Unicorn Atlas #10: Trade Republic — Berlin's €12.5 Billion Neobroker Decacorn
A new edition of the Unicorn Atlas by Startuprad.io — a continuously updated intelligence platform on the billion-dollar companies of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Trade Republic is a Berlin-headquartered online broker and bank that lets people across Europe buy stocks, ETFs, bonds and crypto from a phone app and hold their cash in an interest-bearing account. On 17 December 2025 it reported a €12.5 billion valuation (about $14.6 billion) after a €1.2 billion secondary share sale, confirming decacorn status, with more than 10 million customers and €150 billion in assets under management.
Created 15 October 2026 · Last updated 15 October 2026 · Last verified 15 October 2026 · Unicorn status: active decacorn (confirmed) · Valuation confidence: high (company source, 17 December 2025 secondary share sale).
What Is This About?
Trade Republic (legal name Trade Republic Bank GmbH) is one of Europe's largest retail brokers and a licensed bank. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Berlin, it opened its trading app to the public in 2019 and spent the next six years turning a low-cost stock-and-ETF app into a licensed European bank. This edition is part of our Unicorn Atlas, our running record of the region's billion-dollar companies.
We track companies like this because reaching Germany's founders, investors and operators is exactly what we help B2B companies do — see how to partner with Startuprad.io.
What they actually do
Trade Republic runs a mobile app through which retail customers in Europe can:
buy and sell stocks, ETFs, bonds, derivatives and crypto;
set up free, recurring ETF and stock savings plans — its most-used feature for long-term savers;
hold cash in an interest-bearing account and spend it with the Trade Republic Card.
The company presents itself as a way for ordinary savers — not professional traders — to build wealth gradually. Of the more than 10 million customers it reported in December 2025, it said about 70% were first-time investors. Since December 2023 it has operated as a fully licensed bank, so customer deposits sit on its own balance sheet rather than only with partner banks such as Solaris, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan SE and Citibank Europe.
How it makes money
Trade Republic earns from several streams rather than a single trading commission:
A flat external settlement fee — historically €1 per trade — paid by the customer, instead of percentage commissions.
Net interest income on customer cash and deposits; with a full banking licence and higher central-bank rates, the deposit spread became a significant revenue line.
Card interchange and related fees from the Trade Republic Card.
Securities lending and order-execution arrangements. It historically used payment-for-order-flow (PFOF); with the EU phasing PFOF out, a Trade Republic subsidiary obtained a BaFin multilateral-trading-facility (MTF) licence in January 2026 as it rebuilds its own execution.
The road to decacorn
2015 — Founded as "Neon Trading." Founders: Christian Hecker (CEO), Thomas Pischke and Marco Cancellieri. The team bootstrapped for about four years; in 2017 Düsseldorf-based Sino AG took an early majority stake.
February–May 2019 — The trading app opened to a closed group, then to all users.
2019–2020 — A Series B of roughly €62 million, led by Accel and Founders Fund, with Creandum and Project A Ventures participating.
May 2021 — About $900 million raised at a $5 billion valuation; customers passed one million across Germany, France and Austria.
June 2022 — A €250 million round led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board at a €5 billion valuation.
December 2023 — Full banking licence from the European Central Bank; supervised by BaFin.
April 2025 — Around 8 million customers across 17 countries.
17 December 2025 — A €1.2 billion secondary share sale set a €12.5 billion valuation (about $14.6 billion), confirming decacorn status; more than 10 million customers and €150 billion in assets under management.
Note on the valuation: the €12.5 billion figure comes from a secondary share sale — existing shareholders selling to new and existing investors — not a new primary priced round. It is the company's own stated valuation as of 17 December 2025.
Investors and capital
The December 2025 secondary was led by Founders Fund. Existing investors Sequoia, Accel, TCV and Thrive Capital took part, alongside new investors Wellington Management, GIC, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Khosla Ventures, Lingotto Innovation and Aglaé (the technology investment arm of the Arnault family). Earlier backers include the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, Creandum, Project A Ventures and Sino AG. The investor list is why Trade Republic belongs as much in a conversation about the capital behind DACH tech as one about products.
