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

Updated: 5 hours ago

Intel halts €30B project, Magic AI raises $320M, and Flink expands—catch key startup news from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.


Intel halts €30B project, Magic AI raises $320M, and Flink expands—catch key startup news from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Welcome to our September 2024 wrap-up with vital news from the startup and tech entrepreneurship scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. 


Our startup news is recorded with Chris, in New York City. Joe is joining from Frankfurt.

Today's news cut is September 23rd. As always, all news not included will be in our next news wrap-up. 


We have a new partner announcement with exclusive benefits for Startuprad.io Listeners!


Did you know that on average, a blog gets you way more traffic than a social media posts?


We have a special deal with ModernIQs.com, where Startuprad.io listeners can create two free seo optimized blog posts per month in less than a minute. You will get the two free posts for your blog each month only when you use the link in the show notes. This is exclusive for our audience https://moderniqs.com/create-an-account/?res_aff=startupradio 


Our Highlights:

This Fall will be HOT! September 2024 brought significant developments in the startup scene across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Key highlights include Intel's decision to halt its €30B chip factory project in Magdeburg due to cost-cutting measures and Northvolt's struggle with factory closures amid financial challenges linked to faltering partnerships with car manufacturers. Germany's WIN Initiative, backed by €12B until 2030, aims to revitalize the startup ecosystem with a focus on boosting innovation and venture capital. In Austria, the Vienna-based AI startup Magic secured $320M in funding led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, underscoring a growing trend of major investments in AI and tech-driven solutions.


The quick commerce sector remains resilient, with Flink raising $150M to expand in Germany and the Netherlands. The Swiss startup Magic topped the 2024 Top 100 Swiss Startup Awards, showcasing continued innovation in the region. These developments reflect a dynamic and evolving startup landscape in the DACH region, emphasizing the importance of strategic investments, government initiatives, and market adaptability.


Let's talk startups.


Schedule 

Today is German Unity day, a public holiday across the country. Most people will take Friday off to have a 4 day weekend. So we thought we would use this opportunity to give you a bit more extensive news episode if you already have some free time on your hands. 


We are back on our regular schedule. Expect the news to drop every last Thursday a month and our last regular episodes Thursdays until December 19th. 


Our Enablers 


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



Top News


SellerX: From Unicorn to Near Auction - The Fall of a Prominent Amazon Aggregator

SellerX, once a celebrated unicorn in the Amazon aggregator space, has faced a dramatic downturn, narrowly avoiding a public auction. Originally modeled after Thrasio, SellerX raised $800M and rapidly acquired Amazon brands, including KW Commerce. However, financial challenges mounted, with layoffs beginning in 2022 and the insolvency of Thrasio casting a shadow on the sector. In September 2024, SellerX's major creditor BlackRock threatened a public auction due to unpaid interest on a €400M loan, only to cancel at the last minute amid ongoing negotiations to restructure the company’s capital. This situation underscores the volatility of the aggregator business model, heavily impacted by rising interest rates and integration struggles.


Intel Halts €30B Magdeburg Chip Factory Amid Financial Woes

Intel has put its €30 billion chip factory project in Magdeburg on hold for at least two years, citing cost-cutting measures and ongoing financial struggles. Despite a €10 billion investment pledge from the German government, Intel's decision delays the factory's construction, risking the expiration of building permits. The setback is part of a broader restructuring strategy, as Intel grapples with heavy losses and aims to save over $10 billion by 2025. While local projects like the Elbewasserwerk and High-Tech Park in Sülzetal will continue, Intel's move raises concerns about the future of one of Europe's most significant tech investments, underscoring the challenges facing the global chip industry.



Northvolt's Battery Empire Faces Uncertainty Amid German Auto Industry Crisis

Northvolt, Europe's leading battery manufacturer, is grappling with severe financial difficulties, factory closures, and layoffs due to troubles linked to key automotive partners like Volkswagen. The company, which raised $15 billion since its founding in 2016, aimed to revolutionize Europe’s battery sector with major investments, including a €4.5 billion project in Germany supported by public funding. However, with VW's ongoing crisis and cancellations of major orders, Northvolt's ambitious expansion plans, including new factories in Germany, Sweden, and Canada, are now in jeopardy. As Northvolt seeks additional funding, the future of its role in Europe's green energy landscape remains uncertain.


Germany’s WIN Initiative: A €12 Billion Boost to Revitalize the Startup Ecosystem

Germany's WIN Initiative aims to supercharge its startup ecosystem by mobilizing €12 billion in investment by 2030, positioning the country as a leading hub for innovation and venture capital. Supported by key players such as Deutsche Bank, Allianz, and KfW, the initiative was launched with a joint commitment from the government, financial sector, and startup community. The initiative seeks to improve access to growth and innovation capital, streamline regulations, and encourage private investments in young, dynamic companies that drive technological advancements and economic growth. This strategic move is expected to enhance Germany's competitiveness on the global stage, particularly in tech and sustainability sectors.

The WIN Initiative's objectives include bolstering the venture capital market, improving exit conditions for startups, and integrating institutional investors into the funding landscape. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Economic Minister Robert Habeck emphasized the need to cut red tape and create a more favorable environment for startups to thrive. By drawing on the momentum of previous funding efforts like the Zukunftsfonds, which has already invested €3.3 billion out of €10 billion, the WIN Initiative aims to further strengthen Germany's position as a key player in the global startup scene, fostering a culture of innovation and reducing the dependency on subsidies.


