What’s up New? In ours #StartupTicker we provide a compact overview of the most important startup news of the day (Tuesday, June 30th).
#STARTUPLAND: ONLY THE EARLY BIRD SAVES!
If you live and breathe startups – STARTUPLAND is your event
+++ The cheapest ticket phase is running! If you would like to take part in our fourth STARTUPLAND Conference 2027 (March 10th in Cologne, RheinEnergieStadion), you should take part now. The Super Early Bird tickets are only available for a short time.
#STARTUPTICKER
SE3 Labs
+++ The next German DefenseTech hope! The Munich DefenseTech SE3 Labswhich we have already briefly presented several times, is now really coming out of the cover and showing for the first time what the team has been working on in the past few months. The startup, which is now officially out of the stealth phase, is developing a spatial AI platform that enables drones and other autonomous systems to sense, understand and act independently in three dimensions of their environment in real time. The team’s vision: to create the foundational software platform for the next generation of autonomous systems. Particularly noteworthy: According to the company, the technology is already being used together with the Bundeswehr and allied armed forces. Behind SE3 are Lukas Köstler, Simon Klenk and AI researcher Daniel Cremers from the Technical University of Munich, one of the most renowned computer vision experts in Europe. The startup’s investors (5.5 million seed investment) include Lakestar, Seedcamp, Magnetic, EWOR, the Sequoia Scout Fund and several business angels. SE3 joins a growing ranks of German DefenseTech hopes such as Helsing, Stark, ARX Robotics and Quantum Systems. More about SE3 Labs
Personio
+++ Unicorn under pressure! For years, Munich was considered the HR unicorn Personio as one of the big figureheads of the German startup scene. But according to manager magazin, the company is increasingly falling into the so-called venture capital trap. While Personio has only just made the leap to profitability, the pressure is growing at the same time. Sales growth has slowed significantly in recent years, AI is changing the software market rapidly and with its Spanish rival Factorial A well-financed competitor is pushing into Germany. The real problem, however, is different: Personio still has to be measured against the expectations that led to its billion-dollar valuation of $8.5 billion during the VC boom. In the scene, the company’s value is now estimated to be significantly lower. Personio is representative of many software unicorns: After years of growth at all costs, investors now demand profitability and high growth rates. More about Personio
Grenion
+++ Bankruptcy! The Mannheimers Grenion Groupwhich includes brands like HelloBody, Banana Beauty and Mermaid+Me belong, is insolvent. Attorney Steffen Rauschenbusch was appointed as insolvency administrator. Particularly noteworthy: HelloBody was once one of the largest German influencer brands ever. In 2020, Henkel took over 75% of HelloBody and Co. at a company valuation of around 400 million euros. A few years later, the group sold the brands to Grenion – now bankruptcy follows. The case shows once again how difficult business with former D2C hype brands has become. Between high marketing costs, growing competition and weaker demand, many of the previous social media success models have lost a lot of their appeal. More about Grenion
21 work hacks
+++ Reading material for everyone who thinks of New Work not in a nostalgic but practical way: sipgate-Founder Tim Mois is releasing his new book “21 Work Hacks… for a Successful Agentic Transformation”. In it, the Düsseldorfer shares his experiences from six years of AI in everyday work. The result is 21 concrete hacks from the practice of a medium-sized company that has been trying out, rejecting, sharpening and continuing to learn since 2020. The book is about, among other things, how teams can test AI tools independently and how sipgate structures learning and exchange through formats such as “Open Friday” and a regular demo. Mois also explains why deliberately unplanned time becomes an integral part of the organization when routine work goes to AI. “The most honest statement we can make after six years of AI transformation is: There is no such thing as done,” says Mois. Order now from Amazon
embee
+++ The embee team relies on “intelligent measurement data evaluation”. “We help electricity suppliers understand which of their customers have electric cars, heat pumps and solar systems and what their usage behavior is,” explains founder Kai Hinrichsen. More about embee
Startup Radar
+++ The startup world never sleeps! Time to take a look at some brand new companies that should definitely be on your radar. We are introducing these young companies to you today: Pace Race, ContextFab, nu:legal, ContexMesh and CyberSafe24. More on the startup radar
#JOBS
BACK OF
+++ Our job of the day! BACK OF is looking for a Social Media Manager: in Aevor (all genders). And we make really good products, for example backpacks, shoes and many more. For us, good means: They are of high quality, well thought out, beautifully designed and fairly manufactured. To make this successful, we work as a team. Everyone brings their own strengths and takes on responsibility. Together we create more – with openness, respect and joy in our work.
What else happened recently? That’s always in the #StartupTicker