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German Startup News March 2026: Robotics, Defence and the Bavaria Signal

Updated: May 9

Cover graphic for Startuprad.io’s ‘This Month in DACH Startups – Summer Wrap-Up 2025’ featuring illustrated portraits of the podcast hosts, highlighting startup news from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

What Is This About?

The March 2026 DACH startup news roundup covers the month's most significant funding rounds, acquisitions, IPO developments and ecosystem shifts across Germany, Austria and Switzerland — tracking the structural capital movements, sector dynamics and policy signals shaping the startup landscape heading into Q2 2026.


Introduction

This March 2026 roundup delivers the top funding rounds, acquisitions and market signals from the DACH startup ecosystem. From a billion-euro robotics mega-round and the largest government fusion commitment globally to a landmark Frankfurt IPO filing and a Big Tech acquisition of a Swiss robotics startup, this episode provides a comprehensive overview of what shaped the German, Austrian and Swiss startup scenes this month. Whether you are a founder raising capital, an investor scanning deal flow, or a corporate looking for innovation partners, these monthly updates track the pulse of DACH tech entrepreneurship.


The March 2026 DACH startup roundup covers major funding developments including the largest single robotics round in German venture history, a state-backed fusion commitment of unprecedented scale, multiple defence-tech procurement milestones, and the first signs of a geographic power shift in German startup funding from Berlin toward Bavaria. Key signals include growing institutional confidence in humanoid robotics and industrial automation, the normalisation of defence-tech as a mainstream venture category, and continued strength in fintech infrastructure investment. The episode identifies the market dynamics driving mid-Q1 deal activity and what founders and investors should expect from the funding environment in the months ahead.


Note: You can find all of our 2025 news coverage from our pillar here: https://www.startuprad.io/post/dach-startup-ecosystem-2025-the-ultimate-hub 



MACRO OVERVIEW — DACH CAPITAL & SECTOR SIGNALS


March 2026 across the DACH startup ecosystem reveals a landscape increasingly defined by industrial conviction rather than narrative momentum. The headline signal is unambiguous: Neura Robotics is raising roughly one billion euros at a four-billion-euro valuation, backed by stablecoin issuer Tether, making it the largest single DACH startup round this cycle and positioning Germany as a serious contender in the global humanoid robotics race alongside Figure AI and Apptronik. Combined with Amazon's acquisition of Zurich-based Rivr, two major robotics transactions in a single month confirm the DACH region's emergence as a genuine robotics cluster with global strategic relevance. Total venture capital deployed into DACH startups in the first quarter of 2026 is tracking ahead of the equivalent period in 2025, with growth-stage rounds concentrated in robotics, defence technology, fintech infrastructure and energy.


Defence and dual-use technology continued its structural ascent from niche to mainstream. The Bundestag's budget committee approved 540 million euros for combat drones from German startups Helsing and Stark Defence, one of the largest defence-tech procurement commitments to domestic startups in German history. Bavaria committed up to 400 million euros toward Proxima Fusion's demonstration stellarator in Garching, the largest government pledge to a fusion startup globally. Munich defence-tech startup TYTAN Technologies raised 30 million euros from the NATO Innovation Fund. These are not isolated transactions. They represent a structural shift in how Germany allocates public capital to technology companies aligned with sovereign capability and energy independence, reflecting post-2022 geopolitical realities and EU policy priorities that are now translating into procurement budgets.


Geographically, the most consequential signal of the month may be Bavaria's overtaking of Berlin as Germany's leading startup funding destination for the first time. The Bayern Startup und Scaleup Monitor 2026 shows Munich attracted 2.7 billion euros in venture capital in 2025 versus 2.4 billion for Berlin, with 785 new startup formations in the Freistaat representing a 46 per cent increase year on year. Defence technology was a major driver, but the shift reflects deeper structural advantages: proximity to industrial customers, a dense technical university network anchored by TUM, and a growing cluster of robotics, aerospace and deep-tech companies that attract both talent and institutional capital. Google's decision to open a new AI Center in Berlin, housing DeepMind, Research and Cloud teams as part of a 5.5-billion-euro Germany investment programme, underscores that both cities remain critical — but the capital concentration narrative is no longer Berlin's alone.