Magic AI Raises $320M: Vienna-Founded Startup Reaches Unicorn Status Under Former Google CEO’s Lead

Vienna-founded AI startup Magic has secured a massive $320 million investment, led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, signaling its potential entry into unicorn status with an estimated valuation of $1.5 billion. The round saw participation from top investors, including Jane Street, Sequoia, and Atlassian, alongside existing backers like CapitalG and Andrej Karpathy. Magic, founded by Austrians Eric Steinberger and Sebastian De Ro, focuses on AI-powered developer assistance software, aiming to revolutionize coding with human-like interaction capabilities. This latest funding will fuel further development, including building “Supercomputers” on Google Cloud, positioning Magic as a key player in the AI landscape.

This recent investment follows Magic’s $117 million funding round in February and an earlier $23 million round in 2023, highlighting the startup’s rapid growth trajectory. Magic’s software leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to assist developers in real-time, akin to GitHub’s Autopilot. With Schmidt’s leadership and substantial backing from renowned investors, Magic is poised to drive significant innovation in AI-driven developer tools, making it a standout player in the tech world.


Quick Commerce is not Dead Yet 

Flink, the Berlin-based quick-commerce startup, has raised $150 million in a fresh funding round to double down on its operations in Germany and the Netherlands. Backed by investors like BOND, Mubadala, and supermarket giant REWE, this latest funding aims to bolster Flink's market presence through a strategic partnership with Just Eat Takeaway, with plans to open 30 new hubs by 2025. Despite previous valuation highs of nearly $5 billion, Flink's current valuation sits just below $1 billion, reflecting the volatility in the quick-commerce sector.


Flink plans to achieve profitability by Q2 2025 by focusing on operational efficiency and expanding its network of 146 hubs across 80 cities. The company expects to generate $600 million in gross revenue in 2024, marking a 20% increase from 2023, as it targets an average order size of $40. With 8,900 employees and a renewed focus on core markets, Flink is set on proving that quick commerce still has a future, driven by strategic scaling and enhanced customer service.



Housekeeping & Time to Brag 


Chris’ German podcast on the US Election: “Bei Burger und Bier”  https://burgerundbeer.podbean.com/


Ecosystem 

World

  • 🔍 M&A market predictions from GP Bullhound’s Simon Miremadi: Expect HR tech consolidation, growth in industrial software, and more PE funds snapping up VC portfolios as VCs chase liquidity. Are you ready for a back-loaded 2024? 🚀 https://sifted.eu/articles/m-a-predictions-vc-banker 


Europe


Austria


Germany



Hubs

Here we want to highlight some hidden gems and cities of general startup interest. We focused on assigning as many news to cities as possible. As always: The order of the news in the order they came to our attention.


Frankfurt - Rhein/Main


Mainz


Leipzig


Düsseldorf


Augsburg


Note: Keep in mind that we moved the fundraisings from Austria and Switzerland to the respective section towards the end of the news.  


Austria 


Switzerland

General News / Tech News / Companies News Section 


VC News and New Funds, in case you are looking for money (also only a selection):


Green Tech News 


Fintech News 


General News 


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. There were so many announcements that we could not include ALL funds raised. We will only bring you highlights here. Note: Fundraisings from Austria and Switzerland are included.



Stay Ahead of the Curve

  • It was already a lot this month. Nothing to see here :-) 


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 Hosts

The news are co-hosted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. And Christian “Chris' ' Fahrenbach, co-founder Startuprad.io, freelance reporter, lecturer, author and blogger . Reach out to them:


🧠 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.


About us: Stay ahead of the curve with Startuprad.io

Welcome to Startuprad.io™, the audio and video podcast, one of the premier sources for news and insights into the world of German, Austrian, and Swiss tech innovation! 


If you’re looking for insightful conversations with industry leaders, game-changing entrepreneurs, and influential investors, you’ve come to the right place. Our platform is designed for decision-makers like you, with Nobel Laureates, Emmy Award winners, authors of New York Times bestsellers, and Forbes 40 under 40,  Top Capital 40 unter 40, and Forbes 30 under 30, as guests.  Dive into our content that offers a curated selection of interviews with current and future movers-and-shakers. 


Discover which partnerships are driving growth in the European tech space. We especially pride ourselves, that “You likely never have heard of our guests, but you will in the future.” We interview entrepreneurs early in their journey, to unicorn founders and CEO of NASDAQ listed companies, but our focus is on startups starting around Series A funding.  Join us at Startuprad.io, where every conversation inspires new possibilities.


Our origins are the audio podcast, but now we also run a 24/7 internet radio station (Startup.Radio) with partners, a blog (Startuprad.io/blog), a YouTube Channel (Youtube.com/startupradio), a TikTok Channel, eight sub-podcasts, and more than two dozen social media accounts (including for our sub-podcasts) to share curated news 24/7.


Key Takeaways

  • Intel halts €30B project, Magic AI raises $320M, and Flink expands—catch key startup news from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

  • 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Intel halts €30B project, Magic AI raises $320M, and Flink expands—catch key startup news from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

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 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.

