Welcome to this month in terms of Swiss and Austrian startups for December 2024, and I already made Chris laugh. Hey. How are you doing there in New York? I'm doing well. The most Christmassy I got is this sweater, but you're succeeding. Yes. I got an ugly Christmas sweater and a Santa hat here for everybody who's just listening to that. By the way, listening, we will get later to it, but we surpassed already to 2,300,000 downloads for 2024, so we are
doing good. As you already heard, this is our December news wrap up with Vital News from the start up at tech entrepreneurship scene in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Our news cut today is December 17th. As always, all news not in this, not included here will be included in our next news wrap up. The news cycle is picking up considerably. In October, we plowed through around 20 pages of GSA startup news. We had collected since last news. In November, we had 36,
and now it's 18 pages for only around 3 weeks. Fair to say activity is picking up. We needed to cut it seriously to have, like, really brief news and not having you here for hours. So let's hope it finds you, you like it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for all of you. We are steadily adjusting our approach here. Now we mentioned more frequently the source where we got the news from and a bit more about the news itself. Let us know how you like it. That said, let's plow through more than 100
news pieces for these news. And I think Chris will, as always, take the highlights in New York. Yes. And even the highlights are long today. So we saw that December really showcased, an impressive momentum across the German startup ecosystem. For example, Black Forest Lab reportedly, was hitting a $1,000,000,000 valuation, and Upvest raised, Germany's largest
fintech round of the year with more than a €100,000,000. On the green tech front, Focused Energy secured €2,500,000 for nuclear fusion innovation, while Hessen Startups advanced, groundbreaking c 02 to bioplastic
solution. The, DACH startup ecosystem, DACH being the German equivalent for Deutschland Osterreich Schweitz of GSA, the DACH startup ecosystem also saw major ecommerce moves with Zalando acquiring About You, selectifying the market leadership in Germany, Zalando probably being a German version of Zippos probably, if you wanna compare, From AI adoption in Germany to record breaking VC mega rounds for European AI start ups, innovation remains a core driver across the region
with, small and medium enterprises steadily embracing digital transformation. Key industries we see are Fintech, Greentech, robotics, AI. Those are standing out, making the month as a vibrant finale for the year. In total, we covered €1,500,000,000 more than, actually, in start up fundings across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, highlighting probably, yeah, as you said, like a, like a rather optimistic end of the year and resilience and investor confidence in
emerging technologies and sustainable solutions. New VC funds raised include Elstin Capital's €175,000,000 and Fly Ventures' €80,000,000 Deep Tech Fund, signaling growing national interest in German Fintech startups and, again, AI powered innovation, buzzword of the year maybe. Notable deals include Anybotix, €57,000,000 funding, WoodSpace's 8 figure investment, and Berlin based, Carp Me securing €20,000,000 for carbon management solutions.
And a little note on the certain, on the current uncertain environment, though, just yesterday, chancellor Olaf Scholz took the first step to pave the way for new elections in February 2025. So those are snap elections, which are an issue since there will be no debt boosting of debt funded boosting of the economy anymore. It's one of the hugest disputes is how to get to a balanced budget or whether Germany should invest more in future
oriented technologies. There might not be any, tax cuts or any larger political initiatives until the new government is in power, which may be the case in March or April 2025 if we are optimistic, maybe even a bit later. We see the first effects of this, for example, on the e for business climate index that we will be talking about a bit more in-depth later on. So let's see how this all plays out for the overall economy and startups, especially.
Let's talk startups, but first, let's talk schedule. Yes. Exactly. Christmas is approaching. Expect our last episode of 2024 to drop on Friday, December 20th. Our legendary Fintech review, which is, by the way, already recorded and right now in editing. We will be back with the next regular start up interview on January 9th, also already recorded and in editing, and our next news will drop on January 30th. Get used to the
25 at the end. Business in Germany around the holidays expect most companies to work only with a skeleton staff between December 23rd and January 7th at least. They also will be quite busy with preparing their annual accounts. December 24th, most companies will either be completely closed or like grocery stores only open until 2 in the afternoon, 1400 hours max. December 25th 26th are public
holidays across Germany. And the the the most southern states here in Germany, Baton, Wurttemberg, and Bayern, they start the New Year off pretty well because January 6th is also a public holiday there. So most people will start working around January 7th again. The video and audio podcast will go live on December 19th. You can also always turn into our Internet radio station 247 startup.radio and, get your content right to your inbox, startup radio.substack.com.