In fintech, two signals stand out. Bitpanda is advancing plans for a Frankfurt IPO at a valuation of four to five billion euros, with Goldman Sachs, Citi and Deutsche Bank advising — a transaction that, if completed, would rank among Europe's largest fintech listings and notably chooses Frankfurt over London. Berlin's Upvest raised 125 million dollars at a 640-million-euro valuation, backed by Sapphire Ventures, Tencent, Bessemer and BlackRock, to build pension infrastructure across Europe. Together with Delivery Hero facing activist pressure from Aspex Management and Personio pivoting to a new pricing model, the broader picture is one of maturation: late-stage companies are being held to profitability standards, public markets are reopening selectively, and infrastructure plays are attracting the most durable capital. For founders, the message is consistent with the past two cycles: build where regulation, procurement complexity and geopolitical priorities create durable tailwinds. For investors, sector conviction and institutional alignment continue to outperform broad thematic exposure.


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Top Signals


1. Neura Robotics — Raising ~€1B at €4B Valuation, Backed by Tether (Metzingen)


Metzingen-based Neura Robotics is raising roughly one billion euros in a round backed by stablecoin issuer Tether, valuing the company at four billion euros and marking the largest single DACH startup round this cycle. CEO David Reger's order book already approaches one billion dollars, with Kawasaki and Omron among customers. The company develops AI-powered humanoid robots for industrial and household applications, building on a previous 120-million-euro round closed in January 2025. Barclays estimates the AI robotics market will reach one trillion dollars by 2035.


This financing positions Germany squarely in the global humanoid robotics race alongside Figure AI, Apptronik and Boston Dynamics. Tether's involvement — a stablecoin treasury diversifying into frontier physical technology — adds an unconventional but substantial capital source to European deep tech. For the DACH ecosystem, the signal is structural: robotics is no longer a research curiosity but a venture-scale industrial category attracting sovereign-adjacent capital at US-style velocity.


A billion-euro round for a German robotics company backed by a stablecoin treasury. The sentence would have been science fiction two years ago. Now it is deal flow.





2. Proxima Fusion — Bavaria Commits €400M for Fusion Demonstrator (Garching)


The Free State of Bavaria has committed up to 400 million euros toward Proxima Fusion's demonstration stellarator reactor in Garching, the largest government pledge to a fusion startup globally. An MoU signed by Bavaria, RWE and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics sets out a roadmap for the two-billion-euro "Alpha" demonstrator, followed by "Stellaris," a commercial fusion plant at Gundremmingen, the site of a former nuclear fission facility now being decommissioned by RWE. Proxima, an IPP spin-off founded in 2023, raised 130 million euros in its Series A last year.


This commitment transforms fusion from an academic aspiration into an industrial planning category with state backing, utility participation and a defined site. RWE's involvement provides the procurement credibility and grid-connection expertise that pure venture capital cannot replicate. For European energy strategy, the signal is that stellarator technology — historically overshadowed by tokamak designs — now has a credible state-backed pathway to demonstration.


Four hundred million euros of Bavarian state capital for a fusion reactor on a former nuclear site. Energy policy is no longer a white paper exercise.



3. Bitpanda — Frankfurt IPO at €4–5B Valuation (Vienna/Frankfurt)


Vienna-based cryptocurrency and investment platform Bitpanda is advancing plans for a Frankfurt IPO at a valuation of four to five billion euros, with Goldman Sachs, Citi and Deutsche Bank appointed as underwriters. The Peter Thiel-backed platform serves more than seven million users and has rebranded its B2B arm to Bitpanda Enterprise, counting Deutsche Boerse and Societe Generale among institutional clients. Former German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has joined the board.


If completed, this would rank among Europe's largest fintech listings and the most significant crypto-adjacent IPO on the continent. The choice of Frankfurt over London is itself a signal of continental capital market confidence. For DACH fintech founders, Bitpanda's trajectory — from retail crypto app to institutional infrastructure provider — maps a viable path from consumer traction to public-market credibility.


Goldman, Citi, Deutsche Bank. Frankfurt, not London. The cap table and the listing venue tell you everything about where European fintech gravity is shifting.



4. Bundestag Approves €540M for Helsing and Stark Defence Drones (Berlin)


The Bundestag's budget committee has approved 540 million euros for combat drones from German startups Helsing and Stark Defence, marking one of the largest defence-tech procurement commitments to domestic startups in German history. The decision follows operational lessons from the Ukraine conflict and signals a structural shift in how Germany sources military technology. Peter Thiel's involvement at Stark Defence has prompted political debate, with the Greens demanding protective measures against foreign influence in defence procurement.


This is procurement, not promise. Half a billion euros of Haushaltsausschuss-approved budget flowing to venture-backed startups marks the moment defence-tech transitions from politically sensitive venture category to strategically supported industrial reality in Germany. For founders and investors, the implication is that defence procurement alignment is becoming a fundable thesis with visible revenue, not a speculative bet on policy change.