Transcript

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Hello, everybody, and welcome to our September 2024 wrap up with news from the startup and tech entrepreneurship scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Our startup news is recorded with me, Christian, in New York City. Joel is joining from Frankfurt as always. Hello. And it's obviously a mistake that I was mentioning myself first. Anyway, today's news, the cutoff date is September 23rd. As always, all news not included will be in our next news wrap up. I have to apologize a little bit for the boxy sound today maybe. And, if people are watching it on our YouTube channels or visual channels also, it looks like I'm being held hostage somewhere, but this is just the phone booth of of my co working space. But nevertheless, we will bring

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: you You're holding yourself hostage.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Yeah. Don't we all? But nevertheless, we will bring you, a quick wrap up about everything that has been going on in the German start up scene. First of all, though, we have a new partner announcement with exclusive benefits for all start up rate dot io listeners. So let me give you a little spiel here, because did you know that on average, a blog still gets you way more traffic, obviously, than social media posts? We have now a special deal with moderniqs.com, so modern as in not traditional, moderniq as in smart and then ans. Moderniqs.com, where start up rate dot I o listeners can create 2 free SEO optimized blog posts per month in less than a minute. You will get 2 free posts for your blog each month only when you use the link in the show notes. This is an exclusive offer for our audience. If you wanna know more, please check out the show notes. And you are taking over with the highlights now, please.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Yes, Chris. The highlights. This fall will be hot. September 2024 brought significant developments in the start up scene across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Key highlights include Intel's decision to halt its 30,000,000,000, yes, billion with a b, chip factory project in Magdeburg due to cost cutting measures and North will struggle struggle with factory closure amid financial challenges linked to faltering partnerships with car manufacturers. Germany's WIN initiative, backed by 12,000,000,000 until 2030, aims to revitalize the start up ecosystem with a focus on boosting innovation and venture capital. In Austria, the Vienna based AI start up, Magic, secured 320,000,000,000, yes, 1,000,000,000 US dollars in funding led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, underscoring a growing trend of major investments in AI and tech driven solutions. The quick commerce sector remains resilient with Flink raising a 150,000,000 US dollars to expand in Germany and the Netherlands. The Swiss startup Magic topped the 20 24 top 100 Swiss startup awards, showcasing continued innovation in the region. These developments reflect a dynamic and evolving startup landscape in the DACH region, emphasizing the importance of strategic investment, government initiatives, and market adaptability. Difficult work. Let's talk start ups. Guys, by the way, happy holiday. Today is German Unity Day, always on October 3rd, a public holiday across the country. Most people will take Friday off to have a 4 day weekend, so we thought we would use this opportunity to give you a bit more extensive news episode if you already have some free time on the ads. By the way, now is the best time to take a break and get a snack and a drink. We don't care if it's an alcoholic drink or not. Just get something. This will be longer. We are back on our regular schedule. Expect the news to drop every last Thursday a month and our regular news episode Thursdays until December 19th. Then we'll take a little break and be back for you in January. As always, you will find the video podcast and the audio podcast on the respective channels. You could tune in to our Internet radio station at startup.radio or get our content directly to your inbox at startupradio.substack.com. The interesting piece is we try to keep it as small as possible and it's always startups in the this month in 5 minutes or less and you'll always get the management summary of each episode and then you can decide if you want to read or learn more. You can also find all of our other channels at linktreeforward/startupradio. Again, our enablers. This episode is made possible by Hessen Trade Invest and the enterprise Europe network Hessen. You can learn more down in the show notes and start up or even dot com, the best way to find investors and cooperation partners for early startups. Sign up here for early access. Chris, you always seem to me like a top news guy.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Yeah. Perfectly right. And it's a bit of a bigger segment today. First of all, let's have a look at SellerX. This was once like a celebrated unicorn in the, Amazon aggregator space, but now has faced a dramatic downturn, narrowly avoiding public auction. Originally modeled after Thrasio, SellerX raised $800,000,000 and, rapidly acquired Amazon brands, including KW Commerce. However, then finance financial challenges mounted. Layoffs began in 2022. And then Thrasio was, insolvent, casting a shadow on the whole sector. In September 2024, SellerX's major creditor BlackRock threatened public auction due to unpaid interest on a €400,000,000 loan only to cancel at the last minute amid ongoing negotiations to restructure company's capital. And, overall, this whole situation underscores the volatility of the aggregated business model heavily impacted by rising interest rates right now and integration struggles. So complicated situation there, basically going from unicorn to near auction. And, if you wanna know more about this, we have a couple of in-depth articles in our show notes. Moving on to Intel and, a discussion that had, strong repercussions in German politics also because, Intel planned to build a €30,000,000,000 chip factory in Magdeburg, but now put those plans on hold for at least 2 years, citing cost cutting measures, ongoing financial struggles. So despite a 10,000,000,000 investment pledge from the German government, Dintels' decision delays the factory's construction, risking the expiration of building permits, and also, I mean, basically, risking, heavy public debate about this. And already, very often, Germans see subsidize subsidies like this pretty critical. So I can guess that this discussion might also haunt the politicians involved a bit. Setback is part of a broader restructuring strategy because Intel grapples with heavy losses. It aims to save over €10,000,000,000 by 2025. Intel's move raises concerns, about the future of one of Europe's most significant tech investments. So yeah. I think it's a signal on the one hand for about like, it's an important story about the challenges facing the global chip industry as a whole, but also the very often specifically German discussion around how to attract, lighthouse projects like this.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: I may add that the MDR, which is part of the public broadcasting services in Germany, wrote in the article, which, by the way, you can read down here in the show notes that the, building permit is only valid for 2 years. And currently, I don't see, Intel committing to those multi multi building project within this time frame.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Yeah. Moving on to another problematic story, Northvolt, It's Europe's leading battery manufacturer, but it is also grappling with financial difficulties, factory closures, and layoffs, due to troubles linked to key automotive partners like Volkswagen. So, the company raised €15,000,000,000 euro dollars sorry, dollars 15,000,000,000 since its funding in 2016. The company aimed to revolutionize Europe's battery sector with major investments, including a €4,500,000,000 project in Germany also supported by public funding. Sorry.