Latest / Deep Tech Germany – AI, Robotics & Frontier Innovation by Startuprad.io™ / March 2024: €7B into Green Startups vs €150M Fintech
Transcript
- WEBVTT 00:00:04.877 --> 00:00:12.597 Welcome to StartupRAD.io, your podcast and YouTube blog covering the German 00:00:12.597 --> 00:00:17.337 startup scene with news, interviews, and live events. 00:00:20.397 --> 00:00:25.677 Hello and welcome everybody. This is Joe from StartupRaid.io bringing you another 00:00:25.677 --> 00:00:31.277 episode in this month in German, Swiss and Austrian startups for March 2024. 00:00:31.817 --> 00:00:35.597 I would like to welcome my co-host and co-founder Chris from New York City. 00:00:35.677 --> 00:00:37.097 As always, how are you doing Chris? 00:00:38.217 --> 00:00:41.877 I'm very well. Sun is shining, but also there's construction in front of my 00:00:41.877 --> 00:00:43.837 building. It started at 7 a.m. 00:00:44.857 --> 00:00:47.597 Even on the Sunday yesterday. today but we will 00:00:47.597 --> 00:00:51.177 get through it we'll get through it totally um 00:00:51.177 --> 00:00:54.297 as always we try to get you 00:00:54.297 --> 00:00:57.437 a news wrap up of germany austria and switzerland startup and 00:00:57.437 --> 00:01:01.277 technology news in 30 minutes or less um 00:01:01.277 --> 00:01:06.657 and our recording date is march 25th and our next news will be published on 00:01:06.657 --> 00:01:12.957 april 25th happy easter the publication date is holy thursday or as we call 00:01:12.957 --> 00:01:18.437 it in germany cool donors talk The Friday before Easter and the Monday after 00:01:18.437 --> 00:01:20.937 Easter are public holidays, so shops will be closed. 00:01:21.457 --> 00:01:25.457 And many people will take off either the week before or after Easter. 00:01:26.137 --> 00:01:32.537 So don't expect the people to get back to you in form of emails or calls pretty soon. 00:01:33.157 --> 00:01:38.997 We do have pretty big news. We do believe we see a seismic shift in the regional 00:01:38.997 --> 00:01:45.817 startup scene. You are witnessing a seismic shift in the GSA startup scene with us here and today. 00:01:46.117 --> 00:01:51.377 The headlines of our startup news used to be dominated by fintech fundings. 00:01:51.717 --> 00:01:57.117 Now we have more than 7 billion euros, yes, billion would be, 00:01:57.317 --> 00:02:02.897 investments in green tech startups like battery and renewable energy versus 00:02:02.897 --> 00:02:10.017 only, and I put this in air quotes, of 150 million in fintech funding in different forms. 00:02:10.237 --> 00:02:16.597 So this is surely a foretaste of what's to come. Actually, getting pretty excited thinking about it. 00:02:17.357 --> 00:02:22.757 Our highlight, the European energy landscape is witnessing significant development 00:02:22.757 --> 00:02:26.057 with key investments across sectors. 00:02:26.057 --> 00:02:33.597 Northworld Gigafactory in northern Germany backed by 900 million in subsidies and 4.5, 00:02:34.094 --> 00:02:38.934 billion, yes with a B, aims to produce 1 million car batteries annually, 00:02:39.154 --> 00:02:42.554 driving electric vehicle adoption and job creation. 00:02:43.114 --> 00:02:49.594 NPAL secures 1.1 billion refinancing commitments, while Sunfire raises over 00:02:49.594 --> 00:02:54.674 500 million bolstering Europe's green hydrogen economy. 00:02:55.634 --> 00:03:03.874 Nviria secures 200 million in capital from BlackRock signaling confidence in the solar sector. 00:03:04.234 --> 00:03:12.574 Solaris Bank secures 96 million in funding but faces 6.5 million finds from 00:03:12.574 --> 00:03:17.214 BaFin reflecting FinTech regulatory challenges. 00:03:17.654 --> 00:03:24.414 And Magic, an AI startup from Austria game faction with open AIs and Tesla's 00:03:24.414 --> 00:03:27.334 former Andrei Kapovsky as investor, 00:03:27.694 --> 00:03:33.874 Big Panda establishes a 50 million VC fund for blockchain startups, of course. 00:03:34.074 --> 00:03:39.034 However, the startup community grapples with stress with nearly half considering 00:03:39.034 --> 00:03:42.594 quitting, underscoring the toll of rapid innovation. 