Latest / Blockchain Germany – Web3 Startups, Crypto Innovation & Venture Capital by Startuprad.io™ / DACH News Sept 2025: $2.3B AI Unicorn & N26 Crisis
Transcript
- WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.400 Foreign. 2 00:00:09.280 --> 00:00:12.800 Your podcast and YouTube blog covering the German 3 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:16.480 startup scene with news, interviews and 4 00:00:16.560 --> 00:00:17.760 live events. 5 00:00:20.080 --> 00:00:23.760 Hello and welcome. I would like to say it's a sunny welcome but unfortunately it's 6 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:27.480 rather gray here in New York. We welcome you to our regular 7 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:31.080 startup news from the startup and tech entrepreneurship scenes in Germany, 8 00:00:31.080 --> 00:00:34.780 Austria and Switzerland. We are back from our summer break. I only 9 00:00:35.020 --> 00:00:38.060 cling on to this like floral motive short sleeve I'm wearing 10 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:42.580 and we bring you a massive news episode today. In fact it's so long 11 00:00:42.580 --> 00:00:45.980 we had to cut it into two episodes. So like double the fun. 12 00:00:46.380 --> 00:00:50.100 Our startup news is recorded with me in 13 00:00:50.100 --> 00:00:53.340 New York City. Joe is joining from Frankfurt. 14 00:00:54.060 --> 00:00:57.900 Hey from Nightly Frankfurt. Hey guys, how you doing? And now I 15 00:00:57.900 --> 00:01:01.460 started to mention myself first which if you want to get into German 16 00:01:01.460 --> 00:01:04.680 idioms in German you usually learn the 17 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:08.840 donkey always mentions himself first. I 18 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:12.560 learned that when I grew up. Today's 19 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:16.400 News cut is August 19th. As always, 20 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:20.199 all news not included will be in our next shows next news wrap up 21 00:01:20.440 --> 00:01:24.160 to be published October 2, wrapping up September and 22 00:01:24.160 --> 00:01:28.000 the remaining August. Then we needed to cut our news seriously today so 23 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.080 you can have a brief news overview. We will have newspaper 24 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:35.040 other news pieces in our blog posts on 25 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:38.080 StartupRaid IO blog. 26 00:01:38.800 --> 00:01:42.320 Those are the ones that we simply cannot cover here, otherwise the news would 27 00:01:42.320 --> 00:01:46.160 stretch far too long. To give you a bigger bit of background this 28 00:01:46.160 --> 00:01:49.520 time we went through more than 350 news pieces for you. 29 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:53.480 Therefore we decided for the first time in the history of StartupRate 30 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.200 IO that we will split this news recording into two pieces to keep them 31 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:00.570 short and crisp. Happy Labor Day to you. If you are 32 00:02:00.570 --> 00:02:04.250 celebrating and entrepreneurs since 33 00:02:04.250 --> 00:02:07.890 they are working so much, I guess have a special relationship to Labor 34 00:02:07.890 --> 00:02:11.690 Day. But before I talk myself even more 35 00:02:11.690 --> 00:02:15.330 into a corner, I'm going to hand it over to you Joe to kick us 36 00:02:15.330 --> 00:02:19.050 off with the highlights. Yes, thanks Chris. I always 37 00:02:19.050 --> 00:02:22.410 appreciate your energy here. The highlights 38 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:26.610 by the way, I love Labor Day because it usually frequently 39 00:02:26.610 --> 00:02:30.010 coincides with my birthday. Our highlights 40 00:02:30.010 --> 00:02:32.770 Startup funding momentum across Europe and the Dach region 41 00:02:33.170 --> 00:02:36.970 accelerated in August with AI, climate tech and 42 00:02:36.970 --> 00:02:40.330 fintech taking center stage. Berlin's AI 43 