Five hundred and forty million euros. From the Bundestag. To startups. Defence-tech is no longer knocking on the door. It is setting the procurement agenda.



5. Upvest — $125M Series D at €640M Valuation (Berlin)


Berlin fintech Upvest has raised 125 million dollars in a Series D at a 640-million-euro valuation, nearly doubling its previous mark. The API-first investment infrastructure provider processed more than 100 million orders in 2025 and drew backing from Sapphire Ventures, Tencent, Bessemer Venture Partners and BlackRock. The capital will fund expansion into pension products across Europe, including UK SIPPs and the German AltersvorsorgeDepot.


Upvest's round demonstrates that fintech infrastructure — the pipes rather than the apps — continues to attract institutional capital even in a selective funding environment. Tencent and BlackRock on the cap table signal cross-continental confidence in European investment rails. The pension expansion is strategically astute: regulated, recurring, and aligned with demographic tailwinds that no policy change can reverse.


One hundred million orders processed. Tencent and BlackRock writing checks. The plumbing of European retail investment is being built in Berlin.



6. Amazon Acquires Rivr — Zurich Robotics Startup (~$100M)


Amazon has acquired Zurich-based robotics startup Rivr, an ETH Zurich spinout formerly known as Swiss-Mile, at a reported valuation of approximately 100 million dollars. Founded by Marko Bjelonic, who previously worked at Boston Dynamics, Rivr builds stair-climbing wheel-legged delivery robots capable of carrying 30 kilograms at up to 15 kilometres per hour. Amazon plans to begin doorstep delivery testing with the robots later in 2026.


Two major DACH robotics transactions in a single cycle — Neura's billion-euro round and Amazon's acquisition of Rivr — confirm the region's emergence as a serious robotics cluster with global strategic relevance. For Swiss deep-tech founders, the deal validates the ETH spinout pathway and demonstrates that DACH robotics companies are acquisition targets for the world's largest technology platforms.


Amazon came to Zurich for robots that climb stairs. The DACH robotics cluster is no longer theoretical.



7. Bayern Overtakes Berlin in Startup Funding (Munich/Bavaria)


For the first time, Bavaria has overtaken Berlin as Germany's leading startup funding destination. The Bayern Startup und Scaleup Monitor 2026 shows Munich attracted 2.7 billion euros in venture capital in 2025 compared to 2.4 billion for Berlin. The Freistaat recorded 785 new startup formations, a 46 per cent increase year on year, now accounting for more than a fifth of all German new ventures. Defence technology was a standout driver, with over one billion euros in funding concentrated in Munich.


This is not a one-quarter anomaly. Bavaria's rise reflects structural advantages in industrial proximity, technical university density and a growing cluster of robotics, aerospace and defence companies. The defence-tech concentration alone — over one billion euros — would have been a headline for all of Germany two years ago. For the ecosystem, this signals that Germany's startup geography is maturing from a Berlin-centric narrative to a multi-hub model where Munich, the Rhein-Main corridor and Baden-Wuerttemberg each claim distinct sectoral strengths.


Munich: 2.7 billion. Berlin: 2.4 billion. For the first time, the Freistaat leads. Geography is no longer destiny — sector alignment is.



8. Google Opens AI Center Berlin, Part of €5.5B Germany Programme


Google has opened a new AI Center in Berlin, housing DeepMind, Research and Cloud teams under one roof at Museumsinsel, as part of a 5.5-billion-euro investment programme in Germany through 2029. Research partnerships with TU Munich and Helmholtz Munich target medical and single-cell AI applications. A new data centre in Dietzenbach near Frankfurt is also planned, alongside expansion in Munich.


Google's commitment reinforces Germany's position as a European AI research hub and creates a talent magnet that benefits the broader startup ecosystem. The co-location of DeepMind researchers with Cloud and applied teams signals that Berlin's AI ecosystem is maturing from pure research toward commercial deployment — the phase where spinouts, talent mobility and enterprise partnerships generate venture-relevant deal flow.


DeepMind in Berlin. Five and a half billion euros through 2029. The talent gravity this creates will define the next generation of German AI startups.



9. Delivery Hero — Activist Pressure from Aspex, $1.4B Refinancing (Berlin)


Delivery Hero faces escalating pressure from activist investor Aspex Management, which holds a 9.2 per cent stake and is pushing for asset disposals. The Berlin-based food delivery group, whose market capitalisation has fallen more than 80 per cent from its 2021 peak, completed a 1.4-billion-dollar debt refinancing while reportedly exploring a sale of its Latin American operations generating 1.2 billion euros in revenue. Aspex warned it may pursue leadership changes if the strategic review does not produce results.