We will also publish now exclusive content covering the German startup scene. All other channels are to be found on the link tree. And for the last time, for very, very long cooperation, thank you very much, our enablers. This recording is supported by Hessen Trade and the best and the enterprise Europe network. Really sorry to see them go, but it's public money. And after a few years, you just have to enter contract for, EU
reasons. We also have our partner, Modern IQs, which could help you write at least 2 sale pieces AI assisted every month. You can watch the video how to do that here as well. And Chris, now we get to the top news this month. Right? Yes. And there we have rather surprising news, about a company in Karlsruhe called Black Forest Lab. It's one of Germany's leading AI startups, and it has reportedly already reached a 1,000,000,000 valuation, as its technologies gain traction globally, which is rather
surprising because the company is still really young. The, the time frame that is referenced in the article in our show notes is on it's only 4 months old, but, it has gotten so big because of interest by through Elon Musk or of Elon Musk. They he's leveraging their innovations and therefore has added fuel to their meteoric rise, one can say. The company is working on AI powered imaging, and that is used from Musk's AI model, Grok. So, that report was made in, was
published in Welt, which is one of Germany's largest publishers. It should be rather substantiated. And so, I mean, I guess we're basically on the way that Carswell rivals Silicon Valley, obviously, as they all say. It would be by the way, it would be very great to have, like, a third, start up hop of European rank here in Carswell. It would be just great. Carswell actually does really, really
well. There's kit. So there's a big engineering, and and a big engineering university that also has quite good entrepreneurial initiatives going on for years. Hasbwe in Institute For Technology. Sorry. Here you go, Chris. Germany's economic minister Robert Haberk, also running for chancellor for the Green Party, remains optimistic about North Wall's €600,000,000 loan despite production delays.
The Swedish battery start up's massive factory in Schleswig Holstein is a key bet of your all of the whole of the European Union for their green energy push. But for now, the government, it's keeping its patient and the checkbook open even though, as there's probably always the case with such new big developments, the they are a bit behind schedule. Yes. Plus plus one should not forget that Northwell fight for
insolvency, which we reported last month. So it's it's very, very much unclear how much money is is there invested and lost. And the whole case is a good example for an overall discussion in Germany about the energy transformation and the question of how much government should subsidize and help with those changes. Deutsche start ups, Dave, writes about Upvest, Germany's largest Fintech round of 2024.
That is a €100,000,000 to expand its API powered investment infrastructure supported by heavyweights like Michael Bloomberg. Upset is set to redefine Europe's Fintech ecosystem. So probably also another German unicorn in the making. In manager magazine, one of the most renowned business, titles. Oh, yeah. And we also have a blog post about, Upvest on our own website. In, manager magazine, one of Germany's most renowned business titles, we see,
report about Wefox's survival deal. It's an Intuitech unicorn in Germany, which secured a lifeline, but the terms were reportedly harsh, requiring significant concessions from existing shareholders. It's a Berlin based startup that has struggled to balance its valuation with profitability. So, yeah, just in general highlighting, problems for the European intro tech scene. Handelsblatt, a business daily in Germany, wrote about Zalando and many other news, titles wrote about Zalando
too. Since Zalando is really, really big in Germany and probably one of the most relevant Amazon competitors, at least when it comes to clothing and shoes, and Zalando acquires about you from the OTO Group, one of the most traditional German, home shopping catalog providers over decades. They are, consolidating its position as Europe's leading fashion ecommerce giant with that, and that is, they, in that case, is
Zalando. The deal marks a significant shift in the retail sector as Zalando aims to expand its market share and strengthen profitability. Capitale, another renowned, German media title writes about Google in Google's investment in Usercentrics. And Usercentrics is a Munich based company, a start up specializing in consent management solution for GDPR compliance. The investment now signals confidence in the growing need for privacy solutions in the digit digital space.