00:02:40.330 --> 00:02:43.970 ecosystem made global headlines as one stealth 44 00:02:43.970 --> 00:02:47.010 unicorn skyrocketed from US$350 million 45 00:02:48.050 --> 00:02:51.810 to 2.3 billion valuation in just four months, 46 00:02:52.210 --> 00:02:56.050 underlining the region's dominance in enterprise, automation and SAS 47 00:02:56.050 --> 00:02:59.710 driven AI. Meanwhile, the macro backdrop remains 48 00:02:59.710 --> 00:03:03.070 tense with Germany's GDP contracting 49 00:03:03.070 --> 00:03:06.910 sparking recession fears. But venture capital continues 50 00:03:06.910 --> 00:03:10.390 to pour into deep tech and energy innovation as 51 00:03:10.470 --> 00:03:13.750 hedge bets against cyclical slowdown. 52 00:03:14.390 --> 00:03:17.350 Major deals shape this month. Narrative 53 00:03:17.590 --> 00:03:21.390 Climeworks raised US$162 million to 54 00:03:21.390 --> 00:03:24.550 advance its CO2 capture technology. What 55 00:03:25.150 --> 00:03:28.430 Stuttgart based maker site secured 60 million 56 00:03:28.990 --> 00:03:32.670 euros Series B to scale its sustainable supply 57 00:03:32.670 --> 00:03:36.270 chain software q and added 58 00:03:36.430 --> 00:03:39.990 62 million Series A 60 million euros 59 00:03:39.990 --> 00:03:43.550 Series A to push quantum inspired climate solutions 60 00:03:43.870 --> 00:03:47.470 and Munich's Tanzo or Tanzo 61 00:03:47.630 --> 00:03:50.430 closed 12 million euros Series A 62 00:03:50.990 --> 00:03:53.950 underscoring climate tech as a long term growth 63 00:03:54.190 --> 00:03:57.390 pillar for the first on the FinTech front, 64 00:03:57.390 --> 00:04:00.950 N26 faced regulatory heat and 65 00:04:00.950 --> 00:04:04.510 leadership shakeups even as Scanbot 66 00:04:04.510 --> 00:04:08.310 SDK exited via acquisition and Blynk absorbed 67 00:04:08.310 --> 00:04:11.910 Finstep, highlighting both consolidation 68 00:04:12.069 --> 00:04:15.630 and compliance challenges in Europe's 69 00:04:15.630 --> 00:04:19.230 neobanking sector. For founders and VCs, 70 00:04:19.230 --> 00:04:22.470 these developments signal a bifurcated market. 71 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:26.740 Late stage climate and AI startups are attracting mega 72 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:29.700 rounds and unicorn valuations while 73 00:04:30.020 --> 00:04:33.700 fintech and mobility plays like Lilium navigate restructuring 74 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:37.380 and defense pivots to secure survival. 75 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:41.460 This month wave of scaleups and exit reinforces 76 00:04:41.940 --> 00:04:45.780 the thesis that Europe's competitive edge lies 77 00:04:45.780 --> 00:04:49.270 in climate innovation, quantum technologies and and 78 00:04:49.430 --> 00:04:53.270 enterprise AI sectors now too big for 79 00:04:53.270 --> 00:04:56.950 global investors to ignore. Let's talk 80 00:04:57.110 --> 00:05:00.950 startups. There's link you can give us feedback. As we said, the 81 00:05:00.950 --> 00:05:04.430 first interview the first piece of this news will go live 82 00:05:04.430 --> 00:05:08.230 September 1, 2025 and I'm just turning around and 83 00:05:08.230 --> 00:05:11.630 checking and number two part two will go live on 84 00:05:11.630 --> 00:05:14.950 September 4, 2025. 85 00:05:15.910 --> 00:05:19.630 Chris, you always you look pretty sharp in your shirt and by the 86 00:05:19.630 --> 00:05:23.410 way discussing it up front. We both are wearing shirts. 87 00:05:23.410 --> 00:05:26.970 Chris, you want to take over the top news, especially if you're dressed so 88 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:30.730 nice. For once we clean up, I'm 89 00:05:30.730 --> 00:05:33.650 going to kick things off with Berlin's 90 00:05:34.130 --> 00:05:37.610 N8N. It's a workflow 91 00:05:37.610 --> 00:05:40.890 automation startup that has rocketed to a $2.3 billion 92 00:05:41.250 --> 00:05:44.930 pre money valuation in August 93 00:05:45.090 --> 00:05:48.850 like a week ago after Excel led a mega round with Maritech Capital 94 00:05:48.930 --> 00:05:52.760 expected to join, marking one of Europe's biggest AI driven autom 95 00:05:53.150 --> 00:05:56.190 deals. This