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This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups — May 2022

Jörn Menninger
Mar 15
12 min read

Updated: Sep 20

Picutre via Pixabay: A cart track in May in Germany

What Is This About?

The May 2022 DACH startup news roundup covers mid-spring developments across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — including funding updates, notable deals, and ecosystem trends as the market begins showing early signs of the correction that would define the rest of 2022.

This article is part of our coverage of Monthly Startup News from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

  • This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.

  • We recorded this news episode on Thursday, May 19th, 2022.

  • As always: All news not yet included here will be published in our next news episode in June.

  • We will also slightly change our publication schedule in the summer — as we have done before.

  • We also partner with Artic 15 you get a discount with our code in the show notes at www.


This Month in German, Swiss, and Austrian (GSA) Startups — May 2022 Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Picutre via Pixabay: A cart track in May in Germany

New Blog


This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.


We recorded this news episode on Thursday, May 19th, 2022. The next news will go live on June 30th. Keep in mind, that we will have a summer break afterward and be back for you with another news episode on Labor Day September 5th, 2022. In this episode, we will wrap up July, and August.


As always: All news not yet included here will be published in our next news episode in June.


We will also slightly change our publication schedule in the summer — as we have done before. For July and August, we will only post a new episode every other week (July 14th, 28th, and August 11th, as well as August 25th). We will be back to normal at the start of September.


We also partner with Artic 15 you get a discount with our code in the show notes at www.medium.com/startuprad-io


  • Artic15 startupradio


Our Highlights:

We can proudly announce unicorn No 29 Taxfix, No 30 Onefootball and on the downside, RaisinDS loses its unicorn valuation. Really bad news for car sharing: BMW and Mercedes pull the plug on their joint venture. Our 2018 guest ProGlove is sold in a 500 m € deal (525 m US$) and Orderbird is sold in a 100 m € deal (105 m US$). Other unicorns are currently on the hunt for new capital and feel the heat of the current funding environment.

Let’s talk startups:


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Our Enablers


Invest-in-Hessen

This show was made possible by Hessen Trade and Invest with their brand Invest-in-Hessen. You can learn more about them here (https://www.invest-in-hessen.com/). We also run a dedicated sub-podcast with all interviews and news in cooperation with them. Find it all here:


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The Video Interview is set to go live on May 26th, 2022



The Audio Interview

You can subscribe to our podcasts here.


Top News


New Unicorn #29 Taxfix

We just wrapped up the April news with two new unicorns and soon there was the next one: Tax app Taxfix becomes a unicorn with a 220 m US$ funding round Naechstes Einhorn ist da: Steuer-App Taxfix knackt Milliardenbewertung - Business InsiderRelated:Taxes may be boring, but they are important. So Taxfix becomes yet another unicorn, but the first one in Germany dealing with tax filings Fintech Taxfix: Steuer-App wird zum Einhorn


New Unicorn #30 Onefootball

Berlin-based Onefootball becomes Germany’s 30th unicorn with their most recent 300 m US$ fundraising Fußball-App Onefootball wird Deutschlands dreißigstes Unicorn - Business Insider


Back at 29 Unicorns with RaisinDS

Germany has lost a unicorn. Not due to insolvency or takeover, but due to a down-round, a funding round where the valuation of the overall startup went down.

Here is the article: Berlin-based fintech Raisin loses unicorn valuation due to slowing growth Berliner Fintech Raisin verliert Unicorn-Status - Business Insider Don’t worry, this is only hurtful for the feelings. They can bounce back anytime.


This is a Pretty Bad Sign For Carsharing in Germany

BMW and Mercedes pull the plug and sell their 2018 merged car-sharing joint venture called “Share Now” to competitor Stellantis. How can one make car-sharing profitable, if two of the most experienced car producers can not? Share Now: BMW und Mercedes verkaufen Carsharing an Stellantis


ProGlove Sold for 500 m Euros And Looking to Be the Next Team Viewer

Our 2018 Guest ProGlove Makes ”Monster Exit” at around 500 m € — Plans to Be The Next Teamviewer Our 2018 Guest ProGlove Makes Monster Exit at around 500m EUR - Startuprad.io, Medium by

Related

Valued in the neighborhood of €500 million, Munich’s ProGlove acquired by Nordic Capital
(Original Source Removed - Here would be a link to the source)


Orderbird Sold in 100 m Euro Deal

100 m Euro deal: Hospitality startup Orderbird completely sold to new Italian owners Orderbird für 100 Millionen Euro verkauft - Business Insider


Some Capital Seeking Unicorns Already Feel the New Market Realities

According to a recent press report the current fundraising of Trade Republic, N26, and Gorillas is not going as planned. There is fear of “Flat Rounds” without a higher valuation N26, Trade Republic, Gorillas: Start-up-Bewertungen unter Druck


Housekeeping & Time to Brag

You may have noticed our partnership with DEEP Ecosystems? They are an analytics company tracking startup activity in more than 120 cities across Europe. Normally you need to be a member to get your hands on the data. Now you can get quarterly updates exclusively with us. We call it “The Pulse of European Startup Ecosystem” and it will also be available as a new sub-podcast. The release of the next update and the sub-podcast will be in calendar week 27 (the week starts June 6th, which is a public holiday in Germany).


