enpal makes huge fundraising in the current environment, more than 800 mn €. Sennder doubles its valuation in the next funding round to 2 bn US$ and has already 60 mn commitments. The funding environment may be bleak, but investors announced new funds for VC and PE investments worth 3.1 bn US$ targeting startups and scaleups in GSA or Europe. One blog asks if the time of Rocket Internet is over, Matter Labs raises 200 mn, a big heist drives a startup into insolvency and Getir buys Gorillas for 1,2 bn US$, a far cry from Gorillas' former 3 bn US$ valuation.

Let's talk startups:

Top News 

Enpal Fundraising

Enpal could double its valuation in the new funding round. Berlin-based unicorn Enpal closes €855 million in debt funding to accelerate the adoption of solar energy.

Sennder Raises New Funds At Double Valuation

Digital forwarder unicorn Sennder is raising new money, at a  2 bn US$ valuation. According to the report, they already have  60m commitments.



Fundraising For VCs Went Quite Well - More Than 3.1 bn Euros Worth of New Investment Funds Have Been Closed

The largest is EQT Ventures. It has Money if your startup needs it: EQT Ventures III closes Europe's largest venture capital fund committed to early-stage tech startups. The money will go to early-stage startups in Europe and North America. For more funds, wait for our later section with new fund announcements.

A service for our audience: Learn more and send in pitches here: https://eqtgroup.com/current-portfolio/funds/eqt-ventures-iii 



Has Rocket Internet Already Seen Its Best Years?

"Mucho trouble over at Rocket Internet," wrote Robin Wauters in his readworthy newsletter for Tech.eu. The article asks if their era is over. Staff cuts and investment stop point in that direction.



Startup Brand Ranking

Jung von Matt publishes their annual  GERMAN STARTUP BRAND RANKING

Some of the top 50 startup brands are known from our news: About You, Flink, Numa Group, getquin, Vivid, Flaschenpost, Tier Mobility, Zolar, Enpal, Sono Motors, Trade Republic



Matter Labs raises 200 mn US$

Matter Labs, the Berlin, Germany-based developer of zkSync, a solution that reduces the cost of Ethereum transactions, raised $200M in Series C funding https://buff.ly/3UorChp



Not Oceans Eleven, But Still BIG

Berlin-based luxury watch marketplace Watchmaster was one of the largest marketplaces of its kind. After a spectacular robbery where 10 m € worth of watches have been stolen the company has to file for insolvency https://buff.ly/3Fi3qsG 



Getir Buys Gorillas And It Is Not Going Well For the Gorillas Founder

First, this kind of news appeared: Getir will take over Gorillas soon - according to press reports. The negotiations have been dragging on for some time now.

Then, we got the confirmation: Getir acquires German competitor Gorillas in $1.2 billion deal - where Gorillas was once valued at 3 bn US$



H

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - December 2022

Our Highlights:

FTX may be history, BUT a German Blog reports there are several parties interested in buying the European Entity of FTX. FTX also triggered Bitpanda to order a special audit from KPMG. We have some more job cuts, this time the 2nd round. Gorillas may sell itself at 1 bn USD even though they have raised 1.3 bn USD in venture capital already. Air taxis are still hot, Volocopter raises more than 180 m US$ to get closer to certification and Lilium sells 100 Airtaxis to Saudi Arabia. The German VC market is stabilizing, according to KfW Research. Our former guest Creditshelf partners with Goldman Sachs and pockets 100 m Euros. Gitpod, a startup from Kiel convinces the founders of GitHub and Shopify to invest.

Let's talk startups:

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Top News

FTX may soon be History, BUT

A German blog Finance Forward reports there are several parties interested in buying the European Entity of FTX, which is headquartered in Switzerland. Their information has been spot-on in other cases in the past.