00:03:43.234 --> 00:03:47.934 As we said, our podcast will go live audio and video on March 28th. 00:03:47.934 --> 00:03:52.574 If you are a member of our YouTube channel you can get early access. 00:03:53.574 --> 00:03:58.394 We will be available on all the usual suspects including our internet radio 00:03:58.394 --> 00:04:04.214 station startup.radio and you can get our content straight into your inbox or 00:04:04.214 --> 00:04:10.614 cell phone with our Substack newsletter or our Telegram radio startup radio channel. 00:04:11.094 --> 00:04:14.854 You can find all the channels all the LinkedIns everything 00:04:14.854 --> 00:04:18.074 we have there including our TikTok account on 00:04:18.074 --> 00:04:20.974 link free forward slash startup radio 00:04:20.974 --> 00:04:24.734 link in the show notes let's get 00:04:24.734 --> 00:04:27.674 to our enablers this recording is supported 00:04:27.674 --> 00:04:31.114 by hasn't trade in the west and then price your network this 00:04:31.114 --> 00:04:36.014 recording was made possible by hti and the enterprise europe network hasn't 00:04:36.014 --> 00:04:40.534 these organizations have made tremendous contributions to helping startup businesses 00:04:40.534 --> 00:04:46.474 succeed and thrive providing a range of services from helping to find grants 00:04:46.474 --> 00:04:47.814 to ongoing partnerships. 00:04:48.174 --> 00:04:53.634 By taking advantage of these resources, startup companies can network and develop 00:04:53.634 --> 00:04:57.574 innovative strategies for success on the international stage. 00:04:58.034 --> 00:05:03.934 The dedicated support of HDII and the Enterprise Network Hessen is paramount 00:05:03.934 --> 00:05:07.534 in providing startup businesses with the tools for lasting success. 00:05:07.934 --> 00:05:10.054 Look for our dedicated sub podcast 00:05:10.054 --> 00:05:15.354 in partnership with them tech startups germany or again on our link tree. 00:05:15.894 --> 00:05:20.234 And of course startupraven.com the best way to identify investors and cooperation 00:05:20.234 --> 00:05:25.234 partners for early stage startups sign up for early access here and heading 00:05:25.234 --> 00:05:26.634 over to chris for the top news. 00:05:29.035 --> 00:05:33.755 Yes, exactly. And I mean, in headline form, you were already talking about them. 00:05:34.475 --> 00:05:39.835 Probably the biggest and even the freshest story right off today is the one about Northvolt. 00:05:40.855 --> 00:05:46.995 They had their groundbreaking ceremony for a gigafactory of electrical batteries in Germany. 00:05:46.995 --> 00:05:51.995 And that whole topic is so important in German politics that even the Chancellor 00:05:51.995 --> 00:05:56.255 Olaf Scholz himself attended the groundbreaking ceremony today. 00:05:57.515 --> 00:06:03.595 Germany was fighting over this factory of Nordvolt with the U.S., 00:06:03.595 --> 00:06:08.655 but in the end, Germany won out because the German government secured more subsidies for it. 00:06:08.775 --> 00:06:15.515 900 million euros in subsidies will be invested. 700 million coming from the 00:06:15.515 --> 00:06:19.595 state of Schleswig-Holstein, which is the northernmost state in Germany, 00:06:19.755 --> 00:06:21.295 and 200 million guaranteed. 00:06:23.075 --> 00:06:28.075 It is traditionally a region where there is not a lot of high-tech jobs, 00:06:28.475 --> 00:06:31.315 so everyone there is also very keen on it. 00:06:31.415 --> 00:06:34.315 But I think it's still nevertheless an interesting decision, 00:06:34.415 --> 00:06:38.395 especially given the fact that, for example, the Gigafactory close to Berlin 00:06:38.395 --> 00:06:43.475 with Tesla has issues and there's a huge discussion going on. 00:06:43.675 --> 00:06:48.555 So the Swedish company wants to produce up to 1 million car batteries a year 00:06:48.555 --> 00:06:50.495 there for electric vehicles. 00:06:50.615 --> 00:06:54.175 They want to employ up to 3,000 people, let they say. And the company itself 00:06:54.175 --> 00:06:57.715 wants to invest an additional 4.5 billion euros. 