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DACH Startup News January 2024: Founders, Funding and Ecosystem Updates

Updated: 5 days ago

publications more or less agreed that 2023 was hopefully rock bottom for startups, their valuation, funding, and founding of new ones and it

What Is This About?

January 2024's startup news roundup from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. With industry consensus that 2023 marked rock bottom for startup valuations and funding, this edition covers early signs of recovery, key funding rounds, founder movements, and ecosystem developments kicking off the new year.

Introduction

January 2024 opened with industry consensus that 2023 was hopefully rock bottom for startups. This monthly roundup covers the early signs of recovery in the DACH startup ecosystem — tracking the funding activity, founder movements, and market signals that characterized the first month of what many hoped would be a turnaround year.

Executive Summary

January 2024 opened with industry consensus that 2023 was rock bottom for startup valuations and funding. Early signs of recovery appeared selectively in AI-related deals and climate tech rounds. The monthly roundup captures the cautious optimism and initial deal activity that would define the first quarter of what became a transitional year for the DACH ecosystem.


publications more or less agreed that 2023 was hopefully rock bottom for startups, their valuation, funding, and founding of new ones and it Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.


Our Highlights:


I already did a 2023 review focused on valuations and investments. All publications more or less agreed that 2023 was hopefully rock bottom for startups, their valuation, funding, and founding of new ones and it should get better. Thumbs pressed for that (as is German custom).Our former guest Finn raises 100 M€, unicorn 1Komma5 Grad is looking for 100 M€, Unzer loss amounts to 400 M€ and Everphone raises 270 M€. Despite the dire situation, almost 2,500 new startups were founded in Germany. Also one should take notice of Karlsruhe, a city with a world-class technical university, that is home to INTERATEC which raised 118 M€ for efuels.


Please, take a moment and match again all the bad news we have gathered here and weigh it against entrepreneurs sticking their heads out and even raising hundreds of millions from investors. Congratulations to those brave ones!


Let’s talk startups:


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



Top News


2023 Was A Very Bad Year For Startups — Many Imply We Hit Rock Bottom Already


January is always the time to look back. Joe already did this Tuesday. 2023 was a bad year for startups all around the globe, even though valuations in the US did soare. We have this article from Crunchbase as one prominent example:Sounds about right: Global Startup Funding In 2023 Clocks In At Lowest Level In 5 Years https://buff.ly/3SasN4T

There are many pieces of research out there that give you the same bottom line: 2023 was a bad year for startups and startup investing with many failing startups. We have more data and stories on them below, highlighting a bad 2023 for fintechs and travel tech startups. AI and Greentech did well though.


Our Guest Finn Raises 100 M Euros


Munich-based FINN tows in €100 million Series C to accelerate its shift towards a fully electric fleet https://buff.ly/3U8Y4b4

Learn more about the CEO and the company in our 30-minute podcast in-depth interview https://buff.ly/3Sqd2bB


Unicorn 1Komma5 Grad is looking for 100 M€


Greentech unicorn 1Komma5 Grad is looking for 100 M € venture capital before the planned 2025 IPO https://buff.ly/3O9vIde They want to IPO before Easter 2025 and looking for a final liquidity injection. According to the article they generated 458 M€ in revenues in 2023 generating a profit of 48 M€.


Even In Rough Years Entrepreneurs Plow Ahead


Almost 2500 startups were founded in Germany in 2023. Berlin and Munich are slowing, but Hamburg’s growth is strong (+10%). Frankfurt only makes it to No 6 :-( https://buff.ly/3U5nPJ


Unzer Loss for 2022 Totals 400 M€


Berlin-based payment company Unzer registers a 400 M € loss with 200 M € revenue for 2022. Most of the loss can be attributed to the depreciation of goodwill. Unzer is the result of KKR’s buy-and-build strategy, with former Heidelpay as the center. The buying spree may be the main reason for this large loss. By now Unzer is already sold to Alcentra, Goldman Sachs, and Partners Group https://buff.ly/3Scm1M2


Joe Everphone Raised 270 M€


Berlin-based smartphone and gadget rental company Everphone raised 270M€ from Citi, KfW, Phoenix Insurance, and Capnor. https://buff.ly/3vMpNEs Funny background story: We received the press release one week before. I added it to the social media tools for after the end of the embargo on January 17th but sent a message to the PR company that we added it to the social media queue. It almost made the poor person in charge have a heart attack. Sorry, Jakob :-)


Housekeeping & Time to Brag


You can now find us on Threads.net, as well as on BlueSky, but since both tools don’t yet work with our social media backends, there is not yet a regular posting in place.

We are more than happy to tell you that in December alone we have reached more than 1.2 million founders and investors alone. Thank you to all the people out there listening to us and supporting us!