year the company's value has 96 00:05:56.750 --> 00:06:00.490 jumped from just $350 million in March 97 00:06:00.610 --> 00:06:03.230 24, so within one and a half years 98 00:06:05.230 --> 00:06:09.029 we have seen more than six times increase there on the back 99 00:06:09.029 --> 00:06:12.270 of surging demand for AI agents and enterprise grade 100 00:06:12.270 --> 00:06:16.070 workflow automation, they say they have an annual 101 00:06:16.070 --> 00:06:18.390 recurring revenue of more than $40 million 102 00:06:19.790 --> 00:06:23.560 and a 200,000 member community. And 103 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:26.720 NH N8N has become a 104 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.240 leading open source alternative to zapier and 105 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:34.000 make.com Lilium 106 00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:37.680 brings in Pluta as 107 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:41.160 insolvency advisor amid their defense 108 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:44.880 pivot. So Lilium we talked about them quite often 109 00:06:44.880 --> 00:06:48.240 in our podcast already based In Munich is an air taxi 110 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:52.000 startup that faces mounting insolvency pressures as 111 00:06:52.080 --> 00:06:55.580 zu Deutsche Zeitung has reported for example several 112 00:06:55.580 --> 00:06:57.980 times last time last week. And 113 00:06:59.340 --> 00:07:03.180 restructuring advisor AAMG Pluta has been now 114 00:07:03.180 --> 00:07:06.620 called in to guide the company through its crisis. That follows 115 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:10.460 Handel's Blood's revelations that Lillium is weighing a defense sector pivot 116 00:07:10.620 --> 00:07:14.380 to generate near term revenues. With the defense sector right 117 00:07:14.380 --> 00:07:17.980 now being quite booming in European countries 118 00:07:18.060 --> 00:07:21.420 because they're investing more due to the Ukraine war and 119 00:07:21.820 --> 00:07:25.180 the US being a less reliable partner than in the 120 00:07:26.440 --> 00:07:29.560 business Insiders note on Fresh investor interest 121 00:07:30.520 --> 00:07:33.640 is to is reviving a 20 million euro 122 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:37.400 financing deal. Despite pioneering Europe's 123 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:40.920 EVTOL ambitions, Lilium has 124 00:07:42.520 --> 00:07:45.760 endured cash burn layoffs and delayed 125 00:07:45.760 --> 00:07:49.560 certification milestones, so it's still relatively uncertain 126 00:07:50.280 --> 00:07:54.000 what their commercial future will bring. And now thinking 127 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:57.320 about dual use applications in defense and emergency services, 128 00:07:57.400 --> 00:08:00.580 Lilium is pivoting, kind of 129 00:08:01.700 --> 00:08:05.460 hedging the risk. And they are joining a wider European 130 00:08:05.460 --> 00:08:08.980 trend of aerospace startups turning to government based contracts 131 00:08:09.140 --> 00:08:11.940 to bridge long funding Cycles Cycles 132 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:17.060 N26 another company we've been talking about a lot 133 00:08:17.140 --> 00:08:20.580 here, a NEO bank based in Berlin, is 134 00:08:20.580 --> 00:08:24.260 facing a severe governance crisis since 135 00:08:25.070 --> 00:08:28.710 probably the most severe one since its founding as their 136 00:08:28.710 --> 00:08:32.310 Co founder and CEO Valentin Steif stepped down a 137 00:08:32.310 --> 00:08:35.310 couple of days ago August 15th earlier than planned 138 00:08:36.190 --> 00:08:39.950 reported for example by Golem and FR Set the The 139 00:08:39.950 --> 00:08:43.710 exit follows Baffin's special audit Bafin 140 00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:46.670 being the regulatory committee 141 00:08:47.230 --> 00:08:50.600 institution in financial supervisor financial 142 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:53.680 supervisor so they audited 143 00:08:53.680 --> 00:08:56.920 N26 and revealed serious deficiencies 144 00:08:56.920 --> 00:08:59.720 Gravira in fraud prevention and compliance 145 00:09:01.160 --> 00:09:05.000 revising raising investor impatience and regulatory pressure. 