00:06:58.055 --> 00:07:01.455 That's around 4.9 billion US dollars right now. 00:07:01.955 --> 00:07:05.335 Then other top stories right now. 00:07:05.495 --> 00:07:11.395 NPAL secures 1.1 billion euros. That's in refinancing commitments for German 00:07:11.395 --> 00:07:14.155 residential solar and heat pump securitizations. 00:07:15.195 --> 00:07:18.775 Sunfire raises €500 million in funding. 00:07:18.955 --> 00:07:23.615 They are based in Dresden and are an electrolyzer manufacturer. 00:07:24.755 --> 00:07:29.535 They got €500 million in funding. And we got two different sources about this. 00:07:29.675 --> 00:07:34.615 And their goal is basically to boast European's green hydrogen economy. 00:07:36.055 --> 00:07:41.475 Enviria, in your hometown Frankfurt, is one of Germany's leading commercial 00:07:41.475 --> 00:07:43.755 and industrial solar companies as well. 00:07:43.855 --> 00:07:48.875 They secured a capital commitment of over $200 million from BlackRock, 00:07:49.015 --> 00:07:51.775 so a very famous investor there. 00:07:52.095 --> 00:07:59.495 We have also several sources about this if you are interested in some in-depth 00:07:59.495 --> 00:08:00.955 information in our show notes. 00:08:02.155 --> 00:08:08.215 There is, we found news about Solaris Bank, good and bad news to be honest. 00:08:09.095 --> 00:08:15.075 Solaris raised 96 million euros in funding, led by SoftBank International and 00:08:15.075 --> 00:08:16.175 other existing investors. 00:08:17.315 --> 00:08:22.135 Funding is for the expansion of the ADAC credit card program, 00:08:22.355 --> 00:08:24.675 or as the Germans obviously say, ADAC. 00:08:26.415 --> 00:08:31.495 ADAC in Germany is what AAA is in the US. It's Germany's and Europe's largest 00:08:31.495 --> 00:08:32.415 automobile association. 00:08:33.275 --> 00:08:37.555 They have more than 21 million members. They are best known for yellow cars 00:08:37.555 --> 00:08:38.895 providing roadside assistance. 00:08:39.515 --> 00:08:45.475 And a fun fact also is that their membership magazine is actually the most printed 00:08:45.475 --> 00:08:47.215 magazine in German media. 00:08:47.415 --> 00:08:52.395 I think they have like more than 12 million people who get it sent to their homes. 00:08:52.475 --> 00:08:55.735 But it's probably not only like, say it again. 00:08:56.195 --> 00:08:59.415 Still physically printed. Still physically printed. 00:08:59.735 --> 00:09:07.255 So it is the biggest magazine. It's also probably the most unread magazine in Germany. I have no idea. 00:09:08.255 --> 00:09:14.055 And BaFin, but also BaFin, fines German fintech Solaris 6.5 million euros for 00:09:14.055 --> 00:09:18.615 late filing systematic anti-money laundry reports. 00:09:19.195 --> 00:09:25.895 And we have more articles about that in our show notes as well. 00:09:25.895 --> 00:09:31.815 So looking at Austria, where the AI startup Magic gets a famous investor on 00:09:31.815 --> 00:09:37.835 board, namely Andrej Karpati, one of the founding members of OpenAI and head of AI for Tesla. 00:09:38.895 --> 00:09:45.035 He left there to focus on other projects, and one now seems to be the investment 00:09:45.035 --> 00:09:48.215 in the Vienna-based AI startup Magic. 00:09:49.095 --> 00:09:52.155 Bitpanda set up its own VC fund. 00:09:52.155 --> 00:09:55.575 They announced that they have set their own first VC fund together with other 00:09:55.575 --> 00:10:01.155 investors totaling 50 million euros to invest around 250,000 to 2 million in 00:10:01.155 --> 00:10:04.135 startups in the digital assets, blockchain and crypto space. 00:10:05.055 --> 00:10:13.495 Bitpanda also liquidated a subsidiary, BP22 Fundleih GmbH, basically their pawn shop. 00:10:14.115 --> 00:10:15.895 Pawn, P-A-W-N. 00:10:19.255 --> 00:10:24.895 Just making sure, right? Yeah. Founders are feeling stress, 00:10:25.315 --> 00:10:32.695 that's not a money issue, but we found this interesting survey where 49% of 00:10:32.695 --> 00:10:36.815 founders said that they are considering quitting their startup this year because 00:10:36.815 --> 00:10:39.995 they tell SIFT that they are overworked, exhausted, 00:10:40.235 --> 00:10:42.155 and just plain broken. 