Lookiero Outfittery receives 17 million – Vitrealab receives 9.4 million – smatch collects 7.3 million
#DealMonitor
+++ #DealMonitor +++ +++ Lookiero Outfittery Group receives 17 million +++ Vitrealab receives 9.4 million +++ smatch collects 7.3 million +++ CertHub collects 6.2 million +++ United Manufacturing Hub receives 5 million +++ Diginex buys Plan A (55 million) +++
In the #DealMonitor For January 12th we’ll take a look at the most important, exciting and interesting investments and exits of the day in the DACH region. All deals from the previous days are available in a large and clear format #DealMonitor Archives.
STARTUPLAND: SAVE THE DATE
The next unicorn? You’ll meet it at STARTUPLAND
+++ Did you miss our second STARTUPLAND? Then put our new date in your calendar now: STARTUPLAND 2026 will take place on March 18th. More about Startupland
INVESTMENTS
Lookiero Outfittery Group
+++ The Spanish private equity investor Ekarpen, Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT Spain), Acurio Ventures, Perwyn, Bonsai Partners and 10x Group are investing 17 million euros in the Lookiero Outfittery Group, which was created in spring 2025 through the merger of the Spanish personal shopping service Lookiero and the Berlin personal shopping growup Outfittery. “This investment comes after the successful integration of Lookiero and Outfittery and gives us the fuel to keep growing by accelerating our bet on artificial intelligence as we continue scaling a more personalized experience across Europe,” says the German-Spanish company, for which Lookiero clearly has a significantly greater responsibility. Outfittery, founded in 2012 by Julia Bösch and Anna Alex, raised around 100 million euros before the merger. More about Outfittery
Vitrealab
+++ LIFTT Italian Venture Capital, LIFTT EuroInvest, Constructor Capital, aws Gründerfonds, Gateway Ventures, PhotonVentures, xista Science Ventures, Moveon Technologies and Hermann Hauser Investment are investing 9.4 million euros in Vitrealab – see Trending Topics. DeepTech from Vienna, founded in 2018 by Chiara Greganti and Jonas Zeuner as a spin-off from the Quantum Group at the University of Vienna, develops photonic integrated circuits for augmented reality displays. Already in 2021, IST cube, Apex Ventures primeCrowd and Co. invested a seven-figure sum in the company. More about Vitrealab
smatch
+++ The English investor Transition, 42Cap and 10x Founders as well as Noel Kinder, Nigel Griffiths and Achim Berg are investing 7.3 million euros in smatch. The Hamburg startup, founded in 2022 by Max Groberg and Hans-Martin Vetter, positions itself as a B2B marketplace that “connects global fashion brands and retailers to trade unsold inventory quickly, discreetly and profitably.” 42Cap, Green Generation Fund, 10X Founders and Co. have already invested 2.5 million in the company in 2023. Transition currently holds 15% of smatch. 42Cap accounts for 17%. More about smatch
CertHub
+++ The Essen investor Cusp Capital, the Heilbronn financier D11Z.Ventures, the Viennese HealthTech investor Calm/Storm Ventures, UnternehmerTUM from Munich and several business angels are investing 6.2 million euros in CertHub. The startup from Munich, founded in 2024 by Leon Kobinger, Jonas Bayer and Nicolas Gehring, wants to digitize the regulatory work of medical device manufacturers. The team writes about the idea: “Bringing a medical device to market is one of the most complex challenges in healthcare. Teams must navigate thousands of pages of regulatory documentation, interpret evolving MDR requirements, coordinate with Notified Bodies, and do all of this under extreme time pressure and uncertainty.” More about CertHub
United Manufacturing Hub
+++ The Danish early-stage investor Kompas VC, the Berlin investor seed + speed Ventures, the London investor Sustainable Future Ventures (SFV Capital), Archimedes New Ventures and business angels such as Jan Oberhauser and Jeff Hammerbacher are investing 5 million euros in United Manufacturing Hub (UMH). The Cologne startup, founded in Aachen in 2021 by Christian Proch, Alexander Krüger and Jeremy Theocharis, wants to help companies digitally network their machines. With the fresh capital, the company aims to “further strengthen its open source platform and accelerate product development, particularly in the areas of connectivity, advanced data modeling and AI agents.” Freigeist Capital (Frank Thelen and Co.) and DnA Ventures previously invested in UMH. Freigeist most recently held 18.4% of the company. More about UMH
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Diginex – Plan A
+++ The English sustainability company Diginex is taking over Berlin-based ClimateTech Plan A. “Diginex, which is listed on NASDAQ, will pay the shareholders of Plan A €3m in cash, plus shares in Diginex worth €52m, in exchange for 100% ownership of the startup” – reports Sifted on the takeover. The young company, founded in 2017 by Lubomila Jordanova and Nathan Bonnisseau, wants to support companies and employees on the topic of sustainability. The startup’s AI-driven SaaS platform supports companies “in collecting, processing and analyzing emissions and ESG data, creating reduction and ESG optimization plans and automating reporting.” Lightspeed Venture Partners, Visa, Deutsche Bank, Opera Tech Ventures, the investment arm of BNP Paribas, several business angels and old investors such as HV Capital recently invested 27 million US dollars in Plan A. Previously, around 13 million flowed into the young company. Lightspeed recently held around 13% of the company. HV Capital accounted for 12% and Keen Venture Partners 11%. More about Plan A
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