DACH Startup News Summer 2021: Mid-Year Ecosystem Roundup
Updated: 5 days ago
What Is This About?
The summer 2021 mid-year roundup of German startup news covering July and August highlights. This wrap-up features the season's new unicorns, major funding rounds, ecosystem milestones, and the trends that defined a record-breaking first half for the DACH startup landscape.
Introduction
The summer 2021 mid-year wrap-up captures an extraordinary first half for German startups — featuring new unicorns, record funding rounds, and milestone ecosystem developments across the DACH region during what was shaping up to be the most active year in European startup history.
Summer 2021 mid-year wrap captures new unicorns, record funding, and milestone developments during what was shaping up as the most active year in European startup history.
Catch up on German startup news: unicorns, major funding rounds, and more in our summer 2021 wrap-up. #startupnews
This article is part of our coverage of DACH Startup News January 2022: Founders, Funding and Ecosystem Updates.
This Month in German Startups — Summer Wrap-Up (July, August, September) 2021
Catch up on German startup news: unicorns, major funding rounds, and more in our summer 2021 wrap-up. Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Welcome to This Month in German Startups in September 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 September 28th. Not that there is also another episode of our unicorn tracker, getting published along with this episode. Have a look.
This will be a bit longer recording. Best get a snack and a drink right now.
The summer was hot here in Germany in terms of startups, but not so much in terms of temperature. Since we have the weather out of the way. Let’s talk startups:
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Top News
Again, there is a special episode of our unicorn tracker coming out with this episode of our news. Have a look there for everything related to unicorns. We cover there the story of Gorillas, the investment of Doordash, Spac Deals and Liliums SPAC IPO, as well as the troubles of N26.
July 29th was a monster funding day for the German startup scene:
#Berlin-based Contentful “headless CMS” raises 175 mn US$ at 3 bn valuations, becoming a unicorn Contentful sammelt 175 Millionen ein - und steigt zum Unicorn auf (Bewertung: 3 Milliarden) - deutsche-startups.de
munich-based space startup Isar Aerospace increases funding round from December to 140 m € https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/automotive-mobility/isar-aerospace-gewinnt-porsche-als-neuen-investor/
Berlin-based Grover — a company to rent tech gadets raises 1 bn US$ http://press.grover.com/149859-grover-secures-1bn-to-democratize-access-to-consumer-tech
German biotech shooting star BioNTech crossed a magic threshold on August 4th. BioNTech surpasses 100 bn US$ market capitalization in NASDAQ trading. This is approx. 3 times the market cap of delivery hero
Related: The recent stellar performance of BioNTech’s shares changes the ranking of Germany’s billionaires. The main investors now rank as 2nd most wealthy Germans Biontech-Boom: Strüngmann-Zwillinge sind die reichsten Deutschen - Business Insider, Learn more about them here: https://www.startuprad.io/post/meet-the-twin-billionaires-behind-biontech-s-success
Related: BioNTech vaccine to give German economy extraordinary boost: The German drugmaker could see revenue contributing about half a percentage point to growth in German gross domestic product BioNTech vaccine to give German economy extraordinary boost | Luxembourg Times
Wirecard
German prosecutor investigate suspicious share dealings of former Wirecard supervisory board member Wirecard: Verdächtige Aktiendeals des Ex-Aufsichtsratchefs Rehnig
German media reports on the involvement of EY Law in acquisitions valued at 264 mn €, some of them now appear questionable. The question being asked: Was there a conflict of interest within EY between audit and law? (Original Source Removed - Here would be a link to the source)
Three of the transactions are especially questionable: GFG Group, PT Prima Vista Solusi and PT Aprisma. All three companies acquired client portfolios from letterbox companies, shortly before being bought by Wirecard. The majority of the acquisition was made up by these client portfolios.