146 00:09:05.640 --> 00:09:09.240 The move also coincides with leadership reshuffles including 147 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:13.000 a new risk officer chief risk officer From Santander 148 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.070 replacing N26 outgoing Croatia 149 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:20.380 and together these developments mark a deep structural shakeup 150 00:09:20.540 --> 00:09:24.380 at a company where we've had a lot of shakeups. I mean we are 151 00:09:24.380 --> 00:09:26.780 we have been talking about them quite often now and 152 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:31.460 watching them from being a company where a lot of 153 00:09:31.460 --> 00:09:34.540 people were expecting great things from 154 00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:38.740 to something that right now feels as 155 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:42.540 if every month we come up with new with a 156 00:09:42.540 --> 00:09:46.230 new talk about okay this is their next issue. And 157 00:09:46.230 --> 00:09:49.990 the sad thing is that for example companies like a revolut 158 00:09:50.070 --> 00:09:53.670 show that the new bank model can work so it's at 159 00:09:53.670 --> 00:09:56.390 least right now is not working out as it could be. 160 00:09:58.550 --> 00:10:02.350 Moving on to Switzerland where we see the cleantech scale up 161 00:10:02.350 --> 00:10:05.510 Orange bet having secured a landmark 162 00:10:05.510 --> 00:10:08.990 825 million euros allocation from the 163 00:10:08.990 --> 00:10:12.430 European hydrogen bank. According to Moneycap, the 164 00:10:12.430 --> 00:10:15.950 funding will be used to expand industrial scale 165 00:10:15.950 --> 00:10:19.110 hydrogen production and infrastructure projects across Europe. 166 00:10:19.910 --> 00:10:23.590 So Orange Bat is 167 00:10:23.590 --> 00:10:27.110 going to become one of the largest single hydrogen allocations 168 00:10:28.390 --> 00:10:31.750 tied to a dark based company. 169 00:10:32.390 --> 00:10:35.790 Orange Bats Win underscores Brussels determination to 170 00:10:35.790 --> 00:10:39.110 accelerate green hydrogen commercialization as part of 171 00:10:39.430 --> 00:10:42.630 the EU's decarbonization strategy, and it also 172 00:10:42.630 --> 00:10:46.330 positions the Swiss player alongside other continental leaders such as 173 00:10:46.330 --> 00:10:48.690 Sunfire from Germany or H2 mobility 174 00:10:50.610 --> 00:10:54.410 sunbed. Sorry. Orange Bat is targeting both industrial 175 00:10:54.410 --> 00:10:57.890 energy users and cross border hydrogen corridors 176 00:10:58.210 --> 00:11:01.930 and aims to become a central enabler of Europe's 177 00:11:01.930 --> 00:11:03.650 clean tech transitions. 178 00:11:06.530 --> 00:11:10.090 And that's it with the really Big Top 179 00:11:10.090 --> 00:11:13.760 News section. And that leaves us 180 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:15.600 with our first little ad break. 181 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.800 Taking over after the ad break from Chris we 182 00:11:24.800 --> 00:11:28.520 do we don't put anything here in housekeeping 183 00:11:28.520 --> 00:11:32.000 and time to brag this month, 184 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.120 but there'll be more coming up. Talking about the 185 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:38.970 ecosystem here in Europe, the European 186 00:11:38.970 --> 00:11:42.530 innovation council selects 40 startups for new 187 00:11:42.530 --> 00:11:45.410 funding round reported by Silicon Canals. 