So maybe Google is playing a bit nicer, at least for now, when it comes to data and data security. And that's a little overview of some of the most important top stories. Yes. Housekeeping and time to brag. Simply put, 2024 was a smashing success for us. For the first time, we had more than 2,300,000 downloads in a single year. We may even reach 2.5 until the
end of the year. There is now also a paid option for our block on Substack where we got detailed current where we go into details about current events like UNSA, KKR's failed attempt to buy and build as well as Germany's semiconductor subsidies or the impact of North Wall Insolvency on domestic politics.
Also, we follow-up on what Chris already mentioned that the highlights, a former interview guest of our c 02 Bio Clean, Invest in Hesson Fermentation Unit converts c 02 in bioplastics, a cutting edge fermentation unit in Hesson is transforming c 02 into biodegradable plastics, offering a scalable solution for carbon reduction. Innovation marks a significant milestone in sustainable manufacturing. You can learn more in our interview and, of course, in the link, and there is
there is, of course, always interest in working with us. Go down here in the show notes or reach out to us at at stutterbreak.o. As we said, our sub stack, or you can find all options to follow us on Linktree. Chris, I hand the ecosystem over to you. Yes. So this is where we, zoom in from some of the most general news about startups and the entrepreneurial scene to some of the most specific German news. So let's start with a worldwide worldwide view. TechCrunch
writes about defense tech. Led by Anduril, defense tech startups secured an unprecedented funding in 2024, highlighting a search and investor interest for security and military innovations. The this funding boom underscores the growing intersection of advanced tech and national defense. Start ups in that sector are now armed with
cash. Little wordplay here. But, I mean, it's also a rather serious topic because the, situations in the Middle East and in the Ukraine with the Russian war definitely contributed, to the rise in funding in this sector. Crunchbase writes about biotech and health care funding surges. They have also seen a significant rise in funding driven by demand for innovative solutions in AI driven diagnostics, in therapies, and digital health. And, start ups across Europe and North America are leading
this funding resurgence. Healthy and westmans equal healthier returns. Another wordplay. In Europe, we see, an article from PitchBook about European AI VC mega rounds also surging. European AI, startups are enjoying a search of VC Mega Rounds as investor appetite grows for advanced AI technologies. There are countries like Germany and France leading the charge, with funding rounds often exceeding €100,000,000.
And, yeah, Europe's definitely having a seat at the table when it comes to AI solutions. But we also saw reports about AI startups often stumbling when scaling their enterprise go to market strategies. So, yeah, as a as a whole, AI is used as a buzzword that very often does not have a lot of, like, practical solutions yet. But industry insiders suggest a mix of pilot programs, iterative sales approaches, and understanding enterprise decision making
timelines to crack the code. Startups like those headquartered in Munich and Berlin have particularly excelled in creating value driven partnerships by aligning deeply with enterprising needs. So winning big contracts isn't about AI buzzwords, as we said, but solving real problems, which is a hard truth for many founders. More about that, you can read at speedinvest.com. Tech AU writes about innovation during Europe's in
driving sorry, driving Europe's space industry. The European Space Startups are driving innovation with advancements in satellite technology, reusable launch systems, something we know also from SpaceX, from Elon Musk, and AI for space applications. An article in Tech EU highlights how ESA, which is the European Space Administration Administration Agency? Which is we cut that. Which is the European Space Agency. They back accelerators that are fostering a new wave of
space entrepreneurship. So, yeah, Europe seems on a rocket fueled start up trajectory there. Sifted, writes about European HealthTech and their funding trends because we see that health tech startups across Europe have seen steady investor interest, focusing on areas like AI powered diagnostics, telemedicine, and
digital health platforms. Even though we see economic challenges in a couple of the biggest German, the biggest European economies, we see that the sector continues to attract funding, particularly in Switzerland and Germany. In Germany, though, we already talked about in the political arena where Germany's main parties are galloping up, for the snap election, which right now is planned for February 23rd, following the collapse of
chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition. So he is a social democrat, only the 4th one of his party who ran the country so far. And fun fact, none of these 4 actually finished their, terms as intended. So they all had, snap elections or had, other issues. The conservatives who are being led or the biggest opposition party right now who are being led by Friedrich Mads, they proposed tax cuts, lower electricity prices to spur growth, but also a lot of critics argue that their
plans lack detailed, funding. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats and the Greens are advocating for to reform the so called debt break in Germany, meaning basically meaning, okay, let's get more loans in order to invest in infrastructure and, education. So we will also see that key campaign issues might be, migration and the situation in the Ukraine. We already talked about briefly about the Ifo Institute's Business Climate
Index. In December, it dropped. It fell again and signaling a continued pessimism among businesses regarding the economic outlook. Challenges are rising energy costs, inflation, as I said, the political situation. And so, yeah, Germany's economic mood definitely needs a New Year's resolution or at least a little, like, New Year's Eve pick me up drink, maybe. Tech EU writes about how the European u no. How EU Inc, unveils a pan European startup entity.