This is our last coverage of Wirecard as a stand alone topic. In summer the German Parliament Bundestag published its final report on Wirecard, spanning more than 2.000 pages. If you’re curious and can read German, here it is: https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2021/kw25-de-3ua-bericht-847030
Fight over listed online shop for pet supplies Zooplus
Hellman & Friedman announce to buy 50%+ of #Munich-based SDAX company Zooplus, which offers in their online shop pet supplies for 390 €/Share zooplus-Aktie schließt mit +41%: Finanzinvestor Hellman & Friedman will zooplus übernehmen
Bidding war over German pet supplier Zooplus. KKR throws in the towel, Hellman & Friedman increase the offer. EQT still in the race Zooplus unterm Hammer: KKR zieht sich zurück – Exciting Commerce
Now EQT increases their offer "Source Link dead 2026-09-13"
We will keep you updated
Ecosystem
CBDC Tracker shows that over 80 countries, representing 90% of the global GDP, are exploring a central bank digital currency, via Atlantic Council Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker - Atlantic Council
Dax 30 becomes Dax 40
Germany’s leading stock market index has new candidates for the upcoming extension to 40 stocks in September 2021, including Zalando, HelloFresh, and Symrise Reform des Dax: Das sind die fünf wahrscheinlichsten Neulinge | FAZ
Germany is the first country in the world, with a law regulating self-driving vehicles. It came into force on July 28th, 2021. Mark your history books tech geeks :-) https://logistik-heute.de/news/mobilitaet-gesetz-zum-autonomen-fahren-tritt-kraft-34370.html
Note: There will be a special publication on this topic as an interview with a lawyer, talking about what the law does and does not do.
50 most influential women in the German Tech Scene Das sind die 50 einflussreichsten Frauen der Tech-Branche
On the VC Market. Is it normal, what is going on here, with the creation of unicorns within 10 months after they were founded? Here are some articles about the market in General
Trend indicator for the German VC scene is on record level, never seen before says KFW Capital Wagnisfinanzierer sind in Hochstimmung
Investments in German fintechs jump 150% from 1 bn € in H1 2020 to 2,5 bn € in H1 2021. Investments include Trade Republic, Scalable and Mambu Investments in deutsche Finanz-Start-ups sprunghaft gestiegen
learn more here: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/bonus-this-month-in-german-startups-unicorn-stampede old unicorn episode
Why VC valuations increase and why this might be a trap Why VC valuations increase and why this might be a trap | EU-Startups
Related: Europe’s quick-commerce startups are overhyped: Lessons from China Europe's quick-commerce startups are overhyped: Lessons from China | TechCrunch
Survey: GERMAN STARTUP BRAND RANKING https://www.start.jvm.com/
#1 air up
#2 Vivid
#3 Gorillas
#4 Trade Republic
#5 Flaschenpost
Hubs
Note: The order of news and cities is only due to the time when we discovered the news. We took the time to allocate almost all startups to hubs.
Frankfurt
Wingcopter partners with Air Methods for nationwide drone delivery service Wingcopter partners with Air Methods for nationwide drone delivery service
learn more about the startup here: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/meet-wingcopter-the-startup-that-develops-drones-for-ups
Also one of Uber’s co-founders invested recently in Wingcopter, but an undisclosed amount: Uber-Gründer Garrett Camp investiert in Drohnen-Startup Wingcopter - Business Insider
Melitta (a household name for coffee in Germany) buys #Frankfurt-based Roastmarket, an online store for high end-coffee Melitta-Gruppe kauft Kaffee-Startup Roastmarket auf - Business Insider
Chinese tech giant Tencent reportedly has #Frankfurt-based #gaming software company Crytek on their wishlist. Interestingly, the US Army, German Bundeswehr and other armies using the software for simulations China-Konzern will deutsche Gaming-Firma kaufen: Wegen Kriegs-Simulationssoftware? | Politik | BILD.de
Frankfurt-based Northern Data acquires Dutch crypto mining company Decentric Europe for €365M; here’s why Germany-based Northern Data acquires Dutch cryptomining company Decentric Europe for €365M; here’s why - Silicon Canals
Deutsche Börse, operator of Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Xetra, and owner of Stoxx and DAX buys 2/3 of swiss based Crypto Finance AG, a crypto exchange "Source Link dead 2026-09-13"
Startup IPOs in Frankfurt had their best year since 2000, raising 8,8 bn € in the first half of 2021 Venture Capital: Wie Start-ups sich Kapital beschaffen können - manager magazin