Delivery Hero is the clearest case study in the DACH ecosystem of what happens when growth-era capital structures meet post-hype accountability. The activist playbook — asset sales, operational focus, leadership pressure — is imported from US public markets and now being applied to Berlin's largest listed tech company. For the broader ecosystem, this signals that the era of patient, hands-off institutional ownership of European tech companies is ending.


Eighty per cent off the peak. A 9.2 per cent activist stake. Latin American operations on the block. The post-growth reckoning has arrived in Berlin.



10. Gropyus — €100M Raise, Total Equity €400M (Berlin/Vienna)


Construction-tech startup Gropyus, founded by Lieferheld's Markus Fuhrmann, has raised 100 million euros, bringing total equity to 400 million. The company builds digitised, factory-produced apartment buildings and currently has 800 units across seven projects in execution. Semapa Next added 35 million euros, becoming the second-largest investor after Vonovia. Profitability is targeted within two to three years.


Gropyus represents the industrialisation thesis applied to Europe's housing crisis: factory-produced, digitally planned apartment buildings at scale. Vonovia's involvement provides both distribution and credibility in a sector where construction incumbents have historically resisted technological disruption. The profitability timeline — two to three years — reflects a disciplined approach to a category that has consumed considerable venture capital across Europe with limited commercial traction to date.


Four hundred million euros of equity. Eight hundred apartments in production. Construction-tech is finally building, not just pitching.



Additional Signals


TYTAN Technologies — €30M from NATO Innovation Fund (Munich)

Munich defence-tech startup TYTAN Technologies raised 30 million euros from the NATO Innovation Fund and Armira, pushing valuation above 100 million euros. The counter-drone systems developer deepened cooperation with defence group KNDS for military land systems.


UniverCell — €30M Series B for Battery Production (Kiel)

Kiel-based battery manufacturer UniverCell raised 30 million euros in a Series B. The company produces lithium-ion cells for specialised applications including satellites and medical devices, using a proprietary dry-coating process that reduces energy consumption.


Kombo — $25M for HR-Tech Integrations (Berlin)

Berlin HR-tech startup Kombo raised 25 million dollars from Volition Capital to scale API-based integrations for HR, payroll and IT systems. The Y Combinator alumnus has raised 30 million in total since its 2022 founding.


Recare — €37M for Health-Tech AI Agents (Germany)

German health-tech startup Recare raised 37 million euros for AI-powered agents that streamline clinical operations, signalling continued investor appetite for healthcare automation in the DACH region.


Personio — New Pricing Model, Profitability Push (Munich)

Munich HR-tech unicorn Personio is introducing a new pricing model as part of a broader push toward profitability after 11 years of operation. The shift reflects a maturation trend across Europe's SaaS landscape.


Agent F — Ex-Wefox Founder + Ex-SAP CTO Build AI-Native ERP

Former Wefox founder Julian Teicke and former SAP CTO Juergen Mueller have joined forces on Agent F, an AI-native ERP startup. The founding team combination makes this one of the most closely watched new ventures in German tech.


EU Inc — Pan-European Startup Legal Form (Brussels)

The European Commission is advancing EU Inc, a new pan-European corporate legal form designed for startups. The structure would allow founders to incorporate once and operate across all member states.


Gharage Ventures — €40M Travel-Tech Fund (Hamburg)

Gharage Ventures launched a 40-million-euro fund focused on early-stage startups digitising travel and retail, anchored by travel-retail group Gebr. Heinemann.


KfW Capital — €748M Deployed in 2025 (Germany)

KfW Capital deployed 748 million euros to startup-backing VC funds in 2025, including 383 million to 21 European vehicles. Since 2018, the KfW subsidiary has committed 2.9 billion euros across 153 funds, indirectly financing approximately 2,900 startups.


Conclusion:


March 2026 shows concentrated conviction in the DACH startup ecosystem. Robotics and defence dominate the capital allocation, fintech infrastructure attracts institutional co-investors, and Bavaria's rise to the top of Germany's funding league table signals a geographic rebalancing that reflects sector specialisation rather than cyclical noise. For startups: build where industrial procurement, regulatory mandate and geopolitical urgency create durable demand. For investors: the signals are structural, not thematic — and the winners are already visible. For innovation leaders: robotics, defence, energy and fintech infrastructure define the board-level conversations of 2026. We reviewed thousands of raw news links. And these are the structural signals. Highlights — March 2026.