The European Commission unveiled a blueprint for a new pan European startup entity entity designed to streamline support for scaling startups. The initiative will include funding, mentorship, and regulatory harmonization across EU markets. And, yeah. So the European Union startup world is also becoming a bit more of a
union here. Support for female funders, is a topic of Wirtschaft Aktuel, and especially Germany, there is extending funding programs in order to support female scientists transitioning into entrepreneurship. It's, yeah, one of the few concerted efforts to close gender gaps in start up funding, especially in the STEM field here. Factory Net is writing about AI adoption in Germany and, especially a new report that reveals that 1 in 5 companies in Germany has integrated AI solutions,
marking significant progress in tech adoption. However, smaller firms still face barriers like lack of talent implementation cost, and bigger companies are a bit further ahead. VC Margazin writes about Bavarian startups, which are set to benefit from a 70 50 €750,000,000 funding injection aimed at boosting innovation and growth in key sectors like AI, biotech, and energy tech. So, yeah, Bavaria also has a reputation for being one of the economic powerhouses of Germany.
Maybe be now they also become a European startup powerhouse. Handelsblatt writes about the German government easing financial market access, because the German government has introduced reforms to simplify those, or this access, in order to attract more investments and support start ups better. This time it's an initiative focusing on reducing red tape and boosting competitiveness for growth
stage companies. Yeah. We will see how the political Berlin is being able to keep the capital for the start up scene, especially also in the capital flowing. HTGF, the high-tech Grunderfon in Germany, writes, has a new managing director, Achim Ploom. It's probably Germany's most prominent early stage investor. And, yeah, Ploom's leadership will focus on strengthening the fund's role in scaling innovative startups across Europe.
And last but not least, Handelsblatt writes about the stagnant investments in many startups since Germany startup ecosystem faces still considerable headwinds amid the economic and political uncertainty, prompting high profile voices like Verena Pauster to call for stronger government support. The report highlights the need for systemic reforms to boost innovation. That was all I got about the ecosystem. Now let's look at specific spaces and places in Germany. Let's have a look at the hubs.
Yes. Of course. As always, they're more in the order we found them than any other thing. Of course, Frankfurt Online leads to charge again. 21 x receives regulatory license. A Fintech startup focused on decentralized securities trading is, hang on. Madu, we're going to cut this out. Nope. Sorry. I'll restart. 21x, a fintech startup focused on decentralized securities trading, secured its regulatory license, paving the way for its launch
in Europe. The approval marks a milestone for decentralized finance adoption in regulated markets. Mannheim, Business insider writes, Snox acquires oceans apart. Mannheim based Snox, an ecommerce brand specializing in socks and apparel, has acquired insolvent competitor, Ocean Support. The deal reflects Snox, a crisis growth strategy, as its transits its mock positions amid retail consolidation. To the, in. Desk now files
for insolvency. Based startup, Desk now, a provider flexible workspace booking solution, has entered its solvency proceedings despite initial traction during the remote work boom, financial difficulties, and market saturation has taken their toll. Desk now joins the pivot or perish club for start ups. Aachen, the next web, writes, fiber code secures 20,000,000 for advanced fibers.