188 00:11:46.450 --> 00:11:49.930 They select the 40 startups from across Europe for 189 00:11:49.930 --> 00:11:52.930 equity and grant support. The companies span 190 00:11:53.169 --> 00:11:57.010 biotech, AI and sustainability, reflecting 191 00:11:57.010 --> 00:12:00.730 EU level support for scaling deep tech. Several dark 192 00:12:00.730 --> 00:12:03.090 startups are included, though not all 193 00:12:04.310 --> 00:12:07.350 names were disclosed in this article. Two companies, 194 00:12:07.590 --> 00:12:11.350 Quant Qwant and a 195 00:12:11.830 --> 00:12:15.270 Ecosia launch, Stan St AAN 196 00:12:15.910 --> 00:12:19.670 Europe's independent search index TechCrunch, reported 197 00:12:20.070 --> 00:12:23.390 that French search engine Quant and German Echo search 198 00:12:23.390 --> 00:12:27.230 provider Ecosia jointly launch Stan, a European search 199 00:12:27.230 --> 00:12:30.910 index designed as a privacy first alternative to 200 00:12:30.910 --> 00:12:34.630 Google. They aim to enhance Europe's digital 201 00:12:34.710 --> 00:12:38.050 sovereignty and lay the groundwork for AI native 202 00:12:38.370 --> 00:12:42.210 retrieval systems. The launch could reshape the European search and 203 00:12:42.290 --> 00:12:45.970 ad tech market. The talk 204 00:12:46.370 --> 00:12:50.077 going to Germany here the E4 business climate 205 00:12:50.203 --> 00:12:53.529 index edges higher in July 2025 206 00:12:53.664 --> 00:12:57.490 On July 25, 2025, the Ifo Institute in 207 00:12:57.490 --> 00:13:01.210 Munich reported a modest increase in its closely 208 00:13:01.210 --> 00:13:04.750 watched Business Climate Index, reflecting cautious 209 00:13:04.910 --> 00:13:08.270 optimism in the German economy. Sentiment 210 00:13:08.270 --> 00:13:12.110 improved in industry and services, but remained weak in construction 211 00:13:12.110 --> 00:13:15.870 and retail. In other 212 00:13:15.870 --> 00:13:19.550 news Dresden tops sum up 2025 213 00:13:19.550 --> 00:13:23.270 cost ranking for founders Leipzig and 214 00:13:23.270 --> 00:13:27.070 Bremen Follow Sum ups Analyzers of 215 00:13:27.070 --> 00:13:30.510 71 German cities ranked Dresden number one for cost 216 00:13:30.510 --> 00:13:34.210 efficient funding, citing low retail ren utilities 217 00:13:34.210 --> 00:13:37.050 and competitive effective corporate tax. 218 00:13:37.690 --> 00:13:41.290 Leipzig placed second, Bremen third while 219 00:13:41.290 --> 00:13:45.130 Munich ranked last among the top 20 due to high rents 220 00:13:45.130 --> 00:13:48.330 and utilities. But apparently you could still work 221 00:13:48.890 --> 00:13:52.570 as a high rent startup hub. The study weights median wages, 222 00:13:52.570 --> 00:13:56.410 unemployment, rents, utilities and effective corporate tax, 223 00:13:56.810 --> 00:14:00.250 signaling cost advantages in East German hubs 224 00:14:00.330 --> 00:14:03.480 for early stage teams. KFW 225 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:07.000 Kronungs Monitor meaning The 226 00:14:07.400 --> 00:14:10.880 Founding Monitor 2025 reports stable 227 00:14:10.880 --> 00:14:14.040 startup activity despite economic headwinds. 228 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:19.080 Munich Startup summarized The Kfw Kronungs monitor 2025 229 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.680 showing that the number of new businesses in Germany remains 230 00:14:22.680 --> 00:14:26.400 robust. Early stage activity is supported by resilience 231 00:14:26.400 --> 00:14:30.040 in tech and digital sectors. Even as macroeconomic 232 00:14:30.040 --> 00:14:33.550 uncertainty of waits on financing 233 00:14:33.550 --> 00:14:37.070 policymakers are watching indicators closely to 234 00:14:37.070 --> 00:14:40.270 refine support schemes. German 235 00:14:40.430 --> 00:14:44.070 GDP dips again Technical Recession looms in 236 00:14:44.070 --> 00:14:47.910 Q2 2025 Tageschauer it's like the 237 00:14:47.910 --> 00:14:51.310 main news source in Germany, right? Everybody watches 238 00:14:51.310 --> 00:14:54.990 Tageschauer 8 in Germany. It's the law. You have to watch the 239 00:14:54.990 --> 00:14:58.510 law. Yeah. They reported that Germany's economy shrank by 240 00:14:58.510 --> 00:15:02.150 0.2% in Q2 after flat Q1 meeting the 241 00:15:02.150 --> 00:15:05.410 definition technical recession. Exports and 242 00:15:05.410 --> 00:15:08.810 industrial output weakened while private consumption 243 00:15:08.810 --> 00:15:12.210 stagnated despite easing inflation. The 244 00:15:12.210 --> 00:15:15.770 downturn adds pressure to fiscal debates and heightens 245 00:15:15.770 --> 00:15:19.610 importance of startup innovation driven growth narratives in the D 246 00:15:19.610 --> 00:15:23.130 region. Berlin to set new financial rains for 247 00:15:23.450 --> 00:15:26.890 Rails for defense startups to speed procurement 248 00:15:26.970 --> 00:15:30.810 and scale. Handels Blood reported the federal government 249 00:15:30.890 --> 00:15:34.400 will establish funding procurement vision meaning 250 00:15:34.400 --> 00:15:38.240 Rails to help defense tech startups commercialize faster. 