The Hosts

The news are co-hosted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. And Christian “Chris' ' Fahrenbach, co-founder Startuprad.io, freelance reporter, lecturer, author and blogger . Reach out to them:

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Automated Transcript


Speaker0: Interviews, and live events.

Speaker1: Hello and welcome to StartupRay.io. My name is Chris, joining you from New York City.

Speaker0: And this is Joe. If you're listening to this or watching this, you can tell it's spring because I am first shaved. And secondly, the hay fever already got me. So good to be back.

Speaker1: Okay. So, okay. You shave once per year, apparently.

Speaker0: No, I'm wearing a beard in the cold season, Chris.

Speaker1: This is our March 2026 startup news. News cut is today, March 23rd, that is. We have a fully packed episode. We are talking about a billion euro robotics round backed by a stable coin treasury. We are going to be talking about Bavaria overtaking Berlin in startup funding for the very first time. We are talking about a Frankfurt IPO that could become Europe's largest fintech listing. Amazon is buying a Swiss robotics company and half a billion euros are coming from the Bundestag, the German parliament, for combat drones. Quite a month.

Speaker0: Yeah, quite a month indeed. Let's get into it.

Speaker1: Let's talk startups. So before we walk through our individual stories, let me give you a quick overview about the month. March 2026 was and is defined by industrial conviction, you could say. Capital is flowing into companies that are building physical things. So we are talking robots, reactors, drones, batteries, and into the financial infrastructure that underwrites all of this. Speculative AI narrative cycle has not disappeared though, but the checks being written in the DACH region, so Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz, German, Austria and Switzerland, right now are going to companies with order books, procurement contracts, industrial customers, so people who have, and companies who have already made their case. That's quite a meaningful shift, I think.

Speaker0: Yeah, the headline number is definitely Neuro Robotics raising roughly 1 billion euros at the 4 billion, yes, with a B, valuation backed by Tether. That is the largest single DACH startup around this cycle. And it's not alone. Amazon acquired River, spelled R-E-V-R, out of Surish, an ETH spin-out that built stair-climbing delivery robots. Two major robotics transactions in a single month. The DAX robotics cluster is no longer theoretical. It's attracting billion-euro capital and big tech acquisitions simultaneously.

Speaker1: And we also see that defense continues to become a more and more normal venture category. German Bundestag approved 540 million euros for combat drones from Helsing and Stark Defense. Bavaria, the German state of Bavaria, committed $400 million toward Proxima Fusion's Stellarator reactor. Titan Technologies, with a Y instead of an I, raised $30 million from the NATO Innovation Fund. And this is all procurement money, not promised money. So it's structural also, reflecting geopolitical realities starting with the Ukraine war post-2022. and EU policy priorities and resulting, coming from that war, that are now being translated into actual budgets.

Speaker0: The geography story is fascinating and I think a little bit underreported also. Bavaria has overtaken Berlin as Germany's top startup funding destination for the first time. The Bayern Startup and Unscale-Up Monitor shows Munich attracted 2.7 billion euros in venture capital in 2025 versus 2.4 billion for Berlin. Defense tech was a major driver in Munich. Over a billion euros flowed into the sector, much of it in Munich. That is not a one-quarter anomaly. It reflects structural change. Hange, Industrial Proximity, the TUM2 network, and a growing cluster of robotics and aerospace companies. Note, Bavaria and Berlin are comparable here because they are both states in Germany, admittedly, very different sizes.

Speaker1: And we found two signals in Fintech too. Bitpanda is targeting a Frankfurt IPO at the stock exchange there at 4 to 5 billion euros with Goldman and Citi as their main advisors. Upvest raised 125 million at a 640 million euro valuation backed by Tencent and BlackRock. And Delivery Hero is also a topic facing activist pressure from Aspex and Personio and pivoting their pricing model more towards profitability. So also here we see that there's something like a late-stage accountability cycle, you could say. Companies are being held to public market standards here, whether they are publicly traded already or not yet.

Speaker0: We should add that for this episode we reviewed thousands of raw links, news in our newsletter scans. Actually, we get around 50 daily newsletters on the Dach, German, Austrian, Swiss ecosystem, and we filter aggressively. Those are the 10 signals that matter the most.

Speaker1: Let's go. Let's walk through them. Number one, I will start. Signal number one. This is the headline of the month, I think. Neura Robotics, based in Metzingen, In my old hometown region near Stuttgart, Metzingen also famous for being the headquarter of Hugo Boss.