There are a lot of lists, podcast charts, and highlights of Startuprad.io that we could talk about. If you like to, there is a press release that even Yahoo Finance published:


Ecosystem


Global

  • State of Venture 2023 CB Insights Global Take is Here: https://buff.ly/3vRGSg6

  • Tracking travel startup investment trends in 2023 — Another tough year for travel startups, ending with 6.3 bn US$ in investments vs. 14 bn in 2022 https://buff.ly/47KaPMz


Europe

  • European startup investors look for 2024 for possible IPO options to exit https://buff.ly/47MKduv

  • 2023 was a difficult year for fintech startups in Europe — no surprise there — but it ends with a glimmer of hope https://buff.ly/3O8AUh


Germany


Hubs

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


Frankfurt — Rhein/Main

  • Insurtech: Unicorn Clark gives up the Austrian market. Former CEO for Austria takes over the business in a management buyout https://buff.ly/3vJl9qX

  • Link11, a Frankfurt am Main, Germany-based specialized IT security provider, raised €26.5M in funding https://buff.ly/3HrltwO


Frankfurt — Obituary


We are very sad to inform you that Professor Philipp Sandner, a frequent guest and one of the main evangelists of blockchain in German-speaking academia has passed away. He founded the Blockchain Center at Frankfurt School and was an expert consulted by the German government on the law to allow the tokenization of securities, as well as a member of the Fintechrat. We just mailed him before the holidays and now he is gone. Multiple newspapers and blogs announced his death, but a cause of death was not given. https://buff.ly/3u5Im61


Aachen


Magdeburg


Hamburg


Karlsruhe

This small city with its world-class technical university appears more often in our news. Take note!

  • INERATEC raises 118 M€ in Series B funding for their efuel from 14 different investors, including Samsung Ventures, TDK Venturs, our former guests Planet A Ventures, and HTGF https://buff.ly/47JSRtG


Norderwöhrden — Yes, a bit different news, but still important


We are sure you have never heard of that small town with a population of 282, and neither have we, but it is here for a reason. The small town was the last one that could block the 4,5 billion € investment of Northvolt for their battery factory (we covered the announcement from Northvolt in our news). They voted 3:4 in favor of the project, so it can go ahead and create 3.000 new jobs. The vote took place just yesterday. https://buff.ly/3HtcPOn The factory is one of the largest industrial investments in recent German history and should start production of new batteries, as well as recycling old ones in 2026. The German federal government invests 560+ M€ and the state of Schleswig-Holstein 130+ M€, plus there are subsidies of 900 M€. https://buff.ly/3OdYfhQ https://buff.ly/3S83Xmn


Austria

  • Vienna-based food-tech startup AnovonA wins over SalzburgMilch als strategic investor with 9,2 M € funding for their protein drink brand “mucki” https://buff.ly/42fV5jm


Switzerland

  • Zurich, Switzerland-based AI startup Unique raises an additional 5,6 M CHF, after raising 4 M US$ last year for further development of their Azur and OpenAI-based ai platform https://buff.ly/3vDGeCU

  • Swiss Rivero raises $7M for its payment simplifying SaaS solutions https://buff.ly/3HgPZto

  • Highly praised, multi-award-winning Swiss startup Nomoko files for insolvency https://buff.ly/4b1rk9X


General News / Tech News / Companies News Section


We include some news we deem relevant from more established companies here as well:


New Funds, in case you are looking for money:

  • EIT InnoEnergy and Demeter launch €500m European battery raw materials fund https://buff.ly/3SrObEf

  • OpenAI Backer Thrive Capital Plans $3 Billion Fundraise https://buff.ly/3OcbaAG keep in mind, this fund is not yet raised and it will take time.


Fintech News Joe


General News

  • The job cuts keep coming in the German tech scene. This time Handelsblatt reports about hundreds of jobs to be cut in the Berlin-based HQ of Delivery Hero https://buff.ly/3U9XU3t

  • Manager Magazine writes that Tier Mobility flees in a merger with rival Dott https://buff.ly/47RBIxX

  • Aleph Alpha hires new VP for strategy and communications from Palantir https://buff.ly/3U6Dmc3


Schumpeters Schöpferische Zerstörung ⇒ Creative Destruction Still Ongoing:


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 also included some positive outlooks for 2024 here to keep the news in an upbeat mood

We will be back on February 29th with the next news episode and the next regular episode will go live next week.


Stay Ahead of the Curve

  • Joe’s gathering of 2023 data on the global, European and German startup scene: Deep-Dive: A Recap of 2023’s Startup Valuations and Investment Trends https://buff.ly/48JHtPw


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 Host

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


🧠 Looking for the bigger picture?

 

Dive deeper into this year’s most important developments across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in our full analysis: DACH Startup Ecosystem 2024: Trends, Funding & Breakthroughs – https://www.startuprad.io/post/dach-startup-ecosystem-2024-trends-funding-breakthroughs. It’s your go-to resource for startup trends, VC activity, and tech insights across the DACH region.


Key Takeaways

  • I already did a 2023 review focused on valuations and investments.

  • 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.

Atomic Answer

Relationship Map

  • Startuprad.io → published → DACH Startup News January 2024: 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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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key facts about DACH Startup News January 2024:?

publications more or less agreed that 2023 was hopefully rock bottom for startups, their valuation, funding, and founding of new ones and it

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.

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