00:10:42.775 --> 00:10:45.375 You know what's not broken? Our numbers. 00:10:46.996 --> 00:10:50.696 Ah housekeeping and time to brag yes we 00:10:50.696 --> 00:10:53.476 reached a massive milestone thanks to all the people 00:10:53.476 --> 00:10:56.216 out here um we have surpassed more 00:10:56.216 --> 00:10:59.136 than 1 million confirmed downloads in 00:10:59.136 --> 00:11:02.256 just q4 2023 thank you 00:11:02.256 --> 00:11:05.636 for all the people who made it possible um we 00:11:05.636 --> 00:11:10.136 just came we just got the numbers together because our hosting service changed 00:11:10.136 --> 00:11:15.476 their setup and enabled us to dig a little bit deeper into statistics And it 00:11:15.476 --> 00:11:22.496 turned out we had 1,071,970 downloads in October, November, and December last year. 00:11:22.856 --> 00:11:26.636 That really feels amazing, Chris. I have to say it. 00:11:26.716 --> 00:11:31.076 If you're looking to cooperate with us, go down here in the show notes. 00:11:31.136 --> 00:11:34.296 There is a link to our action food storefront. 00:11:34.596 --> 00:11:37.656 Chris, handing over back to you with the ecosystem. system? 00:11:37.896 --> 00:11:44.116 Yeah, and these are stories that have an influence on the German startup market 00:11:44.116 --> 00:11:46.116 or on the startup market in general. 00:11:47.096 --> 00:11:51.996 We found a couple of stories even of global relevance that are interesting to us. 00:11:52.096 --> 00:11:59.656 For example, one statistic around energy startups where it is said that that 00:11:59.656 --> 00:12:04.756 as mega rounds become rarer, energy startups are powering up. 00:12:05.496 --> 00:12:12.116 It's an in-depth article from TechCrunch, where they basically look at what 00:12:12.116 --> 00:12:15.716 you also said in the beginning, that the green tech sector is getting bigger and bigger. 00:12:16.136 --> 00:12:21.016 And startups in general are still buying fewer startups. 00:12:21.296 --> 00:12:27.556 Sounds a bit incestuous, the whole scene, But nevertheless, also global statistics 00:12:27.556 --> 00:12:30.736 about the investments in startups. 00:12:30.956 --> 00:12:40.176 Moving on to Europe, narrowing our focus a bit, Unternehmertum tops the ranking 00:12:40.176 --> 00:12:43.776 of Europe's leading startup hubs. 00:12:45.176 --> 00:12:50.836 It's based in Munich and TUM is the Technical University of Munich. 00:12:51.176 --> 00:12:52.596 Learn more in our interview. 00:12:54.459 --> 00:13:01.079 Exactly. And famous also in Germany because it was set up by Susanne Klatten, 00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:05.899 which is probably, I don't know, sometimes I think she was even ranked as being 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:07.599 the richest person in Germany. 00:13:07.699 --> 00:13:10.459 And she is the heiress of BMW. 00:13:11.379 --> 00:13:19.159 Yes. um the bmw founders or she has stakes in there whatever like she's she's loaded let's say um, 00:13:20.499 --> 00:13:23.419 and we found a list of the top 100 00:13:23.419 --> 00:13:30.939 next unicorns 14 of those so-called sunicorns on the list are from germany 22 00:13:30.939 --> 00:13:38.259 from the uk 21 are from france austria only one in total 16 countries had entries 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:42.539 on the list so it's just a european list but nevertheless switzerland Switzerland was not mentioned. 00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:48.919 From Germany those startups are Amboss, Anydesk, Aux Money, Avi Medical, 00:13:49.239 --> 00:13:50.899 Camunda, Distribution, 00:13:51.359 --> 00:13:57.679 Localize, Moonfair, Oviva, PriceFX, Spryker, Uberall, Xentral. 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:03.899 We had an interview with them recently. You can find that on our Medium website. 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:07.459 Website, Urban Sports Club, and from Austria, it's Plan Radar. 00:14:08.699 --> 00:14:13.699 In Switzerland, as I said, there are no entries on that list of soon-to-be unicorns, 00:14:13.699 --> 00:14:18.679 but Switzerland is usually more biotech-oriented, and those startups were not 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:21.639 included on the list anyway. 