Job Cuts Keep Coming - 2nd Round Now

Proptechs Homeday and McMakler enter the second round of job cuts. Homeday cuts 20 jobs (60 before) and McMakler again 100 employees



Gorillas May Sell Itself at a Huge Discount

Sequoia-backed grocery startup Getir is close to buying its troubled rival Gorillas in a heavily discounted deal said to be worth less than $1 billion. They have been valued at their series C investment at 2.1 bn US$ and to date they raised more than 1.3 bn US$.

Related: Deutsche-Startups uncovered that Gorillas (which is in the process of selling itself) paid 300 m € this year for french competitor Frichti.



Lilium Sells 100 Airtaxis

Saudi Arabia buys 100 air taxis from Munich -based startup Lilium. The delivery is expected 2025. Before the deal, they also hired former Airbus executive Klaus Roewe. Fingers crossed for them, they did not generate revenue yet, but 841 m Euros in losses so far.



Volocopter Raises 182 M US$

Volocopter raises $182M to bring air taxi closer to certification, as part of their Series E funding

The company is currently testing its two-seater VoloCity air taxi for the requirements set by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Volocopter is looking to certify its aircraft in H2 2023 and generate revenue with rides in 2024.



Creditshelf Partners with Goldman Sachs

Our former guest Creditshelf partners with Goldman Sachs and hits profitability - Goldman Sachs is providing the German alternative lender for SMEs with up to €100m of secured funding. Learn more in our interview with Creditshelf here https://buff.ly/3NVANo1

Creditshelf is Germany’s only listed pure-play fintech, offering a credit platform, where investors can grant credit to German small and medium enterprises.

Mentioned in this episode:

Our Enablers

Younium Younium is the subscription management and billing platform for B2B SaaS. Younium brings the transformative infrastructure to manage and grow your business while you focus on the things that matter. https://www.younium.com/ Tvarit Tvarit is an industrial ai startup, that helps companies to reduce rejections by 40%-60% in metal casting, as well as saving up to 18% on energy. Learn more here: https://www.tvarit.com/

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The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here: https://startupraven.com/



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - November 2022 Wrap-Up

Welcome to This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups in October 2022 by Startuprad.io with Chris from Essen, Germany, and Joe from Frankfurt. We recorded this news episode on Thursday, October 20th, 2022.

Our Highlights:

Another one of our former guests gets a Snoop Dog investment. Quick delivery startup Gorillas seems to sell itself to competitor Getir, according to Bloomberg, despite an earlier announcement they are looking for more investments. Gadget rental service Grover adds 270 m € in venture debt, getting it close to 2 billion €. Our former guest Nuri (formerly Bitwala) had to file for insolvency, now investors jump ship and the company is wound down this year. Volocopter is sued by early crowdfunding backers, Home24 has a takeover offer from a brick-and-mortar furniture retailer and BioNTech takes on cancer. Also, Munich-based travel tech Holidu raises 100 m € in a combination of 75 m equity and 25 m debt funding.

Let’s talk startups:

Our Enablers

Younium

Younium is the subscription management and billing platform for B2B SaaS. Younium brings the transformative infrastructure to manage and grow your business while you focus on the things that matter. https://www.younium.com/

Tvarit

Tvarit is an industrial ai startup, that helps companies to reduce rejections by 40%-60% in metal casting, as well as saving up to 18% on energy. Learn more here: https://www.tvarit.com/

Invest-in-Hessen

This show was made possible by Hessen Trade and Invest with their brand Invest-in-Hessen. You can learn more about them here (https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/). We also run a dedicated sub-podcast with all interviews and news in cooperation with them. Find it all here:

Tech Startups Germany - Startups and Venture Capital [https://techstartups.sounder.fm/]

Startupraven.com

The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early stage startups. Sign up for early access here:

Startup Raven [https://startupraven.com/]

Top News

Europe’s Largest Cannabis Funding To Date

Europe’s largest cannabis funding to date: Snoop Dogg-backed German cannabis startup gets $37.6M Series B led by British American Tobacco

learn more about the Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 (German Startup Awards) founder Finn Age Hänsel in our interview

Gorillas May Soon Be Bought By Getir

Delivery Startup Getir in Advanced Talks to Buy Gorillas (Bloomberg). They write:

 * “Proposed deal for Gorillas would be a mix of cash and equity
 * The combination would give Getir, which is backed by Mubadala Investment Co. and Sequoia Capital, scale in key European markets including the UK and Germany.
 * Gorillas had previously held talks with a number of competitors about the prospects for a merger or sale of its business, people familiar with the matter said previously.
 * Chief Executive Officer Kagan Sumer said earlier this year that he planned to look for new financing to recalibrate the company to work toward profitability.”