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Chris, are you okay, Matthew? Mhmm.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: However, with, Volkswagen's ongoing crisis, cancellations of major orders, also now Northvolt has problems with their ambitious expansion plans, including new factories in Germany, Sweden, Canada. All of it is kind of in jeopardy right now. Northwell's Northwell seeks additional funding. The future of its role in Europe's green energy landscape remains a bit uncertain. And so, this also, shows some of the bigger discussions going on in the German automotive sector right now because especially Volkswagen, has been in the headlines in Germany quite a lot in recent weeks because, they used to have a job guarantee between negotiated basically between the unions and or between the union and the company. But now, for the first time in decades, Volkswagen nixed that job guarantee and people really expect that there are going to be factory closures. And, the workers and the unions say, well, we don't wanna, be we don't wanna take the burden for management mistakes. And, for Germany as a whole, I think it's a pretty significant discussion because Volkswagen is part of German's automotive industrial pride. And, I mean, it even used to be the kind of company that wanted to democratize owning an automotive. There's also kind of a like a Nazi backstory there, but where in Germany, isn't that the case? But, yeah. But overall now, Volkswagen, it is still the 2nd biggest car manufacturer in the world when you look at units sold after, Toyota, I think. And, but overall, there's rumblings going on, and there's even public debate whether probably the government should step in to secure those jobs.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: We may add that in case of Volkswagen, one of the German states has so called golden share. That means they can outvote everybody else who owns, VW shares. So this is really a political situation going on here. And if the situation wouldn't be wouldn't be really difficult, they wouldn't be they would not be talking about that because there's a lot of politicians in the supervisory board there.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Yeah. And then moving on to a top news that it's, that says a bit more about the whole ecosystem for startups in Germany. The we have news about Germany's WIN initiative. WIN, the the whole program aims to supercharge the start up ecosystem and, to mobilize €12,000,000,000 in investments by 2030, aiming at positioning Germany as a leading hub for innovation and VC, and venture capital. It's supported by Deutsche Bank Allianz, Credit Agricurtsverwiederauf or KFW that we've talked about quite often on the podcast. And the whole initiative was launched with a joint commitment from the government, financial sector, and start up community. They want to, improve access to growth and innovation capital, streamline regulations, encourage private investments in young dynamic companies, drive technological advancements, and economic growth as a whole. So a whole lot of goals that they have. It's considered a hope to be 1, initiative, one program that enhances the country's competitiveness as a whole on the global stage, particularly in tech and sustainability sectors. They want to bolster the venture capital market, improve existing conditions, and integrate institutional investors into the funding landscape. The, there's people from several parties behind it, German finance minister Christian Lindner from, the Liberal Party, Pro Business Liberal Party, and the economic minister, Robert Harbeck, from the Green Party emphasized the need to cut red tape in Germany create a more favorable environment for start ups to thrive. And, they drew some of the momentum of previous funding efforts by the government like the Zukunft Fund, which had already invested €3,300,000,000 out of €10,000,000,000 that they, have as a whole. And now the WIN initiative aims to further strengthen Germany's position as a key player in the start ups team. So, and reducing also the dependency on subsidies a bit, which is also always a big topic in Germany. We have more about this whole initiative in our show notes. And Magic AI, it's a Vienna founded startup, has secured a massive €320,000,000 sorry, $320,000,000 investment. It's led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The whole fundraising round signals its potential entry into your your unicorn status with now an estimated valuation of $1,500,000,000. The funding round saw participation from top investors, including James Street, Sequoia, Atlassian, alongside already existing backers like Capital g and Andre Karparty. Magic founded, sorry. Magic, which is founded by the Austrians Eric Steinberger and Sebastian Dero focuses on AI powered developer assistance software, and it wants to revolutionize coding with human like interaction capabilities. Latest fam funding right now, wants to further fuel the development, including building supercomputers on Google Cloud, positioning the whole company as a key player in the AI landscape. Magic already had a $117,000,000 funding round in February and an earlier round in 23, which was $23,000,000. And so, yeah, you can really see how the start ups, the growth trajectory is really, like, rapid and massive. The way it looks behind the scenes is the software leverages large language models, LLMs, to assist developers in real time. It's a bit akin to GitHub's autopilot. And now with Schmidt's leadership and substantial backing from very known investors, Magic seems to be poised to drive significant innovation in an AI driven developer tools and hopefully becoming a standout player in the tech world. We will see about that. More information about the investment in our show notes. And last but not least, everyone's favorite topics right after volocopters or or flying flying helicopters, ecommerce. How fast do you really need your groceries? We've seen them come. We've seen them go. But, there's one company that sticks around, and that is Flink. It's a Berlin based quick commerce startups startup. And apparently, based on TechCrunch, coverage, it has raised a $150,000,000 in a new funding round and, really wants to double down on its operations in Germany and the Netherlands. It's generally backed by quite some renowned names like Bonn, Mubadala, and the big German supermarket chain, Reebel. Now the latest funding aims to bolster Flink's market presence through a strategic partnership with Just Eat Takeaway. And so they plan to open 30 new hubs by next year. And despite previous valuation highs of nearly $5,000,000,000, Flink's current valuation sits just below 1,000,000,000, reflecting also the, volatility of the whole quick commerce sector. Again, I think we've, spoken about this quite often in the podcast. Germans are really, really price sensitive when it comes to groceries. And so the question always remains is how big is this market region? Nevertheless, the company plans to achieve profitability by the Q2 of next year, and it wants to focus to do so. It wants to focus on operational efficiency and on expanding the network of 146 hubs that are already existing, across 80 cities. The company expects to generate $600,000,000 in gross revenue in 2024, 20% increase compared to the previous year, and, it targets an average order size of $40. So, yeah, still sounds to me as if it's really hard to make money with these margins. 8,900 employees and new focus on core markets, maybe is what might save Flink. They are basically set on proving that ecommerce still has a future driven by strategic scaling and enhanced customer service, as they say. And, yeah, we will see about that.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: And now we come to housekeeping and time to brag and here's actually something I forced you to tell because you are also a podcaster even though in German and, you are podcasting about the current election, together with a colleague who's also based in New York, is my understanding. And you talk about the most recent developments and explain it a little bit for the German audience. Can you talk a little bit about that here?