00:14:23.050 --> 00:14:27.790 Narrowing the focus even more, what is happening in the German ecosystem for 00:14:27.790 --> 00:14:32.130 startups, there is good news on economic indicators, the E4 Business Climate Index, 00:14:32.430 --> 00:14:41.150 which is basically asking for the sentiment of overall industries and the economic 00:14:41.150 --> 00:14:42.530 sentiment of overall industries. 00:14:42.530 --> 00:14:48.290 And that business climate index rose in March 2024. 00:14:48.730 --> 00:14:56.070 So sentiment in German companies has improved noticeably in the past couple of weeks or months. 00:14:56.610 --> 00:15:01.350 And in case you're curious about what kind of startups the investors are funding 00:15:01.350 --> 00:15:08.050 in Berlin, there's a new deal room analysis about this. 00:15:08.050 --> 00:15:11.050 Startups are receiving investments from largest 00:15:11.050 --> 00:15:14.990 to smallest in energy fintech oh 00:15:14.990 --> 00:15:17.790 now it gives me because the apple 00:15:17.790 --> 00:15:21.750 uh okay if you're just listening to this the problem is we are since we're also 00:15:21.750 --> 00:15:26.810 doing the video um and i gave a thumbs up because i was counting the one and 00:15:26.810 --> 00:15:34.550 so apple is adding the emojis the emojis okay so um startup receiving investments 00:15:34.550 --> 00:15:36.330 are in the fields of energy, 00:15:36.730 --> 00:15:41.190 fintech, food, health, real estate, marketing, travel. 00:15:41.390 --> 00:15:45.210 And then there's a bit of a the numbers fall off the cliff a bit. 00:15:46.690 --> 00:15:52.510 The German Ministry of Economic Affairs cuts its support for business angels 00:15:52.510 --> 00:15:58.790 and Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck dissolves his startup advisory board and 00:15:58.790 --> 00:16:01.550 sparking criticism from opposition parties in Germany. 00:16:01.910 --> 00:16:07.430 That's all in the German ecosystem. Let's have a look at some of the startup 00:16:07.430 --> 00:16:10.890 hubs in Germany and some of the cities where startup activity is happening. 00:16:12.076 --> 00:16:16.756 Yes, of course. We always start with my home turf, Frankfurt Rhein-Main. 00:16:16.896 --> 00:16:22.616 They win the bid to EU's new anti-money laundry authority. 00:16:22.936 --> 00:16:31.996 And Emma Matratzen, Emma Mattresses, has grown in 2023 to 962 million euros in revenue, plus 10%. 00:16:31.996 --> 00:16:35.936 Of course, you can learn more in our interview with them. 00:16:35.936 --> 00:16:40.216 Going a little bit south to Heidelberg, Biotech Affirmed, 00:16:40.336 --> 00:16:46.176 listed on Nasdaq, is on the hunt for a new CEO to navigate through crucial times 00:16:46.176 --> 00:16:51.136 with significant clinical tri-data on the horizon. They are in cancer treatment. 00:16:51.396 --> 00:16:56.236 The recent departure of the CEO and a 1-10 stock split, the journey ahead is 00:16:56.236 --> 00:16:57.696 filled with anticipation. 00:16:57.976 --> 00:17:04.436 Stay tuned for updates. Talk about Cologne here, DeepL to open first US office 00:17:04.436 --> 00:17:06.696 as adoption of the market stores. 00:17:07.476 --> 00:17:12.976 NX Technology, a Cologne-based fintech that operates the automotive payment 00:17:12.976 --> 00:17:19.696 management platform Bezal.de, raises 22 million euros in CSP funding. 00:17:19.696 --> 00:17:29.396 Stuttgart, Assemblio, provider of software platform to plan assembly and generate 00:17:29.396 --> 00:17:31.816 automatic assistance systems for production, 00:17:32.016 --> 00:17:35.176 raises 2.1 million in seed funding. 00:17:35.656 --> 00:17:39.996 Ostfilden, just 10 kilometers south of southeast of Stuttgart, 00:17:40.756 --> 00:17:48.196 protein distillery, a plant based food company, raised 15 million years in seed 00:17:48.196 --> 00:17:50.696 funding. and you have a trivia story to Ostfildern. 00:17:51.916 --> 00:17:56.476 Yes, I do. Since I lived in Stuttgart for more than 14 years, 00:17:56.596 --> 00:18:01.316 I'd say, 12 years, I was sometimes covering Ostfildern. 