Grover Takes Home 270 m €

As consumer spending tightens, yet appetites for tech remain the same, Berlin-based Grover sees an uptick in rental interest and is now bringing its debt funding to close to €2 billion to meet demand. Grover takes on more debt funding, this time €270 million from London-based M&G

Our Former Guest Nuri (Bitwala)

Will be wound down. Despite seeing interest from investors, they could not get one to sign up. So the company will be shut down until the end of the year. The last day one can use a Nuri account is in mid-December. Neobank Vivid makes all

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - October 2022 Wrap-Up

Our highlights:

Germany is preparing for a potentially rough winter, in many ways. Now Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe): Asked Germans not to put up any Christmas lights this season. Startups in GSA keep laying off staff, but also raising significant funds. We have our usually shortened list a bit longer this month, to show that it is not all gloom and doom here. You will also notice that the M&A activity is up, totaling 55 bn US$ in summer 2022 (for all of Europe), and is still going strong.

Let’s talk startups:

Subscribe Here

Find all options to subscribe to our newsletter, podcast, YouTube channel, or listen to our internet radio station here:

The Authority on German, Swiss and Austrian Startups | Linktree [https://linktr.ee/startupradio]

Our Enablers

Invest-in-Hessen

This show was made possible by Hessen Trade and Invest with their brand Invest-in-Hessen. You can learn more about them here (https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/). We also run a dedicated sub-podcast with all interviews and news in cooperation with them. Find it all here:

Tech Startups Germany [https://techstartups.sounder.fm/]

Startupraven.com

The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here:

Startup Raven [https://startupraven.com/]

Blog Post

Find all links, news and show notes here: https://medium.com/@startuprad_io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-september-2022-53339fae6ca7

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups - September 2022

Our highlights:

Germany is preparing for a potentially rough winter, in many ways. Now Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe): Asked Germans not to put up any Christmas lights this season. Startups in GSA keep laying off staff, but also raising significant funds. We have our usually shortened list a bit longer this month, to show that it is not all gloom and doom here. You will also notice that the M&A activity is up, totaling 55 bn US$ in summer 2022 (for all of Europe), and is still going strong.

Let’s talk startups:

Subscribe Here

Find all options to subscribe to our newsletter, podcast, YouTube channel, or listen to our internet radio station here:

The Authority on German, Swiss and Austrian Startups | Linktree [https://linktr.ee/startupradio]

Our Enablers

Invest-in-Hessen

This show was made possible by Hessen Trade and Invest with their brand Invest-in-Hessen. You can learn more about them here (https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/). We also run a dedicated sub-podcast with all interviews and news in cooperation with them. Find it all here:

Tech Startups Germany [https://techstartups.sounder.fm/]

Startupraven.com

The best way to identify investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up for early access here:

Startup Raven [https://startupraven.com/]

Blog Post

Find all links, news and show notes here: https://medium.com/@startuprad_io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-september-2022-53339fae6ca7

Top News

Berlin’s Everphone extends Series C to $232M

Everphone started with their first fundraising for Series C in December 2021 and now make an additional closing of 32 mn Euros, which totals — according to PitchBook 232 m US$ Series C for their device-as-a-service model

Crypto Boom is slowing

European crypto app downloads have almost halved from 2021 amongst the biggest drops are Blockchain.com and unicorn Bitpanda.

Sifted writes “Beleaguered Austrian crypto trading platform Bitpanda saw a 65% decrease in app downloads from 563k in H1 2021 to 197k in H1 2022. In June, the company laid off a third of its employees, admitting that it had hired too fast and needed to cut back expenditure amid the crypto market rout.” VCs keep an eye on their investments and the app downloads are a proxy for growth here for them.