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Exactly. As if I haven't talked enough. So, the podcast is called Beit Burger and Beer, meaning whilst having a burger and a beer, and we are explaining American politics to a German audience. It really wants to be a little, cheat sheet for the elections, for American society and politics as a whole. The idea is really to be in an amicable, environment and to talk to each other on a basis of mutual understanding and be like, hey. What do you think about this? So recent episodes, we were covering already the, immigration and the situation at the border. We covered abortion. We covered how good, Kamala Harris' chances really are, how good Donald Trump chances are. And so, yeah, really scheduled is about every week, every other week. It's now I think since it's now high season, we might possibly be able to stick to every week. And, yeah, you should check it out. It's called Bibergo and beer, all written in the German language, and, it's big fun.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Yes. You know, I I only have one critic point here. It's it's called by Burger and Beer. I've never heard any of you eating or even open a can of beer.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: It's our big dream that we actually do a live recording, but so far, we weren't able to convince any any burger place around us. Yeah. So that is the housekeeping and time to break. And now I've really talked enough, and I'm handing it over back to you.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Yes. We hope you like the new format talking about some major news a little bit more extensive. If you're interested to working with us, you are very welcome to do so. There is a link down here in the shown on start up rate dot I o forward slash become minus a minus partner. And there, you can learn more about that. You can subscribe and follow. Don't miss our latest episode and updates. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter for more exclusive content. And today, I'm taking over a little bit of the ecosystem from Chris because he, as he already said, was already talking quite a lot. And as you can hear, he's not completely well. So I take a little bit work off him. The ecosystem, talking about the world perspective here. M and A market predictions from GP Bullhound, Simons Merandy expect HI HR tech consolidation growth in industrial software and more private equity funds snapping up, we see portfolios as we see chase liquidity. Are you ready for a back loaded 2024? You can read more in our show notes in the sifted article. Going a little bit more down in Albert's view to Europe, big news for Europe's start up scene, Bulgaria's Ekaterina Zahi Ba is set to become the EU's first ever commissioner for startups. Sorry for butchering the name. Research and innovation, both move to place innovation at the heart of the EU economy. As exits and funding dry up, private equity interest in European Fintechs rises, offering a lifetime lifeline amid the push for profitability. PE firms are increasingly backing mature Fintechs, making a shift from traditional VC investments. You can read more in the sifted article. European stock exchanges and startups urge politicians to boost the EU IPO market, encouraging tech companies to go public at home instead of the US. Key reforms include better financing options, tax incentive and lower cross border costs. And Berlin secures its spot as number 2 in digital startup hubs, just behind London with 28% rise in new startups in the first half of twenty twenty four and 1,100,000,000 in VC investments in this half, the city is thriving. Berlin is home to 21 of Germany's 33 unicorns. You can read more at Berliner Zeitung. Chris, you are always an Austria ecosystem guy. Right?

