#StartupTicker
+++ #StartupTicker +++ TravelTech Holidu ignites the M&A turbo with AI +++ IndustrialTech is booming in Germany +++ ClimateTech ecoLocked slides into bankruptcy +++ Startups from Heidelberg that everyone should know +++
What’s up New? In ours #StartupTicker we provide a compact overview of the most important startup news of the day (Thursday, July 9th).
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Holiday
+++ Here AI works as an M&A turbo! The Munich travel company Holidayfounded in 2014, recently took over the Dutch holiday home service Gites.com – the 14th acquisition in the company’s young history. A remarkable number – even for a scaleup worth millions. The actual work in acquisitions usually only begins after the deal: systems have to be merged, data migrated and processes integrated. This is exactly where Holidu is now specifically relying on AI. “The deal itself was never the difficult part, the migration afterwards was,” says founder Johannes Siebers. When making acquisitions, Holidu attaches great importance to established brands that are retained externally. In the background, however, the team brings everything together on a common technology platform. Among other things, AI supports due diligence, automates data migrations and accelerates technical integration. “It used to take months. Today, AI takes a lot of this work away from us,” explains the creator of Holidu. The already decent buy-and-build strategy of Holidu, which has already raised around 175 million in venture capital in recent years, is likely to gain further momentum. Around 30% of supply growth this year already comes from acquisitions. More about Holidu
IndustrialTech
+++ IndustrialTech is booming! In the first half of 2026, 128 new industrial startups were created in Germany – an increase of 125% compared to the second half of 2025. This emerges from the new report “Next Generation – New startups in Germany” by the Startup Association and startupdetector. The start-up boom is increasingly reaching industrial value creation – an area that is particularly important for Germany’s competitiveness. Startups like Kyrok, Hades Mining and Almetra have recently shown how much potential there is now in this segment. (Next Generation, PDF) More about Next Generation
ecoLocked
+++ Bankruptcy! The Berlin startup ecoLocked is insolvent. Attorney Florian Linkert is appointed as the provisional insolvency administrator. ClimateTech, founded in 2021 by Mario Schmitt, Micheil Gordon and Stefanie Gerhart, “develops both CO2-optimized concrete recipes and the corresponding biocarbon additives for customers in the construction industry.” Matterwave Ventures, Climentum Capital, Counteract, SFO, Sabanci Building Solutions and Voyagers recently invested 4 million euros in the young company. With ecoLocked, the next German ClimateTech is getting into economic difficulties. More about ecoLocked
Heidelberg
+++ The small town of Heidelberg am Neckar is home to numerous up-and-coming startups. That’s why we’re once again looking at the digital scene in Neckarstadt and presenting seven up-and-coming startups from Heidelberg that everyone should know. More about Heidelberg
Startup Radar
+++ Once again, promising new companies are enriching the startup scene. Below we introduce these young companies: Kontori, Arctory, Coback, azuza and goal100.studio. More on the startup radar
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Investments & Exits
+++ Fuchs & Eule receives 10 million +++ ValueGrain collects up to 3.3 million +++ auxilius.ai collects 1.3 million +++ reverse.fashion receives millions +++ butterfly & elephant invests in additive marking +++ Tourlane takes over Lambus. More in the deal monitor
#JOBS
CHECK24
+++ Our job of the day! CHECK24 is looking for a Senior Fullstack Software Developer (m/f/d) AI Solutions, InsurTech. At CHECK24 we drive innovation in the insurance world with passion and state-of-the-art technology. Our goal: Germany’s best insurance comparison – simple, fair and transparent.
What else happened recently? That’s always in the #StartupTicker