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DACH Startup News October 2021: Founders, Funding and Ecosystem Updates

Jörn Menninger
Oct 28, 2021
9 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Everything you need to know about the startup scene in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in October 2021

What Is This About?

October 2021's comprehensive overview of the startup scene in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This roundup covers the month's key developments including funding activity, founder news, ecosystem changes, and trends shaping the DACH entrepreneurial landscape.

Introduction

October 2021's DACH startup overview covers the month's key developments in the German, Austrian, and Swiss startup scenes. This roundup captures the accelerating funding activity and ecosystem changes during one of the most active periods in DACH startup history.

October 2021 DACH startup overview captures the accelerating funding activity during one of the most active periods in ecosystem history with multiple unicorn valuations.

This story was migrated from our old blog, originally published on October 28th, 2021.



Everything you need to know about the startup scene in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in October 2021 Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

This Month in German Startups — October 2021


Welcome to This Month in German Startups in October 2021 by Startuprad.io — in a news recording with Chris (Back Home in New York) and me Joe, from Frankfurt am Main.


We recorded this new episode on October 25th. Note that there is also another episode of our unicorn tracker, getting published along with this episode in order to keep the news brief.


Today we have to announce that N26 reclaimed the title of Germany’s most valuable fintech (but not startup, that is still Celonis), Sono Motors is filing for an IPO in the US — ahead of even delivering their first car -, corona is leaving the first traces in the startup scene, fewer startups, but more funding for the surviving ones.


Let’s talk startups:


Spotify


Apple Podcasts

Castbox


Global Podcast Network (Formerly NY City Podcast Network)


Good Pods


Housekeeping — Time to brag


We are scratching another magic mark right now. We just scored No 104 in Chartables Global Tech Podcast Charts. Thank you for your support so far …


Top News


Germany has a new most valuable fintech

N26 took over Trade Republic, as Germany’s most valuable startup but the way to this monster funding was not easy.


Germany’s Flixbus acquired the legendary US Greyhound bus company, from current owner UK based First Group for 120 mn Euros (140 mn US$). First Group was interested in selling the company already back in 2019 Germany's Flixbus acquires Greyhound Greyhound itself is of course suffering from corona, they generated more than 10 mn Euros losses in Q1 2021 and cut 50% of their headcount since the start of the corona. Flixmobility (the company behind the Flixbus brand) was valued at 2.5 bn Euros at their last fundraising in June this year, they reached unicorn status already in 2018.


Ecosystem



Hubs


Frankfurt


Heidelberg


Hamburg


Munich


Cologne


Konstanz

  • Fruitcore Robotics grabs €17M "Source Link dead 2026-09-14"


Austria


Switzerland

General News / Companies News Section

The German company Autarq may just have surpassed Tesla with their solar roof tiles David gegen Goliath: Deutsche Firma zeigt Tesla, wie Solarziegel gehen


SPACs

“European SPACs have raised $6.6 billion so far this year, according to Refinitiv data. While that’s up from just $500 million in 2020 it’s still only about 5% of the value of the SPAC deals done in the United States in 2021.”


GoPuff, the Philadelphia-based quick commerce startup, enters the German market GoPuff: Der US-Lieferdienst kommt nach Deutschland und macht deutschen Lebensmittel-Lieferdiensten Konkurrenz adding to an already hot competition with Jokr, Gorillas and others.


CureVac stops the development of the Corona vaccine and starts over with a new approach. The first vaccine candidate did not fulfill the expectations CureVac stoppt seinen Covid-Impfstoff | tagesschau.de


Multiple PE funds are fighting over the buyout of Zooplus, the takeover (initially 390 €/ share) offer was raised 40% since mid-August and currently, the shares are trading around 490€ Zooplus Aktie: Pokerspiel bring H&F und EQT an ihre Grenze this leads the market to conclude there is more in it for shareholders. We keep you updated.


Venture capital: 8roadsventures raises 450 mn US$ VC fund targeting 15–20 scaleups in Europe Eight Roads startet mit 450 Millionen Dollar & Europa-Fonds


Vehiculum wanted to turn the leasing industry upside down. Now a funding round fell through and they have to file for insolvency "Source Link dead 2026-09-14"


Adam Neumann-Backed GoTo Global Acquires German Moped-Sharing Startup Neumann-Backed GoTo Acquires German Moped-Sharing Startup - Bloomberg


DWS buys stake in UK-based retirement fintech Smart DWS beteiligt sich an Fintech Smart

Baloise’s German Money Pit. Their #Berlin-based insurtech Friday is not working out as planned Baloise's German Money Pit


Sad news: A Helicopter crash kills the founder of August Intelligence, the startup in the center of the Amthor Affair, involving questionable lobbying by a member of the German Parliament Hubschrauberabsturz bei Heilbronn: Gründer von Augustus Intelligence Haupt tot


Selected Fundraisings (really, a very very small collection)


And finally: Landesbank Berlin issued more than 1 mn credit cards for Amazon’s German customers. Now it appears the bank shifts strategy and ends the cooperation Landesbank Berlin verliert Amazon-Deal | FinanceFWD

Stay ahead of the curve


10 Things Your Corporate Culture Needs to Get Right 10 Things Your Corporate Culture Needs to Get Right

Find our extensive collection of links, sources and the whole show notes here: https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-german-startups-october-2021/


Feedback


We are always looking for ways to make the show better. Please take this opportunity and share your feedback with us! We would love to hear from YOU!!!


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:




  • Germany’s Flixbus acquired the legendary US Greyhound bus company, from current owner UK based First Group for 120 mn Euros (140 mn US$).

  • This article covers a significant development in the DACH startup and venture capital ecosystem.

  • The DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) continues to be one of Europe's most dynamic startup markets.

Relationship Map

  • Startuprad.io → published → DACH Startup News October 2021: Founders, Funding and Ecosys

Partner with Startuprad.io

Startuprad.io is the leading independent media platform covering startups, venture capital, and innovation across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and Europe. We offer B2B partnership opportunities for companies looking to reach startup decision-makers, founders, and investors.

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What are the key facts about DACH Startup News October 2021:?

Everything you need to know about the startup scene in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in October 2021

How does this affect the German startup ecosystem?

This article is part of our coverage of DACH Startup News January 2022: Founders, Funding and Ecosystem Updates.

What are the latest startup funding trends in the DACH region?

Startuprad.io tracks venture capital and startup funding across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Explore our pillar coverage pages for the latest data.

About the Host

Joern "Joe" Menninger is the host of the Startuprad.io podcast and covers founders, investors, and policy developments across the DACH startup ecosystem. Through more than 1,300 interviews and nearly a decade of reporting, he documents the evolution of the European startup landscape. Follow Joern on LinkedIn.

Want to reach the DACH startup ecosystem? Become a partner and connect with founders, investors, and operators across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Support Startuprad.io

Startuprad.io is the leading independent media platform covering startups and innovation across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. We bring founders’ stories to a global audience through in-depth interviews and expert analysis. Support our mission by subscribing to our podcast on your favorite platform, sharing this episode with fellow startup enthusiasts, or exploring sponsorship opportunities at startuprad.io.

This article is part of Startuprad.io’s ongoing coverage of monthly DACH startup news.

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