Jack Wolfskin founder Ulrich Dausien invests in startup ivicos. We found in another article, that the total investment of the round was 1.2 mn Euros "Source Link dead 2026-09-13"
Bruchsal (between Heidelberg and Stuttgart)
Volocopter starts a joint venture with China-based Geely subsidiary. Geely started with ordering 150 air taxis Volocopter: Joint Venture mit Geely sorgt für Bestellung von 150 Fluggeräten
Wessling (outskirts of Munich)
Air-Taxi Startup Lilium Generates 29-Fold Return on Atomico Bet — Bloomberg Air-Taxi Startup Lilium Generates 29-Fold Return on Atomico Bet - Bloomberg ⇒ More about Lilium’s IPO in our unicorn tracker
Munich
Second Closing for impact vc fund BonVenture IV at 35 mn Euro "Source Link dead 2026-09-14"
Drinks startup air up raises 40 mn € venture capital. The round is lead by Pepsi, with other investors, including Ippen.Media and Oyster Bay air up: Duftwasser-Startup holt weitere 40 Mio. Euro - Pepsi legt nach
Insurtech Ottonova raises 40 mn Euros #VentureCaptial Insurtech Ottonova sammelt 40 Millionen Euro ein | FinanceFWD
Learn more about the company and the founder in our interview here: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/follow-up-with-the-all-digital-health-insurer-ottonova
Proptech Capmo raises $30M Series B to expand in Europe and triple the team within 12 months "Source Link dead 2026-09-13"
Learn more about the company and the founder in our interview here: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/proptech-capmo-replaces-pen-and-paper-with-digital-workflows-and-smart-construction-analytics
Augsburg
Xentral, an Augsburg, Bavaria-based startup raises 64 mn € venture capital, for their ERP solution for merchants. Investors include Sequoia and Tiger Global „Die Software mit der andere ihr Business bauen“: 64 Millionen für Xentral - Business Insider
Hamburg
Green neobank Tomorrow raised 14 mn € venture capital. Now reports unveil that top model Toni Garrn amongst the investors Topmodel Toni Garrn steigt bei Ökobank Tomorrow ein - Business Insider
Hamburg-based Sport Alliance lands €60 million to grow its gym and fitness SaaS solutions Hamburg-based Sport Alliance lands EUR60 million ... | EU-Startups
Düsseldorf
SPAC listing Tonibox producer Boxine gets listed at the stock exchange in Q4 2021, valuing the company at 860 mn Euros Toniebox-Firma Boxine geht über 468 Capital Spac I an die Börse
The company is looking to expand to France as a next step https://www.buchreport.de/news/boxine-schliesst-sich-mit-468-spac-zusammen-und-geht-an-die-boerse/
10 promising Düsseldorf-based startups to watch in 2021 10 promising Duesseldorf-based startups to watch in 2021 | EU-Startups
Cologne
Cologne-based Sastrify nabs €5.9 million to help companies optimize their SaaS tools Cologne-based Sastrify nabs €5.9 million to help companies optimize their SaaS tools | EU-Startups
10 promising Cologne-based startups to follow in 2021 and beyond 10 promising Cologne-based startups to follow in 2021 and beyond | EU-Startups
German grocery giant REWE tests autonomous driving kiosks. Just wave at on like a cab and it will stop and allow you to shop snacks (Original Source Removed - Here would be a link to the source)
Mannheim
Klarna pays 110 mn € to acquire Mannheim based shopping app Stocard Klarna zahlt 110 Millionen Euro für Stocard – die Hintergründe des Deals | FinanceFWD
Großröhrsdorf (35km outside of Dresden in Sachsen)
The startup Skeleton Technologies, a technology leader in energy storage, raises 29 mn € venture capital, amongst the investors is the founder of #Adyen, MM Grupp, Harju Elekter and leading industrial CVCs "Source Link dead 2026-09-13"
Halle (Saale)
40 mn € Series B funding for Twinner from Halle (Saale), Germany. They enable digital twins of existing cars 40 Millionen Investment für Twinner aus Halle (Saale) - Startup Mitteldeutschland
Austria
Vienna-based Corticalio Raises $6M in Series A Funding Cortical.io Raises $6M in Series A Funding
Vienna-based VC Uniqa Ventures (part of Uniqa insurance) doubles assets under management to 150 mn €, to focus on Series A investments Uniqa Ventures verdoppelt Investitionsvolumen auf 150 Millionen Euro
Vienna-based Coinpanion wants to bring crypto to the masses. Founders of German fintechs Clark and Scalable Capital invest, as well as the co-founder of Runtastic In dieses Krypto-Startup investieren prominente Fintech-Gründer - Business Insider
Founders of fintech heavyweights wefox and Bitpanda invest in #Vienna based #fintech Helu Helu: wefox- und Bitpanda-Gründer investieren in Wiener FinTech von Franz Salzmann
