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This Month in German, Swiss and Austrian Startups — April 2022

Updated: 20 hours ago

Spring Flowers in Germany via Pixabay

What Is This About?

The April 2022 DACH startup news roundup covers spring developments across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — including funding rounds, ecosystem updates, and the stories shaping the startup landscape as the market begins its mid-year transition.

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

Executive Summary

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

  • We recorded this new episode on Monday, April 25th, 2022.

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

  • We also partner with the EU-Startups Summit and Artic 15 you get a discount at both events with our codes in the show notes www.

  • Despite slightly declining global VC investments GSA still generates Unicorns.


Spring Flowers in Germany via Pixabay

New Blog

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

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 new episode on Monday, April 25th, 2022. The next news will go live on the 26th of May, the day we celebrate fathers day in Germany. For this reason, we have at this date two publications: the news and an episode on men’s health.

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

We also partner with the EU-Startups Summit and Artic 15 you get a discount at both events with our codes in the show notes www.medium.com/startuprad-io. You can meet Joe in person in Barcelona at the EU Startups Summit on May 12th and 13th.

The discount codes are:

  • EU Startups STARTUPRADIO20

  • Artic15 startupradio


Our highlights:


Despite slightly declining global VC investments GSA still generates Unicorns. This time we welcomed Grover and Choco officially into the league. Swiss Beqom is not confirmed, but also a massive investment. Apple and Porsche are rumored to work together on joint projects. Gorillas is looking for funding again, after raising a billion US$ (850 m Euros) in September 2021. Germany’s second most valuable fintech Mambu had to publish numbers. The corona patron registration app Luca first boomed during the lockdown, then their data protection was questioned, now they pivot to a fintech with the backing of investors including the Wefox founder.

Let’s talk startups:



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Top News


Despite the cloudy outlook on capital markets, the unicorn creation machine is not stuttering yet:

  • Berlin-based startup Grover becomes a unicorn reports Deutsch Startups exclusively. Grover was founded in 2015 and enables customers to rent gadgets like smartphones or tablets https://buff.ly/3j9qkH0 + press release via Mail

  • Choco Raises $111M in Series B2 Funding; Valued at $1.2 Billion https://buff.ly/3rHBeIN


Not confirmed, but looks pretty much like a unicorn

Switzerland’s cloud-based compensation management platform Beqom gets €277M backing from Sumeru Equity Partners https://buff.ly/3L0GZZr (beqom provides a cloud-based compensation management solution that unifies all compensation and rewards processes on a single platform, from salary and bonus to deferred incentives and sales commissions.)


Will Apple and Porsche build a car together?

Porsche AG discussed possible joint projects with Apple https://buff.ly/3N2Whyx


Gorillas not only became a unicorn fast, but it also appears to be a cash-burning machine…

Berlin-based delivery unicorn Gorillas is looking for new investors, after raising 850+ m Euros (1 bn US$ at the time) last September https://buff.ly/3jvmnwx


Mambu — Germany’s 2nd most valuable fintech

Mambu — Germany’s 2nd most valuable fintech published 2020 results: 32 m € revenue with 46% margin. Note that 32 mn revenue only put them at 6th place for German fintechs, but the growth prospects seem to be great https://buff.ly/3EswaNq


Luca pivots and gets some well-known investors who believe in them

Wefox founder joins 30 m € funding round for the Luca app, which pivots from a patron registration app in times of corona to a fintech https://buff.ly/3rDWsah


Housekeeping & Time to Brag

Nothing to see here, mostly for the reason that we don’t have a lot of time to track our chart or news appearances.


Ecosystem

Global Venture Funding Fell Last Quarter For The First Time In A Year. How Significant Is That? https://buff.ly/3jcvi5R


To ban Bitcoin or not to ban. The EU institutions and Germany seem to be unsure…

  • First: European Parliament rejects ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies https://buff.ly/3ivg6QL

  • Second: Germany Becomes The Most Crypto-Friendly Country Ahead Of Singapore And The US https://buff.ly/3jSkavh

  • But now third: The German blog netzpolitik.org (known as a reliable and well-informed source) reports after reviewing internal EU documents that they are still working on a Bitcoin ban behind closed doors https://buff.ly/3KhmG9j Chris: Would you put them at the same place as politico?