Insolvencies hit household names

Yes, they are not startups, but it gives you a great overview of the current environment, also for the startups

 * Automotive supplier Dr. Schneider has to file for insolvency with 4000 people employed there
 * Shoe retailer Ludwig Görtz is a staple in German shopping streets founded in 1875 with their big stores and 1.800 employees, now they have to file for insolvency
 * German toilet paper producer Hakle is a household staple in Germany. Now they have to file for insolvency, due to high costs of raw materials, energy, and transportation
 * Traditional Austrian lighting company Kolarz, founded in 1918, has to file for insolvency


Podcast monetization is getting serious with international involvement

Lots of mergers in monetizing podcasts, the first Julep from Munich was bought by Libsyn and now London-based Auddy buys Vienna-based Audiomy

More firings :-(

Keep in mind here, that most startups are likely not in financial trouble, but they rather try to extend the money they have already raised. The consensus seems to be cutting 15–20% of the workforce for most startups.

 * Berlin-based escooter company Tier fires 16%

Startups in GSA did better than expected. We had a few insolvency filings, but also amazing fundraisings like Celonis 1 bn US$ combination of equity and debt funding. Insuftech Wefox raises 400 m. One can already see the signs of a downturn, M&A activity going up, as well as the news about insolvencies or job cuts/ hiring freezes. But — according to a Bikcom survey — 8 out of 10 startups are still hiring. Deal time our recent guest Qonto buys former guest Penta and there was more in a B2B neobank deal week. Even Allianz had to learn, that one can not buy fintech success and there is more news on Wirecard.

We will also bombard you with funding data on Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as global numbers. Keep in mind you can read all our news on our blog https://medium.com/@startuprad_io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-summer-2022-wrap-up-603e2c1939ae

Startup News GSA - Summer Wrap-Up (July & August '22)

Our Highlights

Startups in GSA did better than expected. We had a few insolvency filings, but also amazing fundraisings like Celonis 1 bn US$ combination of equity and debt funding. Insuftech Wefox raises 400 m. One can already see the signs of a downturn, M&A activity going up, as well as the news about insolvencies or job cuts/ hiring freezes. But — according to a Bikcom survey — 8 out of 10 startups are still hiring. Deal time our recent guest Qonto buys former guest Penta and there was more in a B2B neobank deal week. Even Allianz had to learn, that one can not buy fintech success and there is more news on Wirecard.

We will also bombard you with funding data on Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as global numbers. Keep in mind you can read all our news on our blog https://medium.com/@startuprad_io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-summer-2022-wrap-up-603e2c1939ae

Top News

Celonis Secures 1 bn US$ Funding

Celonis remains a success story with a 400 million Series D extension and a 600 mn US$ credit facility, at a valuation of nearly 13 bn US$. They are cementing their spot as Germany’s most valuable startup as well as its only decacorn. They do process mining and help to identify unrealized efficiencies. Right now, they’re helping with supply chain issues, for example.

Despite Market Conditions, WeFox Closes 400 m US$ Funding

Wefox, the Berlin-based insurtech, closes USD 400 million Series D round at 4.5 bn Dollar valuation

One Former Guest Has to File for Insolvency

 * German crypto startup Nuri had a streak of bad luck. First, they announce to cut almost 20% of their headcount, then millions of their client’s money is frozen with Celsius and now a blog claimed it all hit during fundraising
 * Eventually followed by an insolvency filing https://medium.com/startuprad-io/berlin-based-crypto-bank-nuri-formerly-known-as-bitwala-with-500-000-b4953e15dbfa
 * Berlin-based crypto neoborker Nuri had to file for insolvency. Now the insolvency administrator says there are parties interested in buying the company 


Neobrokers Facing Headwinds

 * Neobrokers close to the edge: No good news from the SEC report on the poster child of all neo-brokers. Unfortunately, there is no report for Germany mentioning e.g. Trade Republic
 * Robinhood almost imploded during GameStop meme stock chaos — TechCrunch
 * Bankman-Fried’s FTX Is Seeking a Path to Buy Robinhood — BloombergWhat does this mean for BitPanda, Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, and N26? Do they also need to look for a strategic buyer rather than an IPO? 