A spin out focus on advanced material rate 20,000,000 to accelerate the production of its high performance fibers for aerospace and spacecraft. The start up aims to revolutionize lightweight solution and advanced engineering industries. Lubeck. Lubeck. Ln. Lubeck and Acheson, I do believe, ln online pure foods insolvency situation. Lubeck startup, Irfood, known as Specializd Nutrition Solutions, is navigating insolvency under court supervision despite financial troubles. Discussions are
ongoing to structure and save the business. A spoon of hope may it have to be curved for the struggling food tech. Chris, you wanna take Austria? Yeah. Let's go further south. In Austria, we see that the Austrian software startup Firestar has solved for insolvency, following the challenges of repaying a COVID 19 relief loan. FireStart had strong early growth, but market pressures and repayment issues then led to financial struggles. We
also see that UB files for insolvency. It's a BTEC startup, and, they had challenges in scaling its precision beekeeping solutions. So, yeah, even agritech, startups relying on niche innovations are struggling a bit here. And we also see that WoodSpace raises an 8 figure investment, so there's Happier News, on that side. It's a prop tech startup, and they are going to expand its sustainable timber construction solutions. So it's also also very nature driven. Austrian
startup scene this month is all about nature. The, investment will help the company meet rising demand for eco friendly building alternatives. Moving on to the west of Austria. In Switzerland, we see that this month we have no giant news there. We have several big fundings in Switzerland in our upcoming section further down, though. But that allows us now to look for VC news and new funds in case you're looking for money. It's only a small selection. Let me quickly
run through it. Alstom Capital, the venture capital form firm funded by billionaire, Carsten Maschmeyer, has successfully raised €175,000,000 for its 3rd fund. Focus remains on European tech startups with a particular emphasis on scalable business models in Fintech and HealthTech. Berlin based VC firm, Fly Ventures, announced €80,000,000 in for a fund targeting technical founders building deep tech solutions. The fund reflects a growing appetite for tech heavy, high risk investments in Europe.
And yeah. So we see that 5 Ventures isn't just investing. They are soaring into the deep tech frontier. Sorry. I kept a couple of the jokes to myself for the other ones. But yeah. A prominent German VC firm has brought founders from SumUp and FELIX, FELIX, f e l y x, on board as partners to strengthen its leadership team. This move highlights a growing trend of VCs incorporating operational expertise to support for portfolio startups more effectively. We see that not the NATO Innovation Fund has
outlined its strategy for 2025. They're going to focus on investments in defense and dual use technologies, which probably isn't too much of a surprise given what NATO does. The initiative will support deep tech startups across Europe to bolster national security innovation. An ousted CEO is plotting a return to the company they founded and leveraging shareholder support to reclaim leadership. That is basically the story of Grover, a story, yeah, that reflects common founder investor conflict at
startup scale. So we will see how that comeback is going to come to pass. Yahoo Finance has a bit more about that in our show notes. And Berlin based travel startup, Omeo, reported over 30% cent growth in 2024, achieving profitability after years of scaling. It's all due to strong demand for its cross border travel booking platform. And so, yeah, we are happy that we have a success story here. Moving on to a couple of industries now. Green Tech first.
Yes. Green Tech. We do have some particular news here. There was an article in, attacking unicorn, And, the data they used appear to have been just a piece of the overall information. So Philip Schroeder, the founder of unicorn hits Bob back publicly on LinkedIn. Philippe Schroder highlights via business, news via Business Insider from 2 reporters showcasing that they simply misunderstood the internal documents they have obtained. Also, they did not take into
consideration the current market environment. Learn more on his link directly. A new section, biotech news, to get, like, all the big fundings in there, especially concerning Switzerland. Kimeo signs 300,000,000 agreement. The Swiss biotech startup, Kimeo, has signed a 300,000,000 partnership with Japanese pharma giant, to advance a cell therapy technology. FinSMEs writes about Nuema Pharma extend its 0 speed to 147,000,000 to accelerate the development of treatments for central nervous
system disorders. Startup Tika. That news is double. Sorry, Madu. We checked this out. Transcript. Bayer opens CoLab Incubator in Berlin. Bayer, the large, former former and, I would say, chemical company has launched CoLab Berlin, a new biotech incubator designed to accelerate startups developing health and life science innovations. The initiative underscores Berlin's growing status as a hub for biotech entrepreneurship, a shot of innovation straight into the veins of the startup scene.