Ecosystem


Hubs

There are many deserving startups, cities, and entrepreneurs who will never get any English coverage, would it not be for us. This is why this section exists. This time Chris is channeling his inner geography teacher and has his own order :-)


Frankfurt


Hamburg


Munich


Dresden


Cologne


Landshut


Austria


Switzerland


General News / Tech News / Companies News Section

Social Freezing and Family Planning are now Startup topics …


Fintechs


Maybe the last news on Zooplus for some time

  • Zooplus an online pet supplies store has been taken private in a furious battle of private equity houses (we talked about it in our news). Now, after the buyout, the founder leaves the company Zooplus-Gründer Cornelius Patt zieht sich jetzt doch zurück – Exciting Commerce

  • Zooplus will soon be taken private. Now they publish their 2021 results headline revenue +16% to 2,09 bn Euros "Source Link dead 2026-09-14"


Totally Not The Last News of Wirecard


A very very few selected VC fundings


Other News


Stay ahead of the curve

Back on June 30th with the next news.

What Happened in GSA Startups in May 2022?

May 2022 saw Germany's unicorn count fluctuate dramatically: Taxfix became unicorn #29 shortly after the April wrap-up, then Onefootball became #30 with a $300M raise, but RaisinDS lost its unicorn status through a down-round — dropping the count back to 29. The carsharing sector also showed concerning signs. Arctic15 partnership and Hessen Trade and Invest sponsorship enabled the coverage.

Introduction

Recorded on May 19th, 2022, this monthly wrap-up captures a volatile period for German unicorns. Shortly after the April episode reported two new unicorns, tax app Taxfix reached unicorn status as #29. Then Berlin-based Onefootball became Germany's 30th unicorn with a $300 million fundraise. But the gains were short-lived: RaisinDS lost its unicorn valuation through a down-round due to slowing growth, dropping the count back to 29. The carsharing sector also showed worrying signs. Startuprad.io partnered with Arctic15 for this period.

May 2022 was a month of unicorn volatility in Germany. Taxfix and Onefootball joined the unicorn club, but RaisinDS became the first notable down-round casualty, losing its unicorn status due to slowing growth. The net result was Germany holding at 29 unicorns. The carsharing sector showed concerning trends, and the broader market was beginning to shift. The episode was enabled by Hessen Trade and Invest and featured an Arctic15 conference partnership.

  • Tax app Taxfix became Germany's 29th unicorn shortly after the April news wrap-up.

  • Berlin-based Onefootball reached unicorn status as #30 with a $300 million fundraise.

  • RaisinDS lost its unicorn valuation through a down-round due to slowing growth, an early sign of the coming market correction.

  • The carsharing sector showed concerning signs in Germany during this period.

  • Startuprad.io partnered with Arctic15 conference with a discount code available in the show notes.

Entities Referenced in This Episode

Startups

  • Taxfix — Tax app, became Germany's unicorn #29

  • Onefootball — Berlin-based football/soccer platform, unicorn #30 ($300M raise)

  • RaisinDS — Berlin-based fintech, lost unicorn status via down-round

Organizations

  • Hessen Trade and Invest / Invest-in-Hessen — Episode sponsor

  • Arctic15 — Conference partner

People

  • Jörn "Joe" Menninger — Startuprad.io host

Topics

  • German unicorns, down-round, tax tech, football tech, fintech valuation, carsharing decline, DACH startup news

Relationship Map

  • Taxfix → became → Germany's unicorn #29

  • Onefootball → became → Germany's unicorn #30 ($300M)

  • RaisinDS → lost unicorn status → via down-round (slowing growth)

  • Germany's unicorn count → fluctuated → 29 → 30 → back to 29

Quote Highlights

  • Taxfix becomes Germany's newest unicorn with a $220M funding round, while Onefootball joins the club at $300M — bringing the count to 30 German unicorns.

  • Germany loses a unicorn as RaisinDS faces a down-round, with its valuation dropping due to slowing growth in the fintech space.

  • BMW and Mercedes exit carsharing by selling their joint venture Share Now to Stellantis — raising questions about the viability of carsharing in Germany.

  • ProGlove, a 2018 Startuprad.io guest, makes a monster exit at around €500M with plans to become the next TeamViewer.

Related Episodes on Startuprad.io

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

How many unicorns did Germany have in May 2022?

Germany's unicorn count fluctuated in May 2022: Taxfix became #29, Onefootball became #30 with a $300M raise, but RaisinDS lost its unicorn status through a down-round, bringing the count back to 29 by month's end.

What happened to RaisinDS?

Berlin-based fintech RaisinDS (formerly Raisin) lost its unicorn valuation due to a down-round caused by slowing growth. This made it one of the first notable German startups to experience a valuation reduction as the market began to turn.

What is Onefootball?

Onefootball is a Berlin-based football (soccer) media and technology platform that became Germany's 30th unicorn with a $300 million fundraise in May 2022.

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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If your company wants to reach founders, investors, and operators across the DACH startup ecosystem, Startuprad.io works with a select number of partners on high-trust visibility and thought-leadership formats. Explore partnership options here: Partner with Startuprad.io

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