Leaving Germany

The main reasons for German startups leaving Germany? Funding options and exit options according to a recent survey https://buff.ly/3uiuQIf


Germany’s largest VC rounds of 2022 so far https://buff.ly/3uvAYyh

- Forto (Berlin) 250 m €

- Hy2gen (Wiesbaden) 200 m US$ (World’s largest private investment in green hydrogen)

- volocopter (Karlsruhe) 170 m US$

- Staffbase (Chemnitz) 115 m US$

- Vivid Money (Berlin) 100 m US$


Also, Zombie Clones Die

Clones die as well: The German Facebook clones MeinVZ and StudiVZ will be shut down for good at the end of March https://buff.ly/3qnlDgG

It started out as a Facebook clone — I personally remember it looked exactly like Facebook back in 2006, so I was just copying my Facebook account there during my time in college. Then Facebook came to Germany and the hype stopped. MeinVZ became something of a virtual ghost town. For years the only message I have gotten was when a moderator posted a happy birthday message, but even this stopped. This is the point I personally considered MeinVZ to be Zombie. There have been several times since, that the company was rumored to be shut down, but now it is for good.


Corona changed a lot and some habits will stick…

The Germans are Europe’s No 1 online shopper with an average of 6,7 packages a month https://buff.ly/3962BWu


Not in Germany, but still concerning:

VC ‘threatened media war against startup after faking investment deal’ by Freya Pratty via Sifted.eu https://buff.ly/3x6aSn3


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


Darmstadt

  • Darmstadt-based Biovox raises “six digits” pre-seed funding for their development of bioplastics https://buff.ly/3L334H9


Hamburg

  • Fintech ExpressGroup raises 25 m € Series A funding to expand with their tax software into Europe https://buff.ly/3uiofyG

  • Nestlé buys food startup Ankerkraut specializing in spices. It seems to be inspired by Kraft Food’s purchase of Düsseldorf-based Just Spices. Ankerkraut could be valued at a range of 250–400 m Euros. The tweet that made this public has 1.500 comments, few are happy https://buff.ly/3EwIj3V It seems that Nestle will for the first time not really enjoy the deal.


Mittweida, Saxony

  • Cinector, from Mittweida Saxony, Germany — raises 2.5 m € seed investment to enable virtual presentations made from your office https://buff.ly/3MeHfEp


Ludwigshafen

  • The VC arm of German chemical giant BASF, called BASF Venture Capital invests an undisclosed sum in Los Angeles based Oceanworks a marketplace for recycled plastic materials and products https://buff.ly/3KdFF5j


Karlsruhe

  • Chrono24 is a marketplace for luxury wristwatches. They raised 100 m € in August 2021 and are now reported to prep for a 2023 IPO https://buff.ly/3JR3QW1


Munich

  • We interviewed the crypto custody fintech Tangany from Munich in February 2021, now they have raised 7 m € venture capital https://buff.ly/3989SVM

  • Find the interview here: https://buff.ly/3xHNzAo

  • Munich-based impact VC BonVenture makes final closing on 4th fund at 50 mn €, with original targe of 30–40 mn https://buff.ly/3Nbavxa

  • Munich-based air-taxi company Lilium pushes back its start by one year to 2025, according to reports in the German press https://buff.ly/3KfKR8z


Switzerland

  • Swiss Greentech startup Daphne Technology raises 4 m CHF additional funding https://buff.ly/3qjAKI7

  • Do you know the green startup Climeworks? The company just raised 590 m € ( ~ 650 m US$) for their carbon capture method from the air. Investors include Partners Group and Singapore’s GIC fund https://buff.ly/3LKorNk


Austria

  • Vienna-based edtech startup unicorn GoStudent officially enters the US as 23rd market https://buff.ly/3isDYof

  • Do you know Deus Automobiles from Austria? The startup just presented its all-electric hypercar to the public at the New York Auto Show https://buff.ly/3vCGGxy


General News / Tech News / Companies News Section

Fintechs

  • Again trouble at N26 since they terminated accounts without notice and any further explanation. Consumer advocates offer criticism https://buff.ly/388n8cz

  • Feather, a Berlin-based insurtech startup, floats on €3.8 million pillow in a bed made by unicorn founders https://buff.ly/3NV8i9C

  • Berlin-based fintech Finmarie launches investment app for women https://buff.ly/3ujXCJQ


A very very few Venture Capital investment/fundraising rounds

  • The founders of #Berlin-based fintech Lemon Markets are just 21 years old but raised 15 m Euros in seed investment https://buff.ly/3jdhYOC

  • Meet Warehousing1, the Berlin startup which housed €10 million to expand its fulfillment network in Europe https://buff.ly/3jcfW1g

  • EQT and existing investors invest in unofficial Wunderlist successor Superlist reports exclusively Deutsche Startups https://buff.ly/3IxmpOA

  • World cup winning football player Thomas Müller invests in clean meat startup Greenforce, which offers their product as a powder to mix it yourself with water or oil https://buff.ly/3L0A829


Other News

Roadsurfer is a German startup renting out RVs, they are now entering the US market https://buff.ly/37H0x6q


Stay ahead of the curve


Some Takeouts for the Reader Who Read Until the End

What Happened in GSA Startups in April 2022?