Speaker0: And outlet shopping.

Speaker1: And outlet shopping, yes. If you're so inclined to shop for Hugo Boss. So Neura Robotics, based in Metzingen, is raising roughly 1 billion euros backed by stablecoin issuer Tether. And that means that the company is valued at 4 billion euros. Tell me more about this.

Speaker0: Yes, Noura builds AI-powered humanoid robots for industrial and household applications. CEO David Riga has an order book approaching $1 billion already. Kawasaki, Omron are amongst customers. The previous round was just, in a parenthesis here, 120 million years in January 2021, 2025. Sorry. So we are talking about roughly an eightfold step up in a little over a year. Barclays estimates the AI robotics market will reach one trillion, yes, with a T dollars by 2035. This is Germany's largest robotic deal and positions the country alongside figure AI and UpTronic in the global humanoid robotics race.

Speaker1: Yeah, and here we also really see how the German market shifts a bit. Because if you had imagined like a billion euro round for a German robotics company backed by a stable coin treasury, that would have all been quite like science fiction a couple of years ago. And now, yeah, even the German market is investing in this or it's part of the German market and part of the deal flow there. Signal number two, Proxima Fusion moving on from Baden-Württemberg to its eastern neighbor state, Bavaria. Garching, not far away from Munich. And Bavaria is an interesting point here because Bavaria is also, as a free state, is also committing up to 400 million euros toward a demonstration stellarator reactor. So, yeah, this is the, dare we say, fantasy of having safe and small nuclear reactors. What is going on with this pledge here, which is what I think one of the largest

Speaker1: government pledges to a fusion startup in the world, maybe, I guess?

Speaker0: Yeah, correct. It's about fusion energy. A Memorandum of Understanding signed by the state of Bavaria, RWE, one of the large energy giants here in Germany, and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics set out a roadmap for a 2 billion euro alpha demonstrator. After that comes Stellaris, a commercial fusion plant planned for Grundrämingen, the site of a former nuclear fission facility, now being decommissioned by RWE. Proxima is a Max Planck IPP, Max Planck Basic Research Institute, and the IPP is the Institute for Plasma Physics, spin-off founded in 2023. They raised already $130 million in a Series A last year, we reported about that, and the state is backing the utility involvement, the defined side. This was fusion from academic aspiration to industrial planning category.

Speaker1: Yeah. And we also see here again, like 400 million euros. This is coming from the government. It's quite a commitment. And we also here see that, yeah, and there's a lot of things. There are a lot of things shifting in energy policies, I think, these days. Also, again, as a result of the war between Ukraine and Russia, or between Russia and Ukraine, one should say probably because Russia attacked, and also because of the ongoing environmental discussions. Signal number three.

Speaker0: I would like to add that Germany really needs cheap energy, so this is essential, even though I assume fusion energy will not come around in the next few years. Sorry, signal number three, Bitpanda, Frankfurt IPO at four to five billion euros. Bitpanda, Vienna and Frankfurt, the crypto and investment platform, we talked about them quite frequently, is advancing plans for Frankfurt IPO at a valuation of four to five billion euros. Goldman Sachs, Citi and Deutsche Bank are advising. The platform is backed by Peter Thiel, serves more than 7 million users, and has rebranded its B2B arm to Bitpanda Enterprises. Deutsche Börse and Societal General are amongst the institutional clients. And our former Defense Minister, Karl Theodor Zuck-Guttenberg, has joined the board. Little disclaimer here. a valuation of four to five billion doesn't mean all the shares will be floated initially or at one point on the stock exchange it just means if

Speaker0: you add up all the shares at the share price that'll be the total valuation and of course a lot of those shares will stay in institutional hands sorry here you go chris yeah.

Speaker1: And it's a fact that like If completed, this would rank among Europe's largest fintech listings. Also meaning that whether they choose Frankfurt over London or the choice of Frankfurt over London is a signal. And if you look at companies like Goldman City and Deutsche Bank in the background, you can also see that the cap table and the listing value tell you that Frankfurt is making up some ground here. And, yeah, seeming to win the fight for European fintech gravity. Number four, back to me. The Bundestags Budget Committee, their Haushaltsausschuss, has approved 540 million euros for combat drones, which should be bought from German startups named Helsing and Stark Defense. It is going to be one of the largest defense tech procurement commitments to domestic startups in German history. And it's a decision that follows operational losses from the Ukraine conflict. So, yeah, this is a startup news that shows where the startup ecosystem as a

Speaker1: whole is going, but also how much it's now more and more intertwined with politics.