00:18:01.436 --> 00:18:07.716 And the fun fact about Ostfildern is that in the history of space. 00:18:10.616 --> 00:18:13.556 Of people going to space, there has only been 00:18:13.556 --> 00:18:19.136 one single person who came from the country of Afghanistan Afghanistan and became 00:18:19.136 --> 00:18:23.796 a cosmonaut because he was on a Soviet Union mission and he was on one of the 00:18:23.796 --> 00:18:28.356 last missions of the Soviet Union in the late 80s and that person coming from 00:18:28.356 --> 00:18:31.616 Afghanistan now lives in this German, 00:18:33.476 --> 00:18:35.356 suburb town of Ostfildern. 00:18:35.516 --> 00:18:39.016 I met him, I covered him in his living room. 00:18:39.116 --> 00:18:45.576 There's a huge poster of his mission and the special stamp that the postal service 00:18:45.576 --> 00:18:47.876 in Afghanistan issued in his name. 00:18:48.036 --> 00:18:52.676 And I mean, it was also really weird because he's living this like small town German life. 00:18:52.876 --> 00:19:00.076 And there was a sadness about him too. But I asked him whether he considers himself a hero. 00:19:00.336 --> 00:19:08.716 And he looked at me and he said, Christian, a real man can never talk of himself as being a hero. 00:19:10.321 --> 00:19:13.241 Wise words going a little bit to the north in 00:19:13.241 --> 00:19:18.901 hamburg hamburg's novo cup startup raises 25 million euros and hayflow a tool 00:19:18.901 --> 00:19:25.481 which we also knew uh use raises 16 million in series a funding osnabrück new 00:19:25.481 --> 00:19:32.061 taste six years 21 million euros in funding for restaurant discovery and in the city of Essen, 00:19:32.321 --> 00:19:35.781 Green Light Carbon Technologies, 00:19:36.161 --> 00:19:43.801 Light with an Y, an Essen, Germany-based direct air capture startup raises 10.5 00:19:43.801 --> 00:19:47.281 million in pre-Series A funding. 00:19:47.761 --> 00:19:52.681 I wouldn't be able to tell what those guys are doing or what pre-Series A is. 00:19:52.801 --> 00:19:54.381 But handing over to Chris here. 00:19:55.581 --> 00:19:58.921 Yes, and I take a look at Austria. Austria. 00:19:59.101 --> 00:20:04.961 First up there is Fratello, which is a startup that teaches you how to play the guitar. 00:20:05.821 --> 00:20:13.681 They are undergoing a restructuring with Berthold Baurek-Karlicz stepping in as the new interim CEO. 00:20:15.481 --> 00:20:19.341 You can keep in mind the news from Magic and Bitpanda before that we were talking 00:20:19.341 --> 00:20:22.661 about. Then also Zizou, a Vienna-based 00:20:22.661 --> 00:20:29.221 yacht scale up, is rescued through acquisition after bankruptcy. 00:20:29.641 --> 00:20:36.101 And Zola's capital commits up to 30 million euros in energy projects for the scale up NEEOM. 00:20:38.941 --> 00:20:42.881 Chris, have you ever wondered how big the yachting scene in Vienna is? 00:20:42.881 --> 00:20:50.021 I mean, Austria is a landlocked country, and the little river of Wien, 00:20:52.524 --> 00:20:56.684 pretty tiny but there's also the danube there's 00:20:56.684 --> 00:20:59.644 also yeah yeah there's a new river but also 00:20:59.644 --> 00:21:02.884 no big yachting there i do believe no but uh very 00:21:02.884 --> 00:21:05.764 beautiful public pools in vienna to swim 00:21:05.764 --> 00:21:08.784 in the venue so that's a 00:21:08.784 --> 00:21:11.684 not very startup uh activity that is 00:21:11.684 --> 00:21:15.164 like really old school if you swim in a river in australia you feel as if you're 00:21:15.164 --> 00:21:21.744 right in the 1800s i think um moving on to switzerland where the education tech 00:21:21.744 --> 00:21:30.484 Avalan acquires the AI tool set Teach-O-Matic. 00:21:31.244 --> 00:21:36.604 Biotech food startup Cultivated Biosciences bags 4.6 million euros to improve 00:21:36.604 --> 00:21:37.824 their dairy-free products. 00:21:40.044 --> 00:21:43.484 We have more information about how they did that in our show notes. 