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Yeah. Let's have a look at the Austrian ecosystem where there's also interesting news because they are planning to build Europe's first hydrogen valley. So, basically, a hub for, hydrogen tech, for the hydrogen sector, and they are set to rise, and it's set to be built in Austria with a €578,000,000 investment. So far, it's spending 17 projects, and it aims to produce over 10,000 tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030, boosting industrial decarbonization. So really, they're really trying to, bank in on a, future oriented technology here. And moving on to Germany, the ecosystem news here are, once, the for once VC fundraising in Germany is gaining momentum, says KFW Capital, state backed LP reports increased capital calls signaling rising start up investments. Gender diversity in deep tech funds are key focus areas right now. More about this, you can find in the show notes from the website sifted.eu. And we see that Berlin's mayor Kai Wegner aims to revive the city's start up scene, targeting a top three spot in Europe, which makes me curious what they consider which rank they consider to be at right now. With rising costs and fewer spaces, Berlin's fight to regain its edge is on. So we will see, how well Berlin can stay, re become a, a a startup hub in Germany. More information about that can be found in Berlin based newspaper. Hubs. You're on mute.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: What I found interesting is here, how much Berlin's mayor is afraid to fall back in terms of being, a top start up spot in Europe and how much he's willing to do versus a lot of other places here in, Europe who are not doing anything at all and then complain, oh, the future past, the the the the business passed us. So do something. Talking a little bit about some cities who did at least something right. As always, the hubs there in the order of how we found them always starting with Frankfurt Rhine Mine because it's my home turf. Big news from our former guest qualifies. They just raised 50 4,000,000 US dollars in a series fee funding led by Insoil Partners to boost supply chain risk management in life science. We had them in our exclusive interview a month ago. You could read more, in link, and, of course, we link our interview. Rhein Main, Boehringer Ingelheim acquires Swiss startup Ziba Animal Health, boosting its r and d pipeline in pet therapeutics. Zaiba's innovative virus like particles based vaccines target chronic diseases in pets, offering long lasting treatment outcomes. Utag or Altaq secured €2,500,000 in seed investment to revolutionize b to b green energy trading with backing from VentureSource, d11z Ventures, Tribe Investments, and more. Luko lands 1,500,000 year investments led by Albrecht Berg and Eirhan Thiele. Twin founders, Ewin and Helene Akka are ready to scale big. Next stop, new markets and innovative solutions. BioVox secures €2,200,000 to revolutionize healthcare with sustainable bioplastics. Back by high-tech, Konaform, BioVox aims to cut carbon emissions and set a new standard in medical grade bioplastic. The city of Mainz, as always, antibody showdown at ESMO. BioNTech and Summit Akezo, go head to head with their bispecific cancer therapies, sorry, potentially shaking up the dominance of Keytruda, all eyes on Barcelona. Leipzig. Leipzig based startup, Life Foods, shuts down operations amid high costs and low demand for its 20 years cultured meat schnitzel. Founded in 2019, the company aimed to bring a hybrid meat plant product to market. Chris, as you always said, very price sensitive, consumers here in Germany. The lovely city of Dusseldorf retracted raises €15,000,000 to revolutionize textile supply chains. The Dusseldorf based startup digitizers and tracks supply chains promoting transparency for fashion brands. Lead investor is Partech. And Augsburg, Rheonix secures €13,000,000 series a funding to power sustainable energy solutions across Europe. The climate tech startup will use the funds to expand further and grow its team, led by Nordson with support from Point 9 and Puzzle Ventures. Chris, you are taking Austrian Switzerland news. And as always, I do believe we have moved the fundraisings towards the end.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Yes. Tiny corrections, Dusseldorf startup is called retraced, not retracted.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: But, no Retraced. Apologies.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: They they are not they don't have retracted yet. They're just tracing. In Austria, we see that Urban Sports Club acquires the Austrian market leader, Myclubs, so in the fitness sector. And in order to expand the fitness platform across the, GSA region, Founder Moritz Kleppel signals more acquisitions ahead as the company focuses on scaling and efficiency. So some fitness tech news here. We also see that Vienna's new AIITURA Institute, I hope. Aituary? A I t h y r a. It's an institute that aims to revolutionize biomedicine with AI and with AI breakthroughs in die disease understanding diagnostics and therapies. It's led by Oxford's Oxford's Michael Braunstein. And in Switzerland, we can congratulate Depully for topping the 2024 top 100 Swiss Startup Awards. They are leading the charge on plastic recycling, with groundbreaking tech, as they say. And, yeah, you can have more about you find more about the award and the company show notes on the website, startup, ticker Moving on to the general news tech news company news section, that to kick it off, as always, we have some VC news and new funds in case you're looking for money. Let me rattle them. Oh, it's it's quite a lot. So we will see. Insight Partners nears are closing on a massive $10,000,000,000 fund Despite a dip from the previous $20,000,000,000 $20,000,000,000 fund, Insight continues to make major moves, setting recorded future to Mastercard and own to Salesforce. Atomico raises its largest fund ever, €1,120,000,000 to fuel Europe's oldest founders with €681,000,000 for growth stage and €438,000,000 for early stage. Atomico is doubling down on Europe's tech rise. Headline secures $865,000,000, for growth fund boosting focus on Europe. Half of the fund targets European start ups, marking a shift towards the region. Major backers here are Porsche, OTO, KFW, EIF. Swiss VC Redalpine launches also its largest fund yet, raising $200,000,000 to back up to 20 early stage European companies. They have a new office in London and want to strengthen their presence in Europe's startup ecosystem as well. We have 2 different articles that this is based on in the show notes. Zent Ventures closes the €200,000,000 fund to power digital clean energy start ups. They are focusing on digital the first data driven solutions to push renewable energy into mass markets. The Berlin based VCAE and U secures a €170,000,000 to fuel Europe's climate tech start ups, pivoting from an original evergreen model now due to market conditions. They are backed by EIF, KFW, and top funders. Kepmont Technologies closes a €100,000,000 fund to back early stage b to b startups in Europe and the US. They are targeting enterprise software as a service and industrial tech, in order to the next big dis to support the next big disruptors in AI, robotics, and the Internet of Things. 2 more to go outboard. VC raises €60,500,000 for fund 2 to support early stage Fintech founders. And somehow related to the VC topic, there's a big move in finance partners who teams up with BlackRock to launch a new investment solution for retail investors, combining the strength of 2 global private equity big players, diversified port for portfolios and simplified access are 2 of the main goals here. A new section, relatively new, let's move on to Greentech news.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Yes. Let's do some Greentech news. Big changes at solar with a z instead of instead of the s. The Solar startup shifts focus to b to b, exiting its original b to c Solar installation business. Over half of the team affected as Solar pivots to digital tools and financing financing for installers. You can learn more about them with my interview of the founder on the partner podcast called starting why. Shake up in the solar scene. Einskommafimf iced parts of solar's business as the later exits b to c with solar shifting to b2b, Einskommar Pfimpf could boost its PV storage and energy management software offerings. NPulse revenue soared 118% to €905,000,000 in 2023 despite challenges in the solar market with plans to expand its heat pump business and international presence. NPULSE is gearing up to transform to for transformative 2024. Quello, q w e l l o, secures €65,000,000 funding to expand its EV charging network across Europe, backed by ABN AMRO. And Investec, the funds will support growth projects, including the recent acquisition of Park and Charge. There was a lot of quintech news. Let's go on with the fintech news. Sum up, it's 1,000,000,000 revenue, but questions swirl around its 8,000,000,000 valuation. The fintech giant is focusing on profitability, but we're not sure if it's worth the hype. N26, Trade Republic and Bitpanda are back on growth track. Will we use momentum? N26 lift its upper cap, Trade Republic's new account boosts downloads, and Bitpanda rides the crypto wave. Deal off. GetSafe's attempt to acquire fellow InsurTech Friday, fell through due to disagreements on valuation. As industry consolidation continues, both startups face profitability challenges amid high losses. Peter Khoskopf exits Unstoppable Finance halting plans for a crypto bank. Despite the pivot, the start up remains well funded and shifts the focus to develop an infrastructure for institutional clients to integrate stablecoins. Former Wirecard CEO, Markus Kron, remains in custody due to flight and tempering risk according to Munich one regional court. Braun faces charges of fraud, embezzlement, and market manipulation in one of Germany's largest financial scandals. I think our audience already know we covered this extensively. Police rates at DOC Financials offices in Munich and Luxembourg as part of a money laundering investigation, highlighting lingering issues from the fintechs past. Once a hopeful new start, the company now faces insolvencies amid internal conflicts and regulatory scrutiny. Munich Fintech, Finway, exploring a potential sale amidst market shake up despite raising 10,000,000 US dollars in early 2023. Consolidation looms as competition heats up with PayHawk and other players in the prowl. Wefox appoints you, Achim Muller, as new CEO amid financial turmoil and strategic pivots, including exiting the German market. Will this move steer the into insurtech back on track? We're not sure yet. Chris, you wanna take over the general news again?