Latest developments
January 2026 (confirmed/strong) — A Trade Republic subsidiary obtained a BaFin multilateral-trading-facility licence; the company is rebuilding its own trade execution as the EU payment-for-order-flow ban takes effect.
17 December 2025 (confirmed, primary) — €1.2 billion secondary share sale at a €12.5 billion valuation; more than 10 million customers; €150 billion AUM.
November 2025 (reported) — Competitors alleged delays in customer portfolio transfers; one publicly called on BaFin to look into it.
October 2025 (reported) — Germany's consumer-association umbrella body said recorded complaints were up roughly 75% year on year.
February 2025 (reported — litigation, status pending) — Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg filed suit over allegedly misleading advertising about interest rates and deposit protection.
December 2023 (confirmed, primary) — Full banking licence from the European Central Bank.
What it means
Trade Republic is the clearest example in the Atlas of a European retail-finance app growing into a bank — a path it shares with fellow Munich neobroker Scalable Capital. The strengths are real: a very large, deposit-funded customer base, a savings-plan product that attracts first-time investors, and an investor roster that gives it room to keep expanding. The open questions are equally real: a rising consumer-complaint count, an active consumer-protection lawsuit over how it advertises interest and deposit protection, and the need to rebuild execution as EU rules remove payment-for-order-flow. None of these touch its decacorn status, but they are the live tests of whether a fast-growing app can carry the obligations of a regulated bank.
Entities and relationships
Directional relationships in this edition (machine-readable form and JSON-LD are in the edition's metadata record):
Christian Hecker, Thomas Pischke, Marco Cancellieri — FOUNDED → Trade Republic; Christian Hecker — CEO_OF → Trade Republic.
Trade Republic — HEADQUARTERED_IN → Berlin, Germany; OPERATES_IN → Europe (17+ countries).
Founders Fund — LED_ROUND → Trade Republic (December 2025 secondary); Sequoia, Accel, TCV, Thrive Capital, Wellington, GIC, Fidelity, Khosla Ventures, Lingotto, Aglaé — INVESTED_IN → Trade Republic.
European Central Bank and BaFin — REGULATE → Trade Republic.
Trade Republic — MENTIONED_IN → Startuprad.io Unicorn Atlas.
Key facts
Valuation: €12.5 billion (about $14.6 billion) as of 17 December 2025, set by a €1.2 billion secondary share sale (company source).
Scale: more than 10 million customers and €150 billion in assets under management (December 2025).
Status: licensed bank since December 2023 (ECB), supervised by BaFin.
Founded 2015, Berlin; founders Christian Hecker, Thomas Pischke and Marco Cancellieri.
Frequently asked questions
Is Trade Republic a unicorn?
Yes — and more. As of 17 December 2025 the company reported a €12.5 billion valuation (about $14.6 billion), which makes it a decacorn: a private company valued above $10 billion. The figure comes from the company's own announcement of a €1.2 billion secondary share sale.
What is Trade Republic's valuation?
€12.5 billion as of 17 December 2025, according to Trade Republic — roughly $14.6 billion at the exchange rate around that date. The valuation was set by a secondary share sale rather than a new primary funding round.
How does Trade Republic make money?
Mainly through a flat settlement fee per trade, net interest income on its large deposit base (it has held a full banking licence since December 2023), card interchange from the Trade Republic Card, and securities-lending and execution arrangements.
Who founded Trade Republic and who runs it?
It was founded in 2015 by Christian Hecker, Thomas Pischke and Marco Cancellieri. Christian Hecker is the CEO.
Where is Trade Republic based?
It is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and operates across more than 17 European markets.
Related editions and pillars
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About the Author
Joern "Joe" Menninger is the founder and host of Startuprad.io, the English-language startup media platform covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with 1,700+ podcast episodes across the franchise since 2014. Joern Menninger on LinkedIn.
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