00:21:43.484 --> 00:21:50.844 Actia, Actia, Actia, I think, a Neuchatel Switzerland-based health tech company 00:21:50.844 --> 00:21:55.304 providing optical blood pressure monitoring devices raised $30 million in funding. 00:21:55.844 --> 00:22:01.244 Validation Cloud, based in Zug in Switzerland, is a Web3 technology company. 00:22:01.324 --> 00:22:05.644 They raised $5.8 million in inaugural funding. 00:22:05.644 --> 00:22:13.204 Arga Medtech in Lausanne, so it's French, so maybe it's Arja, Arja Medtech, 00:22:13.424 --> 00:22:22.304 they are providing cardiac ablation systems to treat cardiac arrhythmias, 00:22:22.404 --> 00:22:25.984 they raised 54 million euros in Series B funding, 00:22:26.124 --> 00:22:31.804 so that's some serious money, and the Dutch revenue-based financing startup Levenu, 00:22:32.004 --> 00:22:38.844 Levenu, oh god these are all horrible I can really make like a lot of, 00:22:40.084 --> 00:22:43.384 enemies here they acquired the Zurich Fintech midfunder. 00:22:45.196 --> 00:22:53.956 Moving on to general news, tech news, company news, anything that got our interest 00:22:53.956 --> 00:22:55.176 in the last couple of weeks. 00:22:55.936 --> 00:22:58.976 First off, new funds in case you're looking for money. 00:22:59.336 --> 00:23:03.496 It's only a small selection, but we like talking about it because it also gives 00:23:03.496 --> 00:23:05.016 you hope that the money is out there. 00:23:05.676 --> 00:23:09.796 Verdane is an Oslo, Norway-based growth fund investment firm. 00:23:09.856 --> 00:23:15.896 They closed Verdane at R3 at 1.1 billion euros. Vardano will continue to invest 00:23:15.896 --> 00:23:19.836 them medically in European companies that help digitize and decarbonize the economy. 00:23:20.236 --> 00:23:25.276 We have the Berlin-based World Fund, which will provide €300 million to climate 00:23:25.276 --> 00:23:29.696 tech founders over the next few years, making its fund the largest climate-dedicated 00:23:29.696 --> 00:23:32.976 pool the continent has seen yet. 00:23:33.676 --> 00:23:38.416 Alpine Space Ventures secured a whopping €10 million from NATO's Innovation 00:23:38.416 --> 00:23:43.916 Fund, adding adding to their impressive 60 million euros from EIF last year. 00:23:44.076 --> 00:23:49.776 And Berlin's Web3 first-time fund secures over 10 million euros in a second 00:23:49.776 --> 00:23:55.276 closing, a strong signal for the new content-driven VC generation. Fintech. 00:23:56.076 --> 00:23:59.556 As we said, we are in a point of a seismic shift. 00:23:59.896 --> 00:24:05.356 Fintech news has been pretty small. Admittedly, we also had to deselect a lot 00:24:05.356 --> 00:24:08.576 of stuff here in order to stay in 30 minutes. payment cards. 00:24:08.736 --> 00:24:14.436 Trade Republic issues cease and desist declaration on unjust advertising after 00:24:14.436 --> 00:24:18.916 being sued by consumer advocate group, die Verbraucherzentrale. 00:24:19.276 --> 00:24:22.876 WeFox CEO Julian Teicher steps down from his position. 00:24:23.196 --> 00:24:28.316 Credit platforms Mava, known for their annoying TV commercials, is looking for a buyer. 00:24:28.796 --> 00:24:33.436 Chris, some general news? Yes, not really about Germany here, but still concerning. 00:24:33.576 --> 00:24:39.216 Every time OpenAI cuts a check for training data and unlaunched competitive startup dies. 00:24:40.796 --> 00:24:43.616 We have an article that explains what that means. 00:24:44.136 --> 00:24:48.196 Zendesk is to acquire Berlin's ultimate for AI customer support. 00:24:48.596 --> 00:24:53.736 Mahana Therapeutics acquires Berlin's Caracare, expanding digital treatment 00:24:53.736 --> 00:24:54.696 for chronic conditions. 00:24:55.176 --> 00:24:58.616 Defense Tech is all the rage, but investors have their guard up. 00:24:59.316 --> 00:25:04.356 An article looking into that industry. Berlin-based Power Data acquired by Conuti, 00:25:04.356 --> 00:25:09.916 a portfolio company of Nordholding, and former employees accuse NPAL of missing payments. 00:25:10.216 --> 00:25:14.596 One even takes legal action. Some of the issues there are further explained 00:25:14.596 --> 00:25:16.736 in our show notes as well. Creative destruction. 