B2B Neobanks Had a pretty big Deal Week

Qonto Announces Plan to Acquire Penta https://buff.ly/3zwPCI3 as we have predicted two weeks before https://buff.ly/3zxUSeH we have extensive coverage of Penta from the past linked in the article, as well as an interview with Qonto’s head of Germany. Also Kontist was selling itself at a pretty hefty discount https://buff.ly/3c9pmuF

Viability of Quick Delivery Business Model still Questioned

 * After only one year: Gorillas is closing shop in Belgium. Efarmz is taking over parts
 * Gorillas wants to save itself with advertising from consumers and food giants of the world, the producer of the products they are delivering every day
 * More signs of the current economic environment for startups: Munich-based quick delivery startup arive delivers tech gadgets and lifestyle products. They just had to

Starwars fans may remember that death star was destroyed due to a data
leak.Mirko Ross, Founder and CEO ASVIN, Podcaster Hackwerk

Executive Summary

We interview Mirko, CEO of Asvin a cybersecurity startup. During the interview,
we touch on data leaks in Star Wars, vulnerabilities in IoT, vulnerabilities in
supply chains, and even in space (think cube satellites). ASVIN provides many
tools to uncover and fix these vulnerabilities. Mirko is also a cybersecurity
podcaster at Hackwerk, which you can also hear on our internet radio station
www.startup.radio [http://www.startup.radio/].

Subscribe Here

We are always sharing new resources with you. Find all of our options below. We
want to make sure that we provide what's best for your growing team, so please
take a look at these additional ways in which we can help!
https://linktr.ee/startupradio
Botnet operators can take over millions of devices by simply scanning the
internet and following up with a brute force attack.Mirko Ross, Founder and CEO
ASVIN, Podcaster Hackwerk

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their ideas may seem at first glance.
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Find all Links and Show Notes on our Blog

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Asvin Provides Cybersecurity for the Internet of Things

Starwars fans may remember that death star was destroyed due to a data leak.Mirko Ross, Founder and CEO ASVIN, Podcaster Hackwerk

Executive Summary

We interview Mirko, CEO of Asvin a cybersecurity startup. During the interview, we touch on data leaks in Star Wars, vulnerabilities in IoT, software, supply chains, and even in space (think cube satellites). ASVIN provides many tools to uncover and fix these vulnerabilities. Mirko is also a cybersecurity podcaster at Hackwerk, which you can also hear on our internet radio station www.startup.radio [http://www.startup.radio/].

Subscribe Here

We are always sharing new resources with you. Find all of our options below. We want to make sure that we provide what's best for your growing team, so please take a look at these additional ways in which we can help!

https://linktr.ee/startupradio

Botnet operators can take over millions of devices by simply scanning the internet and following up with a brute force attack.Mirko Ross, Founder and CEO ASVIN, Podcaster Hackwerk

Our Sponsor Startupraven

A startup's journey can be a tough one, but it doesn't have ́to feel like you're alone on your quest! Invest in others' success with us by joining our community of entrepreneurs who build amazing things every day - no matter how big or small their ideas may seem at first glance.

The best way to find investors and cooperation partners for early-stage startups. Sign up here: https://startupraven.com/

Find all Links and Show Notes on our Blog

https://medium.com/@startuprad_io/asvin-provides-cybersecurity-for-the-internet-of-things-b035203b70f



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

This is the Security Sutra track of the Startuprad.io podcast from Germany. You
find only cybersecurity content (in a wider sense) and news from our podcast
here on this channel. Subscribe to startuprad.io to get all of our content. This
is not a "how-to" podcast, but we introduce you to startups and entrepreneurs
active in the space.  We bring you news, interviews and live events from Germany
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