April 2022 saw Germany's unicorn machine still running despite declining global VC: Grover became a unicorn, Swiss Beqom got €277M from Sumeru Equity Partners, Porsche and Apple discussed joint car projects, Gorillas continued burning cash after €850M+ raised, and Mambu was revealed as Germany's 2nd most valuable fintech with €32M revenue at 46% margin. The Luca app also announced a pivot.

Introduction

Recorded on April 25th, 2022, this monthly wrap-up shows that the DACH unicorn creation machine was still running despite a cloudy outlook on global capital markets. Berlin-based Grover reached unicorn status, Swiss cloud compensation platform Beqom secured €277M from Sumeru Equity Partners, and reports emerged of Porsche AG discussing possible joint projects with Apple. Gorillas continued as a major story, burning through cash after raising over €850M while seeking new investors. Mambu was highlighted as Germany's second most valuable fintech with impressive €32M revenue at 46% margin. The episode featured partnerships with EU-Startups Summit and Arctic15.

Executive Summary

April 2022 demonstrated the resilience of the DACH startup ecosystem even as global VC markets began cooling. Grover's unicorn milestone, Beqom's €277M raise, and Mambu's strong financial metrics showed continued strength. However, warning signs were emerging: Gorillas' cash burn rate raised concerns, and the Luca app's pivot signaled that pandemic-era business models were shifting. Porsche's Apple discussions added an automotive-tech dimension. The episode was enabled by partnerships with EU-Startups Summit and Arctic15.

Key Takeaways

  • Berlin-based Grover became a unicorn despite the declining global VC environment.

  • Swiss compensation platform Beqom secured €277M from Sumeru Equity Partners, approaching unicorn territory.

  • Porsche AG discussed possible joint projects with Apple, signaling automotive-tech convergence.

  • Gorillas continued burning cash after raising over €850M, seeking new investors despite questions about sustainability.

  • Mambu was revealed as Germany's 2nd most valuable fintech with €32M revenue and an impressive 46% margin.

Atomic Answer

Entities Referenced in This Episode

Startups & Companies

  • Grover — Berlin-based electronics subscription, became unicorn

  • Beqom — Swiss cloud compensation platform, €277M from Sumeru Equity Partners

  • Gorillas — Berlin delivery unicorn, cash-burning after €850M+

  • Mambu — Germany's 2nd most valuable fintech, €32M revenue, 46% margin

  • Luca — Contact tracing app, announced pivot

  • Porsche AG / Apple — Discussed possible joint car projects

Organizations

  • Sumeru Equity Partners — Backed Beqom with €277M

  • EU-Startups Summit — Event partnership

  • Arctic15 — Event partnership

Topics

  • Unicorn creation, declining VC, compensation management, delivery startups, fintech margins, automotive-tech

Relationship Map

  • Grover → became → unicorn (April 2022)

  • Beqom (Swiss) → raised → €277M from Sumeru Equity Partners

  • Gorillas → burning cash → after €850M+ raised

  • Mambu → Germany's 2nd fintech → €32M revenue, 46% margin

  • Porsche → discussed → joint projects with Apple

Quote Highlights

  • Despite the cloudy outlook on capital markets, the unicorn creation machine is not stuttering yet — new billion-dollar startups continue to emerge across Germany.

  • Gorillas not only became a unicorn fast but also appears to be a cash-burning machine, raising questions about sustainability in the quick commerce space.

  • Mambu rises to become Germany's second most valuable fintech, highlighting the strength of B2B banking infrastructure in the DACH region.

  • The EU institutions and Germany grapple with whether to ban Bitcoin, reflecting the broader regulatory uncertainty facing the European crypto ecosystem.

Related Episodes on Startuprad.io

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many unicorns did Germany create in April 2022?

Grover became Germany's latest unicorn in April 2022, despite declining global VC investment. The unicorn creation machine in the DACH region continued to operate even as the broader market was cooling.

What is Mambu?

Mambu is Germany's second most valuable fintech, a cloud banking platform that reported €32 million in revenue with an impressive 46% margin. The company provides banking infrastructure for financial institutions.

What is Beqom?

Beqom is a Swiss cloud-based compensation management platform that secured €277 million from Sumeru Equity Partners in April 2022, making it one of the largest DACH-region raises of the period.

Access Europe's Startup and Technology Decision Makers

This article is part of Startuprad.io's structured coverage of the European startup ecosystem, with deep editorial roots in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The platform reaches a highly targeted audience of founders, operators, and investors — over 90% of whom are based in Europe. Companies partner with Startuprad.io to gain visibility within this ecosystem and build credibility where business decisions are made. Explore partnership opportunities.

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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