What Is This About? The April 2023 DACH startup news roundup delivers 30 minutes of essential updates from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — covering the month's most significant funding rounds, policy developments, ecosystem shifts, and founder stories shaping the German-speaking startup landscape. This article is part of our coverage of Monthly Startup News from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Executive Summary This blog post first appeared first on old medium publicat

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024. What Is This About? Global Savings Group is a Munich-based hidden giant in the shoppers rewards space — not a fintech, but a commerce technology company that connects millions of consumers with savings opportunities. This interview reveals how GSG built a billion-dollar business that most people in the st

This story was migrated from our old blog, originally published on March 3th 2022 What Is This About? Qualifyze, led by David Schneider, makes supply chains more transparent in the life science and chemical industries through digital audit management. After raising a $14 million Series A led by HV Capital, the startup is scaling its platform to help companies verify supplier quality across global networks. This article is part of our coverage of Scaleup Founder Interviews fro

This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024. What Is This About? Qualifyze digitizes supplier audits for the life science and chemical industries — making supply chain quality verification faster, more transparent, and scalable. This version of the interview explores how the startup's platform replaces manual audit processes with a digital-first app

VC firms in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland increasingly compete on operational support, not just capital. Portfolio companies receiving talent support from VCs reduce time-to-hire by 40% and improve executive acceptance rates by 60%. Leading firms like Earlybird, HV Capital, and Speedinvest deploy platform teams, AI tools, and continuation fund strategies. This page is part of the Venture Capital & Investor Perspectives pillar in the Startuprad.io Knowledge Center. In Shor

Venture capital fund formation in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland follows distinct structural patterns shaped by local corporate law, tax treatment, and the composition of the limited partner base. The dominance of government-affiliated LPs (KfW Capital, EIF) and family offices — particularly in Switzerland — creates a different dynamic than the US market, where pension funds and endowments play larger roles. This page is part of the Startuprad.io Knowledge Center, within t

Series A and B represent the transition from early-stage validation to repeatable growth. These rounds are where most startups either establish themselves as viable businesses or fail to progress — approximately 35% of startups receiving Series A funding do not advance to Series B. The dynamics of these rounds differ significantly across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland compared to the US, with round sizes on average 4.5 times smaller and valuations 6.9 times lower. This pag

Climate technology has become the largest venture capital category in several European markets, driven by regulatory pressure, corporate decarbonization demand, and the aftermath of the 2022 energy crisis. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland each bring distinct capabilities — Germany with industrial-scale energy transition, Switzerland with deep-tech carbon removal, and Austria with green building and circular economy innovation. In Short Executive Summary German cleantech comp

Venture capital in the German, Austrian, and Swiss markets operates under different structural conditions than in the United States or the United Kingdom. Fund sizes, LP composition, deal velocity, and portfolio management all follow patterns shaped by local regulation, cultural expectations, and the maturity of each ecosystem. Germany leads by volume with AI startups alone attracting EUR 1.8 billion across 244 deals in 2024. Switzerland punches above its weight in deep tech,

Startup funding in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland follows patterns that are structurally distinct from the United States and from each other. Each country has its own mix of public funding instruments, private venture capital firms, corporate investors, and regulatory frameworks. Understanding how capital flows through these three markets is essential for founders raising money, investors deploying it, and operators navigating the region. This page is part of the Startupra

Sebastian Matthes, editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt and winner of the Special Award at the German Startup Awards 2023

Jochen Engert, co-founder of Flix, shares how he built a $3B unicorn, dominating 90% of Germany's bus market in under a decade.

homefully was acquired by Habyt. The transaction was announced on June 2nd 2021: www.habyt.com