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Yes. And then we are nearly done. Bear with us. Germany startup association unveils its Innovations, again, daslandse ich, so the Innovation Agenda 2030, to strengthen innovation and secure future prosperity. Bold moves like tripling the VC investments, boosting talent, and pushing for 30 deep tech unicorns by 2030 are part of it. And the question is, can Germany stay world class? Dirk Hoche, CEO of Volocopter, leaves for VoIP by April 2025. Volocopter, we've talked about a lot, a company also with challenges, and now Volocopter aims to lead Voi through its transformation transformation and boost its stagnant growth there. DLR, Deutsches Luft and Raum Fahrdsentruen successfully detected Volocopter's Volocopter's Volociti air taxi, marking a crucial step towards certification, aeroelastic vibration tests like this to confirm the safety and dynamic performance of the 18 Motor Urban Aircraft. Lilium or similar industry, reshaped its board, bringing in defense expert Filipe Balducci Balducci to guide its strategic pivot. Deep aerospace, experience is something that Balducci brings to the table. He is set to boost Lilium's journey towards its customer first customer deliveries in 2026. So also a lot of hope there. Finally, Bavaria agrees because now Lilium, second news story about the company, is to set to receive €15,000,000 in state aid, but only if matched by federal funds. There had been months of debate before that, and Bavaria steps in to support the cash strapped, pioneer. Despite a fiery setback, rocket factory Augsburg, RFA, remains undeterred in its quest to launch Germany's first private rocket into space. So now we're dreaming even bigger. We move on from helicopters to space. They claim that with lessons learned, our all eyes can now turn to ESA Aerospace upcoming launch. We will see. So, months after us, okay, we're at Flex here, Fortune catches up. Aleph Alpha pivots from the AI race to a new strategy no longer chasing OpenAI or Meta, but focusing on corporate and government AI solutions. So, also, Fortune is now writing, or asking the question whether this will shift whether this shift will redefine Europe's AI landscape. There's another topic about this from Handelsblatt, in our show notes. And German fitness startup 7nxt supercharges its European presence with the Buddy Fit acquisition. This is boosting subscriber numbers to more than 800,007 NXT is set to dominate the fitness and well-being space space, at least based on their own claims. Up Grain and Bauareil Lacher open Europe's largest food upcycling plant where they want to transform 25,000 tons of spent grain into protein, fibers, and valuable ingredients annually could be a game changer in sustainable food production. More about this in our show notes coming from an, article at Stadoptikke. And we saw a cybercrime crackdown crackdown by the German Federal Police, DKA. They shut down 47 crypto platforms suspected of laundering money for ransomware groups or darknet traders and more. And we see you, says the federal police, to the criminals. Okay. I like

