#StartupTicker
+++ #StartupTicker +++ Now also direct investments: Merantix Capital launches new fund (103 million) +++ LIQID launches LIQID Venture III (100 million) +++ snocks maker Johannes Kliesch founds Rewired +++ Further development: Energy Robotics becomes Korial +++
What’s up New? In ours #StartupTicker we provide a compact overview of the most important startup news of the day (Friday, June 5th).
#STARTUPLAND
STARTUPLAND: Founders. VCs. Visionaries
+++ Our fourth STARTUPLAND Conference will take place on March 10, 2027 at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne. A fascinating journey into the startup scene awaits you again – with lectures from successful founders, educational interviews and pitches that inspire. More about STARTUPLAND
#STARTUPTICKER
Merantix Capital
+++ Now also direct investments! The Berlin investor Merantix Capital is launching a new AI fund worth 103 million euros. With its AI Fund, the team around Adrian Locher, Nicole Büttner and Rasmus Rothe will invest in early-stage AI startups in areas such as logistics, manufacturing, energy, finance, healthcare, life sciences, robotics, enterprise software and physical AI. With the first, 30 million euro fund, Merantix, launched in 2016, invested exclusively in young companies created in its own venture studio. The new fund now follows a 50:50 approach: half of the capital continues to flow into companies built together with founders, the other half directly into external startups in the pre-seed and seed phase. As a rule, Merantix invests between 1 and 3 million euros. The new fund’s first investments include Droidrun, Arqh and Outpost Bio. Investors in the new fund include Union Investment, Jungheinrich, KPMG Germany, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the WK Kellogg Foundation. In keeping with the topic: 7 VCs with fresh capital for hot deals. More about Merantix Capital
LIQID
+++ Startup investments for experienced investors! The digital Berlin asset manager LIQID is launching its third venture capital fund, LIQID Venture III. There is 100 million euros in the pot. “LIQID Venture III gives investors access to the most renowned venture capital managers and investments in the next generation of global technology companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Stripe and Lovable,” says the young company. In the coming months, LIQID Venture III is expected to “invest in around 30 target funds and over 1,000 private technology companies.” On LIQID Venture III, the team is again working with VenCap from Great Britain. LIQID Venture III is aimed at “experienced private investors who can invest as semi-professional or professional investors (minimum investment: 200,000 euros)”. Most recently, LIQIQ also launched a private equity spin-off, LIQID Private Equity NXT. More about LIQID
Rewired
+++ Coffee-focused spin-off with fashion know-how! “I founded an AI company even though I never wanted to,” writes the enterprising snocks founder Johannes Kliesch on Linkedin. He means the startup Rewiredwhich he launched together with Luca Blanco Marchese, who most recently ran Snocks Coffee. Rewired basically emerged from the reservation system for snocks Coffee, the fashionable company’s in-house café from Mannheim. “It ended up being a platform that replaced six different systems, with a 312% ROI in the first year,” Kliesch continues. And the team is now offering this concept on the market. “We connect data, teams and tools in one solution, powered by AI, built for real results,” it says in its self-description. Nice story that shows that sometimes it’s easy to turn internal ideas into your own products. (Linkedin) More about snocks
Corial
+++ Rename! Energy Robotics is now called Korial. The company from Darmstadt, founded in 2019 by Marc Dassler, Dorian Scholz and Stefan Kohlbrecher as a spin-off from the Technical University of Darmstadt, remains true to the topic of autonomous inspections. With the new name, the team wants to develop from a provider of individual robots and drones to an AI platform for autonomous systems. The London-based ClimateTech investor Climate Investment (CI), Blue Bear Capital from the USA, Futury Capital, BMH Beteiligungs-Management Hessen, Kensho VC and TadTech recently invested $13.5 million in the company. Previously, the team raised around 10 million. More about Corial
SpaceTech
+++ The most successful German space startups will not be the ones that appear loudest or raise the most capital. It will be the companies that understand early on that industrialization does not just begin with production. More in the guest article by Sören Münker (PTC)
Startup Radar
+++ The Cologne startup scene remains dynamic. Here are some of the most promising, especially young, Cologne start-ups that we are following more closely. These include: Holionix, Early, Voltvera, brixl and Averia. More on the startup radar
#JOBS
Johanniter Accident Help
+++ Our job of the day! The Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe is looking for an employee (m/f/d) for marketing and social media. We are a large aid organization with headquarters in Berlin. Our tasks include rescue and medical services, care services, disaster control, social services and work with children and young people.
#DEALMONITOR
Investments & Exits
+++ Nestlé is now completely taking over the Munich-based drinking meal provider YFood +++ LVM Insurance invests in travel carrier +++ Berlin investor Merantix Capital launches new fund. More in the deal monitor
What else happened recently? That’s always in the #StartupTicker