Handelsblatt, Germany's top biotech startups. Germany's biotech sector is buzzing with potential featuring 5 startups identified as major hopes for investors. The list includes companies tackling health care, diagnostic, and biotech manufacturing. Bio biotech isn't just science. It's serious business. Let's go a little bit into the Fintech news. BTC echo, Bitpanda launches
trading platform for pros. Austrian Fintech Bitpanda has unveiled a new platform tailored for professional crypto traders offering advanced features and tools. Finance forward. Stringman twin finance forward. Stringman twin back. Again, finance forward. Stringman wins back Fintech. The Stringman twins, famous for backing BioNTech, are now turning their attention to Fintech
Investments, boosting several prominent German startups. Their involvement highlights growing institutional confidence in Fintech innovation. When billionaires bet on Fintech, everyone should pay attention. Plus, we have them on the radar since at least 2020. If you've been following our blog back then, we had a, a blog post about the twin the only self made twin billionaires in the world who have been backing, then barely known company called BioNTech, to prepare them
for their Nasdaq IPO. Finance forward, the biggest Fintech flops, a roundup of recent Fintech flops revealed reveals challenges facing even the most promising startup from regulatory hurdles to scalability issues. The failures offer valuable lessons on product market fit and funding reliance in turbulent markets. Finanzina, Scalable Catable Scalable Capital launches its own exchange. Scalable Capital, a German Fintech leader, has launched its own exchange in partnership with
Deutsche Bank to simplify investing for retail clients. The move aims to increase markets x market access while reducing trading costs. Raisin is unicorn again. After correction where we, I do believe, blocked about it, the valuation of holding of, of investors raising lost its unicorn status. So it was just a booking correction of one of the holdings for one investor that we're aware of. But after secondary transaction just recently, it is now valued at above
2,000,000,000 US dollars. Liquid launches new investment product, wealth management Fintech Liquid has unveiled a new investment vehicle aimed at high net worth individuals. The ELTIF product offers access to private equity and alternative assets, strengthening strengthening liquid's value proposition in Europe's wealth management market. Financing as SMAVA sale nears completion. The fintech leader, SMAVA, reportedly in the final stages of being sold with the debates over
realistic valuation dominating discussions. The deal reflects a cooling trend in Fintech m and a, where buyers are pushing for lower valuations. Founders repurchase right. The richer founders of of start up right have repurchased their company after earlier selling to investors. Move highlights founders driven turnaround as a growing trend in the European start up ecosystem. That was
already a lot. Let's go a little bit into the general news, but I do believe that is something where Chris could take over, and then I'll be joining him again. Let's do it. So manager Magat Zinn, writes about the Munich based flying taxi startup, Lilium. We also talked a lot about it. And the fact that Lilium is facing a class action lawsuit in the US over allegations of misleading investors regarding its financial performance and timelines. The legal challenges add pressure to the already
struggling company there. Germany's transport minister Volker Wissing, now without a party since the coalition, broke apart, and he decided not to stay with the Liberal party, the business friendly partly party. He announced plans for air taxi test tracks to launch by 2026, supporting innovations in urban mobility. The initiative aims to position Germany as a leader in next generation transport solutions. AutoOne Group, Europe's leading online car marketplace, has
officially entered Germany's MDACS index. So that is equivalent to what in the US? I have no idea. It's a medium sized company. Yeah. Mid midcap index. Mid cap index. Signaling investor confidence in its long term growth. The Berlin based company's rise highlights the demand for digital automotive plat platforms. More about that at is at stocks.com and startupradio dot, startupradi startuprate.i0, which is our site.