Speaker0: Yes, and there's a political dimension here, definitely. Peter Thiel's involvement at Stark Defense has prompted a debate with the Greens demanding protective measures against foreign influence in defense procurement. I've also been writing a LinkedIn post about it that went really crazy. The budget approval itself is the signal here. This is procurement, not promise. Half a billion euros of Bundestag-proof budget flowing to venture-backed startups. Defense tech is no longer knocking on the door. It's setting the procurement agenda. Signal number five, UpWest, $125 million in CRSD. UpWest, Berlin, $125 million in CRSD at 660 million euro valuation. Nearly doubling its previous mark. Sapphire Ventures, Tencent, Bessemer, and BlackRock are amongst investors. The company processes more than 100 million orders in 2025 through its API-first investment infrastructure. They are expanding into pension products, UK SIPPs, and Germans Altersvorsorge-Depots.

Speaker1: Yes. So, yeah, also here we see 100 million orders processed. We see that Tencent and BlackRock are writing checks for them. And so we can really see that European retail investment is happening in Berlin. Pension expansion here is strategic, I would say. It's also strategically astute. It's regulated, recurring, aligned with demographic trends. And yeah, so that's Signal 5. Signal 6 is also me. We're moving on to Switzerland. Amazon has acquired the Zurich-based robotics startup River, without the E in the end, so R-I-V-R, at a reported valuation of approximately $100 million. This is a spin-out of the university in Zurich, the ETH, the Technical University, founded in 2023 under the name Swiss Mile before rebranding last year in 2025. The founder's name is Marko Bielonic, who previously worked at Boston Dynamics. The robots can climb stairs, can carry 30 kilograms of weight, can travel 15 kilometers per hour.

Speaker1: So overall, they are much more productive than you and me.

Speaker0: Uh, totally. Just looking up here, 50 kilometers per hour are something like a little bit above nine miles an hour. This is second major DACH robotics transaction this month, alongside Neura. Amazon came to Zurich for robots that climb stairs. The DACH robotics cluster is no longer theoretical for Swiss deep tech founders. This validates the ETH spin-out pathway and demonstrate that these companies are acquisition targets for the world's largest technology platforms.

Speaker1: Signal number seven. This is a signal our audience rightfully is expecting from us because we're always rooting against Berlin, obviously. And Joe, you flagged this one specifically.

Speaker0: Oh, it's not necessarily that we're rooting against Berlin, but there are so many very, very good companies out there, for example, Metzingen, that didn't get enough international attention. So it all got into Berlin. And that's the point we like. We're not rooting against any place here, but we want the world to see more and more interesting places. So, for the first time, Bavaria has overtaken Berlin as Germany's leading startup funding destination. The Bayern Startup und Scale-Up Monitor, 2026, shows Munich attracted 2.7 billion euros in venture capital in 2025, compared to 2.4 billion for Berlin. The Freistaat recorded 785 new startup formations, a 46% increase year-over-year, now accounting for more than a fifth of all German new ventures. Defense technology was a standout driver with over 1 billion Euro flowing into the sector, much of it concentrated in Munich.

Speaker1: So, once again, Munich, 2.7 billion, Berlin, 2.4 billion, plus the surrounding states. But we see for the first time the Freistaat in the lead. It's not an anomaly just based on one quarter. It's really a reflection of a year-long, years-long, decades-long trend, probably. Because we see that Bavaria is in the lead because they have proximity to big industrial clusters in Bavaria. They have the network of the Technical University in Munich, the TUM. They have the growing defense and robotics clusters. And yeah, we really see here that geography is no longer destiny in a German static ecosystem, but it's more important that you are aligned with certain sectors. And right now, we see that Munich sectors are the ones that attract more capital right now.

Speaker0: Number eight, Google has opened a new AI center in Berlin, housing DeepMind research and cloud teams under one roof at Museums Insel. This is part of a 5.5 billion euro investment program in Germany through 2029. Research partnerships with TU Munich and Helmholtz Munich are targeting medical and single-cell AI applications. A new data center in Dietzenbach near Frankfurt is also planned.

