#StartupTicker
+++ #StartupTicker +++ Financial app Finanzguru grows to around 40 million in sales +++ Hamburg audio startup recalm is insolvent +++ Berlin FinTech Solaris burns another 103 million +++ Very lean investment balance sheet for December +++
What’s up New? In ours #StartupTicker we provide a compact overview of the most important startup news of the day (Thursday, January 8th).
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Financial guru
+++ A silent million-dollar FinTech! The silent financial app Finanzguru, which became known nationwide in 2018 through an appearance on the start-up show “The Lions’ Den”, will probably generate sales of around 40 million euros in 2025. About 60% more than last year. “Finanzguru has quietly grown into a permanent fixture among German financial apps – with more than three million users and decent sales growth,” is how Manager Magazin classifies the state of affairs at the financial app, which is refinanced primarily through commissions for contract brokerage with suppliers and insurers. In recent years, around 27 million euros have flowed into Finanzguru, which was founded in 2015 by Alexander and Benjamin Michel as well as Sandro Sonntag and Florian Hirsch. FinTech investors include Deutsche Bank (16%), coparion (16%) and PayPal Ventures (8%). (Manager Magazine) More about Financial Guru
recall
+++ Bankruptcy! The Hamburg startup recalm is insolvent. Attorney Astrid Pohlmann-Weide is appointed as the provisional insolvency administrator. The startup, founded in 2017, develops “audio solutions for less noise”. The company’s audio systems are based on “long-term analysis of numerous driver cabins of construction, agricultural and forestry machines, trucks, aircraft interiors and more”. In recent years, around 5 million have flowed into the young company – including from bmp Ventures, SymbiaVC, Silvercrown Capital and Greening Investment. More about recalm
Solaris
+++ Worth reading! “The Berlin-based fintech Solaris again made a loss in the three-digit million range in 2024. The annual loss totaled 103 million euros, after 178 million euros in the previous year,” reports the Handelsblatt. The Berlin company recently announced the departure of company boss Carsten Höltkemeyer. The Japanese Solaris majority owner SBI Group (80%) had been looking for a new boss for the troubled banking company for several months. Let’s see when FinTech finally calms down. (Handelsblatt) More about Solaris
Venture capital
+++ Investment balance for December: Last month we counted just six double-digit or triple-digit million investments in which around 500 million euros were moved. These include Black Forest Labs, Mondu and Limehome. More in the deal monitor
TERN
+++ “We could be much further ahead if the processes and regulations weren’t so cumbersome. Despite the new government, we hardly notice any acceleration in recognition, visa or official processes in everyday life,” says TERN maker Matthias Mauch. More about TERN
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