251 00:15:38.880 --> 00:15:42.560 Aligns with dual use momentum and NATO 252 00:15:42.560 --> 00:15:46.080 related demand to use. Didn't we just have something with 253 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:49.760 lilium like that? No new budget timelines versus 254 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:54.520 our priority entry. Germany clears 255 00:15:54.520 --> 00:15:58.040 the path for remote operated driving pilots 256 00:15:58.040 --> 00:16:01.400 opening the door for tailor up for teleoperation 257 00:16:01.400 --> 00:16:05.140 startups. German authorities signal the go 258 00:16:05.140 --> 00:16:08.660 ahead for remote control driving pilots establishing the 259 00:16:08.660 --> 00:16:12.340 framework for teleoperation in logistics and mobility. The 260 00:16:12.340 --> 00:16:15.620 policy shift could benefit companies building teledriving 261 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:19.260 stacks, remote op centers and safety cases 262 00:16:19.420 --> 00:16:22.780 align with EU rules. The article does not name specific 263 00:16:22.780 --> 00:16:26.540 startups. And Chris, you know what's very interesting? We 264 00:16:26.540 --> 00:16:29.740 actually talked about it. I talked with lawyer about it 265 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:33.740 inside Germany's autonomous driving law in 266 00:16:33.820 --> 00:16:36.380 2021 because this was 267 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:41.280 within the frame of a law. So we have been quite ahead of the curve 268 00:16:41.280 --> 00:16:45.080 here. But Chris, you looks pretty Bavarian. You want to 269 00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:48.920 take over Bavaria here? It's. It's a unique thing that they are highlighted here. 270 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:53.560 I mean you're white and you're dressed in white and blue too. 271 00:16:54.040 --> 00:16:57.720 But yeah, I mean autonomous driving this is also a story that is 272 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:01.360 with. Has been with us forever and we've been promised that we are so close 273 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:05.040 to finally actually making it work way more apparently works 274 00:17:05.040 --> 00:17:08.360 pretty well on the US west coast. But so far, I mean 275 00:17:08.900 --> 00:17:11.940 sure, if you went back in the archives that you 276 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:13.860 would be able to find 277 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:19.860 assumptions, promises that would have said okay, in 278 00:17:19.860 --> 00:17:23.540 2025 there will be autonomous driving everywhere 279 00:17:23.860 --> 00:17:26.660 and not much, not much has happened. 280 00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:31.100 Yeah but we, we've already discussed it in 2021. 281 00:17:31.100 --> 00:17:34.900 So there will be one person ahead of a lot of screens and if, 282 00:17:35.070 --> 00:17:38.270 if any autonomous driving vehicle gets into trouble, 283 00:17:38.830 --> 00:17:42.630 a human driver from a center takes over. That was basically 284 00:17:42.630 --> 00:17:46.390 the idea we discussed in 2021 and now it seems to 285 00:17:46.390 --> 00:17:49.990 become reality, at least in ports. There also was a huge 286 00:17:49.990 --> 00:17:53.670 report in Guardian based on reporting I think even for 287 00:17:53.670 --> 00:17:56.350 hundreds platform Germany about how 288 00:17:56.590 --> 00:17:59.950 nonchalant Tesla actually deals with 289 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:05.480 really deadly crashes and the car taking over when 290 00:18:05.560 --> 00:18:09.320 the drivers don't really want it. And then actually a 291 00:18:09.320 --> 00:18:12.440 lot of times the people who are 292 00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:17.119 the, who survive, who are the 293 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:20.840 survivors of the of the dead people probably never 294 00:18:20.840 --> 00:18:24.640 get answers for what actually happened in the car and why the crash 295 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:28.350 happened, why it accelerated. It was really, it was a really disturbing reading. 