Then, Delivery Hero's sale of Talabat was priced at the upper end of expectations, signaling strong investor demand for food delivery assets. It boosts Delivery Hero's liquidity as it continues focusing on core growth markets. So, yeah, it's still, a very active start up industry there. Ex Sono Motors CEO, Lauven Hahn, launched Alright, a new electric mobility solution aiming to tackle Europe's urban transport challenges.
He's expected to leverage lessons from Sono there, and the Munich based start up focuses on affordable sustainable e mobility options. ESA and Unterneema TUM and TUM, TUM, being the Technical University of Munich, have partnered to launch Europe's 1st scale up accelerator program for space start ups. The initiative focuses on helping scale ups bring advanced space technologies to market
faster. Staffbase cofounder Martin Boehringer confirmed the company is exploring an IPO aiming to capitalize on strong demand for internal communication software. It's a chem candidates based unicorn that has seen rapid growth and positioning itself as one of the global leaders in employee engagement tools. Now back to you. You're still on mute. Now back to
you. ESUT, Hellsing launcher smart combat drone, HX 2 Karma, German defense startup, Hellsing, has officially unveiled the h HX 2, an intelligence combat drone designed for advanced military operations. Trending topics. NXRT moves into military tech based in Austria. They are pivoting into military technology planning, new solutions for defense defense related training applications in 2025. Handelsblattformer SAP employees launched rival
startup. They're developing a direct competitor to SAP's market leading enterprise software focusing on improved usability and speed. The startup aims to challenge SAP's dominance by offering a more agile alternative for business. Also on Handelsblatt, Onefootball's strategy shift, Berlin based Onefootball is overhauling its business model to achieve profitability,
focusing on paid features and partnerships. The football centric app aims to recover from recent losses by per prioritizing, sustainable revenue streams, 1 football may finally get back to the pitch. IT notes, Markt d e, acquires DHT24, Germany's classified market sees further consolidation as MarktDE acquires competitor dhd24.com. The acquisition strengthens MarktDE's leadership in the growing digital classroom wide segment. Deutsche Bahn and Flixteen performed poorly in EU rankings.
Deutsche Bahn and Flixteen scored poorly in European comparison of rail service quality and efficiency. High ticket pricing delays and inconsistent service contributed to the low rankings. Finance forward, CEO discusses restructuring. CEO, Hubert Bunning Bunning highlighted the company's turnaround strategy, emphasizing operational efficiency and streamlining product focus. The fintech is positioning itself to regain trust and market share after facing significant
headwinds. From fintech trouble to fintech triumph, we will see our take on the story where we talk about, UNSA, which is bay basically KKR's failed buy and build strategy in the payment space. Let's go a little bit into creative destruction before we are done for the day. Investment check. CASC, c a s c, files for insolvency, a startup in Germany's industrial sector, has filed for insolvency amidst liquidity issues. One motion's find investor
post insolvency, Berlinberg's cargo bike startup. One motion has successfully found a new investor following its insolvency. Efara, German ebike startup, files for insolvency. A promising ebike startup has filed for insolvency despite unveiling a new model just weeks prior. Market saturation, production cost, and reduced consumer demand are cited as key reasons. And, Chris, we want to end today and on a high note with the access. Right? Yes. And here, we have a lot going on this month.
The news here and their total value show how resilient their start up scene is. So keep in mind, this is only a small selection. We only included selected fundraising above €10,000,000, Swiss francs, or US dollars. So let me give you a couple of these successful fundraisings and exits that we found. German startup GeeX, a telecommunications platform, raised €73,000,000 in funding to scale its telecom as a service model. They are enabling companies to offer their own branded mobile plans.
