top of page
Search

DACH Startup News December 2023: Founders, Funding and Ecosystem Updates

Updated: 1 day ago

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups — December 2023

What Is This About?

The second part of December 2023's DACH startup coverage focusing on German, Swiss, and Austrian startup developments. This edition rounds up additional funding news, ecosystem changes, and notable founder stories that shaped the end of the year across the GSA startup scene.

Introduction

The second part of December 2023's DACH startup coverage rounds up additional funding news, ecosystem changes, and founder stories from across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. This edition captures the final developments that shaped the end of a challenging year for the GSA startup scene.

December 2023's additional DACH coverage rounds up the final startup stories that shaped the end of a challenging year. The edition captures late-year ecosystem developments, founder stories, and market signals from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.


This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups — December 2023 Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.


Our Highlights:


Aleph Alpha’s AI models get bad press. Escooter Tier lays of one-fifth of the workforce. Solarisbank also fires employees, and so does the Austrian scale-up neoom. Sport Alliance gets 100 M US$ funding and Hugo Boss chips into a sustainable fashion fund. Trade Republic is now a fully licensed bank and Instafreight has to file for insolvency. In total, we have more than 30 M US$ new VC investments in Austria, more than 25 M US$ investments in Switzerland, and more than 400 M US$ investments in Germany, vs only three insolvencies.

Yes at the core we are very positive :-). It feels better, at least a bit.

Let’s talk startups:


Our Partners (AL)


Are you a startup founder, looking for a bank account in the EU? We are banking with Qonto. Sign up, using this link: https://qonto.com/r/pb0kq1


🔥 Supercharge your sales game with Pipedrive! 🚀 Unlock the ultimate tool for lead management and conversion. 💼 Seize this exclusive offer: Get a jaw-dropping 30% OFF for an entire year! 🌐 Elevate your business 💥 #Lead https://www.joinsecret.com/?r=c94534197f2d


🎉 Elevate your customer support game with Zendesk! 🚀 Experience excellence for FREE — get 6 months on us! 🌐 Revolutionize your service and delight your customers. ⏳ Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity! 🚀 #CustomerSupport https://www.joinsecret.com/?r=c94534197f2d


🚀 Elevate your business with Freshworks! 🌐 Unlock a game-changing 90% OFF on their powerful customer engagement tools! 🌟 Seize the moment to supercharge your success. ⏰ Don’t miss out — the future of seamless customer experiences awaits! 🚀 #deals https://www.joinsecret.com/?r=c94534197f2d


Apple Podcasts


Castbox


Global Podcast Network (Formerly NY City Podcast Network)


Our Enablers


This recording is supported by HTAI and the Enterprise Europe Network Hessen



Top News


Aleph Alpha’s Models Get Bad Press


Aleph Alpha from Heidelberg promoted their models as better and non-biased than others including their ability to filter out fake news. The founder liked to talk about “european values.”

Now the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel and the Hamburg-based Zeit discovered shocking reactions of the models in the “Playground” of Aleph Alpha e.g. praising Hitler, homophobe and anti-semitic statements. Some of what the jounarlists discovered is shocking and other content sounds like statements from a dumb teenager. Interviewed researchers concluded them to be weaknesses of the language model.

One should keep in mind that the models are not final AND many LLMs have similar weaknesses. One should be concerned about LLM if models that keep theses “problems” are claimed to be final and go into production. Everybody who worked with new software knows that it can not be perfect. This is no excuse for the statements, but since it is software it may simply be the way to a final — hopefully non racist, nazi or homophobe tool.

Zeit: https://www.zeit.de/digital/2023-09/aleph-alpha-luminous-jonas-andrulis-generative-ki-rassismus/komplettansichtAs an example of weaknesses of other AI models here CNN: “AI can be racist, sexist and creepy. What should we do about it?” https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/18/politics/ai-chatgpt-racist-what-matters/index.html


20% of Employees Have to Say Goodbye to the Escooter Company Tier


Scooter startup Tier lays off 22% of workforce to reach profitability | TechCrunch https://buff.ly/3uDHXrk


Also, Solarisbank fires Employees

Solarisbank keeps firing employees reports a German blog: https://buff.ly/3tckcXg this time around 20 employees including three managers have been let go, shortly before Christmas


Sport Alliance Raises The Bar


Sport Alliance announces Further Growth Investment from PSG, with New Commitments Totaling $100m https://buff.ly/480rpZn They write “With its product portfolio currently available across Europe, Sport Alliance enables efficient gym management and easy, digital access to sport and exercise for members in sports facilities. Over 5.2 million gym members use the app solutions provided by Sport Alliance to gain simple and digital access to sports facilities.”


Hugo Boss Joins Collateral Good in a Sustainable Fashion Fund


Collateral Good launches a HUGO BOSS-backed sustainable fashion fund with a €100M target https://buff.ly/3RvNNmo The fund will invest in innovation and technology to accelerate the sustainable transformation of the textile and fashion industry. Collateral Good is a Zürich-based climate-first Venture Capital platform. To be clear, the whole fund volume is 100 M Euros, but Hugo Boss does not invest that much. The article does not even speculate on the size of Boss’ investment


Trade Republic Gets Full Bank License


Fintech unicorn Trade Republic from Berlin gets full bank license https://buff.ly/3uExtrK In the past Trade Republic was regulated as a so-called “securities trading bank.” Since Crypto has not been doing well, it can be assumed that TR seems to aim to extend its products and services in normal banking and securities trading, as well as asset management. Right now they have a lot of partnerships, which may be on the chopping block in the future.


