In the #DealMonitor For May 20th 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 2027: SAVE THE DATE
The next unicorn? You’ll meet it at STARTUPLAND
+++ Did you miss our phenomenal third STARTUPLAND? Then put our new date in your calendar now: The next STARTUPLAND will take place on March 10, 2027. More about Startupland
INVESTMENTS
Unframe
+++ Growth equity investor Highland Europe, Bessemer Venture Partners, Craft Ventures, TLV Partners, Third Point Ventures, Cerca Partners and Vintage Investment Partners are investing $50 million in the German-American AI startup Unframe. In total, the company, founded in 2024 by Larissa Schneider (from East Westphalia), Shay Levy and Adi Azarya, raised 100 million within twelve months. The startup, whose operational business is largely controlled from Berlin by founder Schneider, develops tailor-made AI solutions for all possible operational use cases for its customers within just a few days. With the fresh capital, the company aims to “further expand its delivery capabilities, make additional investments in the platform and strengthen the senior leadership team to accelerate the company’s next phase of growth.” More about Unframe
Bunch
+++ Canadian FinTech investor Portage, London-based Illuminate Financial, Motive Partners, Cherry Ventures and Fintech Collective are investing $35 million in Bunch – see also Finance Forward. The Berlin FinTech, which was founded by Enrico Ohnemüller, most recently head of innovation at Finleap, and Levent Altunel, previously Paua Ventures, offers a platform for private equity and venture capital firms that can use it to manage their funds. “The funding will be used to accelerate commercial growth across Europe, deepen bunch’s automation and AI capabilities, and expand the platform across new geographies, asset classes and operational workflows,” says the FinTech. Fintech Collective, Cherry Ventures and Motive Ventures recently invested $15.5 million in Bunch. In total, more than 55 million have now flowed into the company. Cherry Ventures held 17.1% of Bunch before the current investment round. More about Bunch
Fieldworks
+++ An unnamed French debt fund that specializes in renewable energies is providing the Munich startup Feldwerke with 12 million euros as part of a revolving credit line. The company, founded in 2023 by Marco Mielenz, Nicolai Reiners and Nils Kuchenbuch, focuses on the trend topic of Agri-PV. It is therefore about the dual use of agricultural land for plant cultivation or animal husbandry and the generation of solar power. More about Fieldworks
Qurie
+++ The Bonn-based early-stage investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), the DeepTech financier TT49 (Fraunhofer) and the company Aepikur are investing 2.2 million euros in Qurie. The Freiburg startup, founded in 2026 by Christian Vogel and Kilian Bartholomé as a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM, develops “electrocaloric cooling systems that do not require a compressor, no refrigerant and no pressure build-up”. More about Qurie
allseven
+++ The business angels Hans-Joachim Allenfort, Ralf Hellmiß, Bogdana-Mara Rusu and Anca Maria Rusu invest 170,000 euros in allseven. The startup from Caputh near Potsdam, which was founded by serial founder Tom Strohmeier (Codingpeople, The Fashion Corner) and Sophia Strohmeier, wants to establish itself as an “evidence-based healthspan platform”. Specifically, it is about “bringing together scientifically based products and everyday routines for healthy years of life” and selling them. More about allseven
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Swapfiets – Dance
+++ The Dutch bike rental company Swapfiets is taking over the e-bike Grownup Dance. “Together, Swapfiets and Dance will have around 290,000 members across 45 cities, with more than 75,000 subscription e-bikes on the road. This scale gives us a stronger foundation to keep improving urban mobility in Europe’s most important cycling cities, including Paris, Berlin, and Hamburg,” the companies said about the takeover. Dance, founded in 2020 by Alexander Ljung, Eric Quidenus and Christian Springub, has raised around 50 million in recent years – including from Winthrop Square Capital, HV Capital and Eurazeo. After the takeover, Christian Springub will remain in office as Dance CEO. In 2024, Dance generated sales of around 8 million (previous year: 6.2 million). The annual deficit was 11.9 million (previous year: 17.2 million). The average number of employees was 53 (previous year: 92). The team wanted to be in the black in 2025. It is not known whether this worked. More about dance
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