Speaker1: DeepMind in Berlin, 5.5 billion euros through 2029. So yeah, we also see here that like talent gravity might be created, defining what will already be probably like the next generation of German AI startups. The co-location of the deep mind researchers with cloud and applied teams also signals that Berlin's AI ecosystem is probably maturing a bit more away from pure research toward more commercial deployment. So yeah, we will see if now there's a phase beginning in which more spin outs, talent mobility and partnerships with enterprises generate more venture-relevant deal flow, I guess. Number nine, Delivery Hero. I already hinted at it in the beginning. It's Berlin's largest listed tech company, but it is facing escalating pressure from activist investor Aspex Management. It's an investor that holds a 9.2% stake, so it's not nothing. And it's an investor that is pushing for asset disposals. The market capitalization of Delivery Hero has fallen more than 80% from the peak in 2021,

Speaker1: which I guess was a bit pandemic-induced. They completed a $1.4 billion debt refinancing and are reportedly exploring a sale of their Latin American operations, which are generating quite significant 1.2 billion euros in revenue. But aspects warrant it may pursue leadership changes if the strategic review does not deliver. Get it? Deliver? Delivery hero. So, yeah. What do you think about this?

Speaker0: Well, that's the clearest case study in the ecosystem of what happens when growth area capital structures meet the post-hype accountability. This is the activist playbook, as it says, operational focus, leadership pressure. It's imported from U.S. public markets and is now being applied to Berlin's largest listed tech company. The post-growth reckoning has arrived. Let's talk Signal 10, a little bit related here. Gropius, 100 million raised, 400 million total equity. Number 10, Gropius, founded by Markus Fuhrmann, who previously built Lieferheld, 100 million euros raised, bringing total equity to 400 million. The company builds digitized, factory-produced apartment buildings, 800 units across seven projects currently in execution. Simapa next added $35 million, becoming the second largest investor after Venovia. Profitability targeted in two to three years.

Speaker1: Yeah, so also, I mean, to recap, 400 million euros of equity, 800 apartments in production. So, yeah, we also see here that construction tech is maturing and probably finally building. Venovia's involvement provides distribution, provides credibility here in a sector where incumbents have historically resisted disruption. So we also see a shift here. That's it for the 10 main signals. But we got a couple of what we call additional, but we got what we call a couple of quick hits, additional signals to round out the month. Joe, take us through them.

Speaker0: Titan Technologies in Munich with Wai raised 30 million euros from the NATO Innovation Fund for Countertron Systems. Universal in Kiel raised 30 million for battery production using a proprietary tricoding process. Combo in Berlin raised 25 million from Voluntian Capital for HR tech API integrations. ReCare raised 37 million for AI-powered clinical operations agents. Personio, the music HR unicorn, is introducing a new pricing model in its push toward profitability after 11 years.

Speaker1: And Personio is not a music HR tech unicorn, it's not a Munich HR tech unicorn. I'm so sorry.

Speaker0: Yes, Munich. I am sorry.

Speaker1: But we praise Bavaria so highly, so it's the place where the music plays, I guess. So, on the founder side, Julian Teike from WeFox and Jürgen Müller, the former SAP CTO, have joined forces on Agent F, which is an AI-native enterprise resource planning startup, one of the most closely watched founding teams in German tech right now, I guess. And then the European Commission is advancing EU Inc., a pan-European corporate legal form that would let founders incorporate once and operate across all member states. That sounds like a much-needed step against bureaucracy. Garage Ventures, with GH in the beginning, launched a 40 million euro travel tech fund anchored by Gebruida Heinemann. And KFW Capital deployed 748 million euros to startup backing VC funds in 2025. Since 2018, then this German bank has committed 2.9 billion euros across 153 funds, indirectly financing approximately 2,900 startups. That's it for March 2021. So we talked robotics, we talked defense,

Speaker1: we talked fintech insurance, and we talked Bavaria a lot.

Speaker0: Chris, now I got you. It's fintech infrastructure, not fintech insurance. Like the music Munich. Oh.

Speaker1: Fintech insurance. Yeah, there you go. Okay, well, the structural signals are clear. Our hosting probably is not. But do you have any final thoughts?

Speaker0: We will work on the scripts, guys. Really sorry. It's almost 10 p.m. Here, so we're both tired. But for the startups, built where industrial procurement, regulatory mandate, and geopolitical urgency create durable demand for investors. The signals are structural, not thematic, and the winners are already visible. Robotics, defense, energy, fintech infrastructure. Those are board-level conversations of 2026.

Speaker1: If you want more, subscribe to us on Substack for deep dives. Find us on LinkedIn, Ix, TikTok, YouTube. All the links are at linktree.com. And linktree is linktr.ee.com. As always, we are looking at hundreds, thousands of raw news links. These were the ones that matter. Thanks for listening. See you next month.

Speaker0: See you next month.

Speaker1: Let's talk startups.

Speaker0: Tschüss. Tschüss.



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