296 00:18:28.820 --> 00:18:32.020 Anyway, Bavaria, 297 00:18:32.580 --> 00:18:36.260 we established it already. White and blue state in the German 298 00:18:36.260 --> 00:18:40.100 south passes a landmark resolution 299 00:18:40.100 --> 00:18:43.780 to unlock foundation capital for startups NVC funds. 300 00:18:45.700 --> 00:18:49.220 The Bavarian parliament approved a pro startup resolution 301 00:18:49.780 --> 00:18:52.980 to invest in startups MVC funds. A little policy 302 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:56.700 tweak that aims at attracting more 303 00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:59.580 endowment capital into dark venture markets. 304 00:19:01.180 --> 00:19:05.020 Austria, to the south of Bavaria and to the 305 00:19:05.020 --> 00:19:08.460 south of Germany. There we see 306 00:19:08.860 --> 00:19:12.540 what they call a Grundave founders wave, 307 00:19:12.940 --> 00:19:16.300 meaning there's a clear uptick in new company formations in Austria, 308 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:20.980 despite the macro headwinds, a surge indicating 309 00:19:20.980 --> 00:19:24.140 resilient founder activity, improving access 310 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:28.040 vehicles, public co funding corporates and regional initiatives. 311 00:19:28.840 --> 00:19:32.360 We have in the show notes details split for different 312 00:19:32.360 --> 00:19:36.200 sectors and seed series totals. Vienna based 313 00:19:36.280 --> 00:19:39.800 Allocator1 launches a fund of funds for 314 00:19:39.800 --> 00:19:42.680 European VC. It's a 315 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:47.560 platform designed to channel institutional money into 316 00:19:47.560 --> 00:19:51.360 European VC funds and the startup model aims to 317 00:19:51.360 --> 00:19:55.040 diversify LP risk and simplify access to 318 00:19:55.040 --> 00:19:58.530 venture investment investments. Switzerland, 319 00:19:59.170 --> 00:20:02.490 as we say in geography, to the left of 320 00:20:02.490 --> 00:20:05.570 Austria, west of Austria 321 00:20:06.610 --> 00:20:10.370 has no. You just said to the left, Chris. 322 00:20:10.850 --> 00:20:14.370 Yeah, that's what we say. Pinterest launches a new 323 00:20:14.370 --> 00:20:18.170 AI tech hub in Zurich in order to strengthen their Dach 324 00:20:18.170 --> 00:20:21.690 region footprint and also 325 00:20:21.690 --> 00:20:25.370 signaling a major investment in local research and development. The 326 00:20:25.370 --> 00:20:29.070 hub will focus on personalization, generative AI and content 327 00:20:29.870 --> 00:20:32.750 safety. And this, 328 00:20:33.630 --> 00:20:37.230 our dear friends, is already the end of 329 00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:41.150 part one of our startup news. We 330 00:20:41.150 --> 00:20:44.870 will be back in three days. For 331 00:20:44.870 --> 00:20:48.430 those of you who listen to us on day one, if you download 332 00:20:48.430 --> 00:20:51.870 us later, you can also wait three days. But you can also just go into 333 00:20:51.870 --> 00:20:54.750 your app and download the second part if you want to. 334 00:20:55.470 --> 00:20:59.210 So thanks for now and we'll hear you 335 00:20:59.210 --> 00:21:01.610 soon. Talk soon. Bye guys. 336 00:21:07.050 --> 00:21:10.650 That's all folks. Find more news, streams, 337 00:21:10.810 --> 00:21:11.850 events and 338 00:21:11.850 --> 00:21:16.250 interviews@www.startuprad.IO. 339 00:21:16.650 --> 00:21:18.890 remember, sharing is caring. 340 00:21:22.460 --> 00:21:32.170 Sam.