What’s up New? In ours #StartupTicker we provide a compact overview of the most important startup news of the day (Wednesday, January 28th).
#STARTUPLAND
STARTUPLAND – where the future begins.
+++ Our third STARTUPLAND Conference will take place on March 18th 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
Live at STARTUPLAND: Jessica Krauter (Buah)
buah, founded in 2015 by Jessica Krauter, develops and sells snacks based on freeze-dried fruits – without additives. After strong growth, the company ran into a crisis that threatened its existence in 2019, but managed a turnaround and is now profitable. Your topic in STARTUPLAND: Emotional ROI: Why feelings are the real performance lever.
#STARTUPTICKER
Tech Tour Growth 50
+++ Germany’s future billion-dollar companies! This year, Tech Tour will once again name the fastest-growing, venture capital-financed technology companies in Europe. This refers to companies that have the potential to become unicorns. This year, 13 German companies made it onto the top 50 list (previous year: 9). No other European country has more unicorn candidates. The German Soonicorns are: Adrenomed, Aleph Alpha, anvil, Black Semiconductor, cylib, ecoworks, Instagrid, Konux, LiveEO, Marvel Fusion, OroraTech, Proxima Fusion and Twaice. Only Aleph Alpha surprises. The former German AI hopeful recently made headlines mainly with layoffs and personnel changes. Last year, Aleph Alpha, Finn, Isar Aerospace, The Exploration Company, Ineratec, Marvel Fusion, Tado, immatics biotechnologies and Tubulis were on the tech tour soonicorn list. (Tech Tour Growth50, Handelsblatt) More about the Tech Tour Growth 50
b2venture
+++ And another full pot of money! The Swiss early-stage investor b2venture announces the final closing of its fifth fund (150 million euros). The busy financier is “launching the largest fund in its 25-year history”. Which is a gigantic achievement at a time when other VCs are failing to launch new funds. With the fifth fund, the b2venture team would like to invest in around 35 startups. The focus is “on scalable and long-term viable technologies”. The first investments include companies such as Nautica Technologies, Hive Robotics and Augmented Industries. In recent years, b2venture has also invested in successful startups such as DeepL, 1KOMMA5°, Raisin, SumUp, Nelly and Urban Sports Club. In addition to b2venture, DTCP (500 million), Ananda Impact Ventures (73 million), Vanagon Venture (20 million), Futury Capital (47 million) and Rosberg Ventures (100 million) recently launched new funds. Despite the lack of exits, there is some movement again in the venture capital world. More about b2venture
Vestio
+++ Fashionable reboot! Klarsolar founder Bastian Arend is starting up again with Vestio after his exit to E.ON. He is supported by menswear influencer Justus Hansen. The team describes Vestio as a “fashion tech app for men. The target group is men “who want to build a clear, stylish wardrobe – without effort, without insecurity and without unnecessary purchases”. The app, which is refinanced through commissions, provides its users with “a fully coordinated wardrobe based on just a few questions,” shows missing key pieces and generates instantly combinable outfits for all occasions.” More about Vestio
Cumulocity
+++ Worth reading! In 2017, founder Bernd Groß sold his Internet of Things company Cumulocity to Software AG for 49 million euros. “In 2023, the private equity firm Silverlake took over Software AG – and Groß sensed an opportunity, as he says,” writes Gründerszene. A management buyout followed in 2025. Not an easy thing, as the entrepreneur now reveals: “It’s much easier to set up and start from scratch than to buy out an existing business with lots of customers and contracts.” (founder scene) More about Cumulocity
smatch
+++ The Hamburg start-up company smatch relies on a marketplace for surplus fashion. Investors such as Transition, 42Cap and 10x Founders have already invested around 10 million in the startup, which was founded in 2022. 20 employees currently work for smatch. More about smatch
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: MindElevate, ImmuniFriend, Bloom Future, Dienstrad Finder and DataWil Tech. More on the startup radar
#DEALMONITOR
Investments & Exits
+++ EdTech Sparkli receives 5 million +++ Sipfront receives 1.8 million +++ Financial injection for Arctis AI +++ Comedian Michael Mittermeier invests in Spiritory +++ Multiverse takes over StackFuel +++ Futury Capital announces final closing +++. More in the deal monitor
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