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: it that the BK A, the German federal police, appears to have a little sense of humor here. Going a little bit faster into Schumpeter Schopfriesch et Sturung, the creative destruction is still ongoing. Shockwaves in Berlin, Fintechsine, right, capital backed by stars like Verena Pausst and Mario Gotze, files for insolvency. Charging startup, MiEnergy, has to file insolvency has to file for insolvency, known for its off grid fast charger, converting bioethanol into charging power. German startup, Confair, fights for insolvency due to 335,000 corona 8 repayment demand. Graz based luxury 10 startup, Homboid, filed for insolvency despite successful expansion in the US, delayed orders and recession, impacted led by a €4,600,000 debt. One Climate, the green Fintech app backed by Wiesemann and promoted by Thomas Muller, is shutting down after failing to secure funding. Chris, you wanna end on a high note. There is a lot of fundraisings. I think you you you only do a little bit of the highlights of each message. Right? We already could for more than 40 minutes or

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: lot going on with, but as we said, I mean, we're looking at everything that happened during summer. So, our apologies for this episode lasting longer than, it usually does and frankly longer than it should. So Swiss Spine Surgery Innovator. Oh, okay. Yeah. That's Max. End on

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: a high note. Madhu, we do cut. He starts again on the end on a high note here.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Yeah. So there's many, many news going on this, this time around in terms of successful fundraising and exits. So, bear with us. Let me just highlight a couple of those. We see Swiss spine surgery innovator, Neo Medical, securing $68,000,000. They wanna boost US extension and enhance, it's their AI powered AR platform, Advise. Berlin's Formal raises $61,000,000 to launch the world's first cheese made from koji fungus proteins, now available at a couple of German grocery stores. Munich's Reverion secures €56,000,000 in order to supercharge renewable power plants and lead a carbon negative revolution. Swissmedtech CorFlow, COR Flow Therapeutics secures €44,000,000 in the series b funding to bring microvascular diagnostic and therapeutic systems closer to US market clearance. Germany's habit, not as, like, something you do regularly with an I, but Habit with a y, h I b y t, secures €40,000,000 in order to expand flexible living solutions globally. They claim to have 30,000 more more than 30,000 spaces in more than 50 cities, and, yeah, might be set for strategic acquisitions and profitability this year. Quantum computing goes mobile with parity QC and quantum the sorry, with the ParityQC and Quantum Brilliance team teaming up to miniaturize quantum computers for a €35,000,000 project coming from Germany, enabling high speed simulations and encryptions in remote locations. Swiss Biotech company Vandria raises $30,700,000 in a series a funding in order to advance mitochondrial therapeutics. Deep Drive raises $30,000,000 to revolutionize, EV motors. They have backing from Leitmotif BMW BMW I Ventures and more. CPTX, a munis Munich based biotech spin off from the university there secures $29,000,000 funding to revolutionize DNA nano fabrications for antivirals, gene transfer, and vaccines. Swissmile and, Etihad Zurich spin off, so university there, tech engineering university there, raises $22,000,000 led by Jeff Bezos' Expeditions to advanced AI powered 4 legged robots. They are designed for tasks like last mile delivery and infrastructure security. Flare secures €14,500,000 in seed funding to scale direct air capture tech. Geno startup Truco, t r u u c o, secures €8,000,000 from Antuvia and Datzet Bank to harness customer data for banking sales. Smalt secures €8,000,000 seed fundings to supercharge talent and productivity in the energy transition. Munich based XOLIFE gets €7,000,000 to enhance its impact monitor platform, helping pharma companies to better understand patient needs. Lyteum from Switzerland raises $7,000,000 seed funding to fast track the commercialization of the cutting edge thin film lithium niobate photogenic integrated circuits. Vienna based Bitcoin startup, BitCredit protocol, where it secures €6,700,000 to transform Bitcoin from the store value into usable currency for the real economy. We will see how that goes. Wanda, Berlin based data monetization platform, raises $5,000,000 in seed funding that ties in mobile and Ecobeta Ventures. The funds here will help to expand extend US operations and hand the enhance the platform to support companies monetizing their data in an AI driven market. And last but not least, Munix, Giseke, and Devrian dives into AI with a stake in Block Brain founded by serial entrepreneur, Matthias Hotzmann. Basically, it's about moving from fighting blockchain scams to transforming how companies manage knowledge. So check out BlockBrain. Take a deep breath.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: That's alright.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: That's alright.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: That that was that was quite long. We're recording for more than 45 minutes now, guys. Really, really sorry we only did this very long one, in order to bring you the most extensive news coverage on a public holiday here. And maybe next time, we do a little bit more, cutting here and maybe go only to fundraisers up to 10,000,000. We will see.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Make more money people because otherwise, you won't be in the podcast.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Oh, Chris, you know, one downside of you being in this booth recording, your old me, baby. No no sirens. Sirens.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Maybe next time around.

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: Chris, it was, as always, a pleasure talking to you. Thank you very much, and talk to you soon. Our next news will go live on look at that. Our next news will go live on Halloween. No. We're not going to wear something scary.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Thanks for listening. And we

Jörn "Joe" Menninger: are trick and treating. Thanks, guys. Bye bye.

Christian "Chris" Fahrenbach: Bye bye.

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