00:25:18.649 --> 00:25:22.929 Yeah not really insolvency but still bad news and related to the insolvency 00:25:22.929 --> 00:25:30.049 of sonomotors prosecutors investigate sonomotor solar cell pioneers over suspicions 00:25:30.049 --> 00:25:32.609 of deceiving of deceiving, 00:25:33.129 --> 00:25:38.989 for state grants so meaning they made false declarations to get those grants 00:25:38.989 --> 00:25:44.969 um finapo had to file for insolvency no investor could be found and so the company 00:25:44.969 --> 00:25:47.769 will be liquidated express Presssteuer, 00:25:47.829 --> 00:25:49.929 all employees now forced to leave, 00:25:50.109 --> 00:25:54.389 founder resurfaces for the first time since filing for insolvency. 00:25:55.209 --> 00:26:01.649 Trasio started out as an Amazon shop aggregator but now also surprisingly has to file for insolvency. 00:26:02.009 --> 00:26:09.529 Winner, an automotive startup from Halle, raised 92 million euros in total but 00:26:09.529 --> 00:26:16.129 has to shut down. and Berlin-based online advertising company Plista surprised all by shutting down. 00:26:16.709 --> 00:26:20.349 Employees have been called into an all-hands meeting and told the company will 00:26:20.349 --> 00:26:25.689 shut down immediately, according to the article we link down here in the show notes. 00:26:27.189 --> 00:26:33.309 Let's talk about more positive stuff and let's end on a high note of successful fundraising and exits. 00:26:33.409 --> 00:26:37.569 As always, keep in mind this is only a small selection. The news here and their 00:26:37.569 --> 00:26:42.969 total value show how resilient the startup scene in Europe or in German language countries is. 00:26:43.129 --> 00:26:48.889 We included some selected fundraisings above 5 million euros or US dollars. 00:26:49.529 --> 00:26:54.489 Especially this month, there were so many announcements that we could not include all funds raised. 00:26:54.849 --> 00:26:59.089 So a couple of highlights, very lightning round. Two bullies. 00:26:59.309 --> 00:27:07.049 Munich, Germany-based oncology company closed an upsized 128 million euro, 00:27:07.289 --> 00:27:10.489 nearly 140 million dollar series B2 financing. 00:27:10.489 --> 00:27:19.509 DRIAD Networks in Berlin, an ultra-early wildfire detection technology company, 00:27:20.249 --> 00:27:24.589 announced their initial closing of 5.6 million euros in convertible financing 00:27:24.589 --> 00:27:26.869 with a total round size of up to 10 million. 00:27:27.489 --> 00:27:33.269 DATO secures 5 million euros in a seed financing round. 00:27:36.589 --> 00:27:41.909 They want to further develop its platform into a solution for ESG compliance 00:27:41.909 --> 00:27:43.629 and sustainability management. 00:27:44.109 --> 00:27:48.869 And Razor Group, a Berlin-based technology-driven e-commerce company, 00:27:48.949 --> 00:27:52.669 raised an undisclosed amount in a Series D funding. 00:27:55.469 --> 00:27:59.649 And they are also an e-commerce company. 00:28:01.968 --> 00:28:07.428 That is all I got for now. We will be back on April 25th with the next news 00:28:07.428 --> 00:28:10.368 episode, and the next regular episode will go live next week. 00:28:10.548 --> 00:28:14.028 We say Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate that. 00:28:14.128 --> 00:28:15.908 Happy Eid. There's only a few 00:28:15.908 --> 00:28:22.648 days left for the people participating in Ramadan or following Ramadan. 00:28:24.108 --> 00:28:28.728 And we have some news for you to stay ahead of the curve. 00:28:28.948 --> 00:28:31.788 We are always looking for feedback. back there's a google form 00:28:31.788 --> 00:28:37.488 if you want to and apart from that i can just say thank you very much for listening 00:28:37.488 --> 00:28:45.008 as always and um goodbye from new york city goodbye guys enjoy your holidays 00:28:45.008 --> 00:28:49.808 enjoy your breaks bye bye tschüss that's a wrap bye bye. 00:28:53.360 --> 00:28:58.640 Music. 00:28:54.188 --> 00:29:04.068 That's all folks find more news streams events and interviews at www.startuprad.io 00:29:04.068 --> 00:29:06.648 remember sharing is caring. 00:29:07.600 --> 00:29:20.397 Music.