Linz-based 3d and AR room planning startup roomle is sold to the Germany corporate Homag Group AG, a world leader in heavy woodworking machines Roomle: Linzer Startup macht den Exit an deutsches Holzunternehmen
We covered Bitpanda in our Unicorn Tracker
Switzerland
Zurich based i-surance, a next-generation B2B2C digital insurance platform, has been acquired by insurtech unicorn bolttech Insurtech unicorn bolttech acquires i-surance
Anjarium Biosciences Raises $61M in Series A Financing Anjarium Biosciences Raises $61M in Series A Financing - FinSMEs
Open Mineral Raises $33M in Series C Funding Open Mineral Raises $33M in Series C Funding
SoftBank-backed storage developer Energy Vault raises $100 mln SoftBank-backed storage developer Energy Vault raises $100 mln | Reuters
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General News / Companies News Section
Crypto Custody Licenses are approved by German Finance oversight body BaFin
German Coinbase subsidiary secures first crypto licence in Germany Coinbase secures first crypto license in Germany
BaFin approves 2nd crypto license, now for Berlin-based Kapilendo BaFin vergibt zweite Krypto-Lizenz an Kapilendo
12 deals in 4 months — Chinese Ant Group builds crypto portfolio from Berlin 12 Deals in 4 Monaten – wie die Ant Group von Berlin aus ein Krypto-Portfolio aufbaut | FinanceFWD
Fintech News
Sino, the first investor in fintech unicorn Trade Republic has made its next bet: Sub Capitals, which helps with automated portfolios Die nächste Fintech-Wette nach Trade Republic: Sino investiert in Sub Capitals | FinanceFWD
Ever heard of Flash Ventures, from Berlin? It is Rocket Internet’s 2nd shot at entering fintech, this time with a fintech incubator, already with 17 companies in its portfolio Rockets zweiter Versuch: Die Fintech-Wetten von Flash Ventures | FinanceFWD
Deutsche Bank buys one of #Berlin’s first #fintechs, Better Payment, for an unknown sum. The startup was founded in 2013. This is part of Deutsche’s push bank in #payments Deutsche Bank übernimmt Better Payment aus Berlin - Business Insider
German digital wealth manager for affluent private clients, investment by LGT, existing investors Presse | LIQID Liquid was started by the Quant Family office (think BMW) and LGT is owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein
Crowdfunding platform Kapilendo merges with Finland-based competitor Invesdor. Invesdor already merged in 2019 with Finnest, active in Germany and Switzerland Schwarmfinanzierer Kapilendo, Invesdor und Finnest machen künftig gemeinsame Sache
Paysafe snaps up Berlin’s viafintech in all cash deal Paysafe snaps up Berlin's viafintech in all cash deal - Tech.eu
#Berlin-based Finleap Connect, the #openbanking provider of fintech company builder FinLeap buys startup in Spain https://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/banken-versicherungen/banken/fintechs-finleap-connect-kauft-in-spanien-zu/
Danish payment provider Nets increases stake in Berlin-based fintech Orderbird to 40%, valuing the company at 100 mn € Payment-Riese Nets stockt bei Fintech Orderbird auf | FinanceFWD
Plans have been published for Germany to get its own ocean-based space launch platform in the North Sea by 2023 Deutschland bekommt Weltraumbahnhof – erste Starts vielleicht schon 2023
Biotech: Curevac once hailed as a big German hope for a corona vaccine cancels some of the smaller production contracts Impfstoff-Aus für Curevac: Unternehmen kündigt Partnerverträge
learn more about the background here: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/germanys-hope-for-coronavirus-vaccine-and-how-they-got-a-300-mn-euros-government-investment
Rocket Internet generates record revenue in 2020 and record write-downs as well (Away, Eatfirst, Helpling, …). EBITA loss is 18 mn Euros in total the group turns a profit mainly from selling stakes and interest income Rocket Internet: Die Geschäftszahlen aus dem Delisting-Jahr 2020 - Business Insider
Startup Vay has a new take on carsharing. If you need a car, it will arrive with a remote driver. No need for parking as well, after you are done with your ride Sharing per Fernsteuerung: Vay lässt Autos zum Kunden bringen - Business Insider
A very few selected investments and exits
Quick-delivery retail startup Jokr raises $170 million from investors Quick-delivery retail startup Jokr raises $170 million from investors | Reuters The founders of the company are Delivery Hero and Softbank veterans describing their company as “Amazon on steroids.” It would not surprise us if the company will soon be a unicorn as well.