Swiss robotics startups, Annibotics Annibotics, sorry, raised €57,000,000 to expand operations and advance its autonomous robot solutions, particularly targeting industrial and inspection use cases. And they're aiming at global growth there. Berlin based CoachHub, a digital coaching platform, secured €40,000,000 in financing from HSBC Innovation Banking UK to fuel its global expansion. The investment reflects a booming demand
for digital learning and professional development tools. Berlin based Koro, an ecommerce startup specializing in healthy foods, secured €35,000,000 in series c funding. They are going to expand its product range with the money and, growing their European presence. Munich based Planet A Foods, a creator of sustainable of a sustainable cocoa alternative raised $30,000,000 to scale production and meet
rising demand. So there we also see that there might be a broader trend towards feud and feud food innovation. MoneyCap, writes about LEOOM, a clean energy startup that secured $25,000,000 in a series a funding to accelerate its innovative technology development. The investment will fund here expansion into European and global markets and targeting sustainable energy adoption. The Baller League, which is a European sports start up, secured $25,000,000 to expand its franchise model into the
UK and US markets. So, yeah, here we see, that there is a worldwide growing interest in alternative sports leagues. Swiss based Embotech, an autonomous driving start ups for logistics, raised CHF23,500,000, an investment that will be focused on enhancing efficiency industrial logistics, and they will develop scalable solution for self driving systems with the money. Berlin based, Cargme, we already
talked about it in the highlights a bit. It's a carbon management platform. They raised €20,000,000 in series a funding to drive AI powered innovation and emissions reduction, and funding that reflects increased demand for enterprise solutions addressing ESG requirements. Munich based Apaleo, a property management serve software as a service provider raised €20,000,000 to fuel its growth across European hospitality
markets. That startup is focusing on to on enabling Hoteliers to streamline operations via API powered tech. Aachen based Fiber Code raised raised nearly €20,000,000 in a series b funding. They're going to take the money to scale its production their production of high performance fibres for industrial and aerospace applications. German based this out. I think we already had this, for Aachen. Madhu, please cut the the fiber code out. Oh, it's I I already
read this for Aachen. Oh, German based Neo Plus Made raised €18,000,000 to advance its medical technology, particularly in plasma based therapies, money that will be used to accelerate product development and clinical trials. And Munich Munich based Tredium raised €30,000,000 to continue developing its ESG focused property platform. Zurich based Relay, r e l a I, a Bitcoin focused start up, secured $12,000,000 in a series e funding to drive, European expansion.
Relay is working on simplifying Bitcoin investment, investing, and that funding emphasizes the growing popularity of Bitcoin services in Europe. Swiss based Brytea, a Fintech startup offering digital financial digital financial solutions, raised $10,000,000 to expand its offering and scale operations, highlighting a growing investor appetite for Fintech innovation, particularly in Europe.
SpotMyEnergy, last but not least, reports a €10,500,000 funding round within the energy tech space, that a space that is always looking for sustainable innovations. Startups tackling energy efficiency and carbon management are seeing strong investor interest. Spot My Energy is proving that. And that leaves us with some mergers and acquisitions news. Yes. Thank you. HTGF Cloud Software Group Acquires Device Trust, the, portfolio
company backed by High-tech Chona Fon. The deal showcases strong exit opportunities for German enterprise security startups. TechCrunch, MIRAKL, m I r a k l, acquires adsberg, a startup specializing in ad optimization technology. The acquisition aims to enhance Miracles marketplace ecosystem by integrating AI driven advertising tools when marketplaces meet smarter ads. And as for what, Pacquatum acquires Easybill, a German invoicing software providing to expand its ecommerce service
ecosystem. The move consolidates Pataco's strategy of offering end to end tools for online businesses. Nomadia acquires German Koradin Koradinate? Koradinate. Yeah. French based, Nomadia has acquired German company Koradinate, expanding its geographical footprint and capabilities in workforce management solutions. Chris, that was a lot, but I do believe that's a wrap. It was a lot, and, it was a wrap for December. It also was a wrap for 2024. Challenging times ahead.
Stay warm. I don't know what else to say. And, stay confident, I would say. Yes. And everybody, merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Enjoy the holidays. Get some energy. The New Year will not get easier. Thanks for listening. Bye. Have a good day. Bye bye.