Instafreight — A Frequent Part of Our News Has to File for Insolvency


Instafreight raised a total of 75,2 M US$ but still has to file for insolvency. Likely this is one of this year’s largest startup insolvencies https://buff.ly/4aoYa49 The startup was founded in 2016 to get transportation space for B2B customers who only look to get one pallet transported. They raised 40 M US$ in Series B funding, announced in March 2022. According to LinkedIn, they have around 140 employees registered there. They counted amongst their investor's companies like Shell Ventures, Heliad Equity Partners, European Investment Bank, and Rocket Internet.


Housekeeping & Time to Brag


Startuprad.io made it to No one in FeedSpot’s list of the 15 Best German Stories Podcast PLUS Women Who Rock GSA made it to No seven. Thank you! You can learn more here:


Like What You Hear?


You can tip us here:


Ecosystem


EU

  • European VC funding nearly halves in 2023, but shows resilience https://buff.ly/3R1haNi

  • EU negotiators strike a political deal on AI Act https://buff.ly/3GKwBEZ This topic will occupy us for some time. We will surely have a deep dive when more details are available.

  • These are the EU countries with the most successful companies — France is slightly ahead of Germany https://buff.ly/477Jvr4


Germany

  • SPACs? Are they still around? Turns out no. Famous entrepreneurs and investors in Germany returned the money they have raised for their SPACs to investors https://buff.ly/3NtlcgA

  • Study: The German AI market grows by 1/3rd to 6,3 billion €, and is expected to grow by another 30% in 2024 according to Bitkom e. V. https://buff.ly/3RxdkMb


Hubs

Here we want to highlight some hidden gems and cities of general startup interest.


Frankfurt — Rhein/Main

  • Crowdfunding platform bettervest wins Germany’s Sustainability Award 2023 category finance. Congratulations! https://buff.ly/3trmbHc


Cologne

  • Sastrify secures additional funding and acquires competitor Pengu to solidify its market position. Sastrify, a Cologne-based SaaS procurement platform, secures additional funding in the Series B round and acquires competitor Pengu. https://buff.ly/41t5Myp


Cottbus

  • Zander Laboratories from Cottbus gets a 30 M Euro research grant for the development of neurotechnology prototypes. The project is called „Neuroadaptivität für autonome Systeme“ (NAFAS) https://buff.ly/3RxfBHd


Austria

  • neoom, the Austrian energy scaleup cuts 27 of 300+ jobs https://buff.ly/4auH5WH

  • Vienna-based scaleup Hydrogrid raises 8.5 M US$ venture capital for their real-time management software for hydropower https://buff.ly/48332KM

  • Hololight, an Innsbruck, Austria-based company that specializes in AR and VR solutions for the enterprise market, raised $12M in funding https://buff.ly/4aF8B3V

  • Jentis, a Vienna, Austria-based data capture technology company, raised €11M in Series A funding. https://buff.ly/4aubd4c


Switzerland

  • Vandria, a Lausanne, Switzerland-based mitochondrial therapeutics company developing small molecule mitophagy inducers, raised $20.6M in Series A funding https://buff.ly/474yl6D

  • Cacao? Yep Zurich-based Koa raised 15 M US$ in Series B funding to build up their cacao upcycling business https://buff.ly/3RNvWIY


General News / Tech News / Companies News Section


A little note here. Since we aim to inform you about the startup world in GSA, SMEs and large enterprises are also active in the markets. Therefore we include some news of them here as well:


New Funds, in case you are looking for money:

  • Munich-based Vanagon Ventures launches €30 million fund to heavily invest in the B2B green transformation space https://buff.ly/41xvTnV


Fintech News

  • Do you know the Munich-based crypto custodian Tangany? They are a hidden champion and the billion Euro assets under custody are for them in reach https://buff.ly/48isyMl several years ago (February 2021) we had them in our show: https://buff.ly/3tpXURQ hashtag: be ahead of the curve :-)

  • Fina a neobroker for women gives up after only two years https://buff.ly/3Tufoaa


General News

  • Sono Motors is rescued out of insolvency, BUT its shares are dropped from NASDQA in a final decision of the stock exchange, according to this blog post: https://buff.ly/3NxxN21

  • Munich-based startup Air Up has famous investors like Frank Thelen, Ashton Kutcher, and Mila Kunis, but is now confronted with accusations of Greenwashing https://buff.ly/3vfghcw


Schumpeters Schöpferische Zerstörung ⇒ Creative Destruction Still Ongoing:

  • Software unicorn Contentful axes 50 jobs https://buff.ly/3TtbvlW (yep, also job cuts make it here since they can destroy a life as well).

  • ExpressSteuer the tax tech startup from Hamburg raised 25 M €, but has to file for insolvency https://buff.ly/3RqoJxf

  • Berlin-based escooter manufacturer Unu has to file for insolvency https://buff.ly/4747Xdc


End on a High Note: Successful Fundraisings and Exits:


Keep in mind this is a small selection. The news here and their total value show how resilient the startup scene is. We included only selected fundraisings above 5 million Euros or USD

We will be back in the new year on January 18th and the next news will be aired on January 25th.


Stay Ahead of the Curve


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 Founder


Startuprad.io was founded by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:




Keep Up to Date

Here is our publication calendar:


  • Aleph Alpha’s AI models get bad press.

  • 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 December 2023: Founders, Funding and Ecosy

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.

Subscribe to the Podcast

What are the key facts about DACH Startup News December 2023:?

This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups — December 2023

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.

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.

Comments

Become a Sponsor!

...
Sign up for our newsletter!

Get notified about updates and be the first to get early access to new episodes.

Affiliate Links:

...
bottom of page