Exclusive news by Deutsche-Startups: 468 Capital invests in Mayd, which is delivering drugstore and pharmacy products similar to food delivery services #EXKLUSIV 468 Capital investiert in Mayd - GFC steigt bei Klarsolar ein - Cavalry Ventures investiert in VoiceLine - deutsche-startups.de
Enpal a #Berlin-based company renting out solar panels raises 100 mn € venture capital, investors include the cousin of Elon Musk and Holtzbrink Ventures 100-Millionen-Runde: Enpal schafft sich Cousin von Elon Musk als Investor ran
Vapiano founder sells Infarm copy for 130 m Euro Vapiano-Gründer verkauft seine Infarm-Kopie für 130 Millionen Euro
British PE investor Anacap buys majority stake in German startup WebID Finanzinvestor Anacap kauf die Mehrheit WebID
Digital coaching platform Coachhub takes over french competitor and raises additional funding to 130 mn US$ total CoachHub übernimmt MoovOne und erhöht Finanzierung
Startup Enpal, which rents our solar arrays gets 275 mn loan from Blackrock, Pricoa Private Capital (Prudential Financial) and Italian bank Unicredit Enpal sichert sich 345 Millionen Darlehen von Blackrock & Co - Business Insider
Autodoc is a #Berlin-based platform for auto parts. They are reported to prepare for an #IPO. The legal form changed to an AG, which can be listed, the founders moved on to the supervisory board and an experienced manager takes the CEO role Autodoc: Dieses deutsche Start-up eifert dem Milliarden-Erfolg von Auto1 nach - WELT
German listed online furniture store Home24 wants to crack one bn Euro revenues in 2023 Home24 will die Umsatzmilliarde jetzt 2023 erreichen – Exciting Commerce
Discopeter is a robot, from now on delivering burgers in Berlin Discoeat liefert mit Peter Pane Burger per Roboter aus - Business Insider
Stay ahead of the curve
How a Digital Euro could revolutionize Europe’s payments ecosystem — Tech_eu How a Digital Euro could revolutionize Europe’s payments ecosystem - Tech.eu
Winning formula: How Europe’s top tech start-ups get it right Winning formula: How Europe’s top tech start-ups get it right | McKinsey
Index Ventures launches web app to help founders calculate employee stock options — TechCrunch Index Ventures launches web app to help founders calculate employee stock options | TechCrunch
10 Things Your Corporate Culture Needs to Get Right 10 Things Your Corporate Culture Needs to Get Right
Embedded finance Europe’s $3.6tn opportunity | Sifted Embedded finance | Sifted
Find all links and show notes here: https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-german-startups-summer-wrap-up-july-august-september-2021/
German biotech shooting star BioNTech crossed a magic threshold on August 4th.
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.
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What are the key facts about DACH Startup News Summer 2021:?
Catch up on German startup news: unicorns, major funding rounds, and more in our summer 2021 wrap-up.
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.
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