+++ #StartupTicker +++ Consumer Good Incubator Vivere is insolvent (self-administration) +++ StartupsToWatch: DeepTech startup Pixel Photonics +++ FinTech company 0TO9 pushes Norta +++ Why SEO is evolving into AI SEO +++
What’s up New? In ours #StartupTicker we provide a compact overview of the most important startup news of the day (Friday March 17th).
#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
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Vivere
+++ Bankruptcy! The Hamburg consumer good incubator Vivere, founded in 2018, is insolvent. “The debtor’s self-administration was ordered,” says the commercial register. There is still great hope that the company will get back on track despite bankruptcy. In recent years, almost 30 million euros have flowed into the company. The investors in the FMCG company, which was once founded by Christopher Glatzel and Sebastian Johnston (left in 2021), include Redalpine, InnoStarterFonds (IFH) and Rockaway Ventures. According to their own information, the Hanseatics have launched around 10 brands and 150 products in recent years. “We sell through Amazon, direct-to-consumer (DtC) channels, and retail,” it says about the sales channel. Brands such as Prowess, Lincoln and Portion are currently mentioned on the website. The team also offers a B2B service. In 2023, Vivere is targeting sales of up to 15 million. Vivere was always considered a real hidden champion. However, the e-commerce crisis does not seem to have left the busy company unscathed. In 2024, the team made a loss of 4.5 million (previous year: 2.5 million). But there is still hope for a second life! More about Vivere
Pixel Photonics
+++ StartupsToWatch: Pixel Photonics. The Münster-based company, founded in 2020 by Christoph Seidenstücker, Fabian Beutel, Nicolai Walter, Martin Wolff and Wladick Hartmann, develops “highly scalable single-photon detectors with integrated photonics, which enables scaling of solutions in the areas of quantum computing, QKD and imaging, among others.” The company’s light detectors are suitable, among other things, for monitoring cables and pipelines on the seabed. Geopolitically, this is currently an extremely important topic. The Frankfurt investor Futury Capital, SPRIND, Kensho Ventures and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) recently invested 5 million euros in the company. There was also funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator worth 8.5 million euros. HTGF, Quantonation from France and Hendrik Sabert previously invested 1.45 million euros in the spin-off of the Department of Physics at the WWU Münster. More about Pixel Photonics
0TO9 – Norta
+++ The first serve! The Swedish FinTech company 0TO9 (Zero to Nine) is pushing the FinTech Norta, a kind of get-out-of-debt app. The Berlin startup, founded by Lara Planet, is developing an “operating system for financial stability”. The team wants to “lead people who are financially overwhelmed back to stable conditions in a structured and scientifically sound manner”. 0TO9 is driven in this country by the well-known series founder Jessica Holzbach. The team wants to push five startups this year. 0TO9 was founded in 2025 by Swedish serial founder and entrepreneur Oliver Hildebrandt. The big goal of the company is to “build 1,000 profitable fintech companies” over the next 20 years. More about 0TO9
AI visibility
+++ The central challenge for startups is not to follow every new AI trend. What is crucial is building a coherent system that interlinks data, insights and implementation. More in the guest article by Michal Suski (surfer)
StartupsToWatch
+++ In the past few months, some young and older Cologne startups have again been able to collect sums in the millions. These include exciting and busy companies such as eternal.ag, foodforecast and United Manufacturing Hub. More in Startups To Watch
#DEALMONITOR
Investments & Exits
+++ Founders buy Ankerkraut back from Nestlé +++ Uplane raises 4.5 million +++ belaubigt.de parent Openlaw receives 3.3 million +++ Financial injection for SportsTech Smash +++ Hot Boys Cry raises capital. More in the deal monitor
What else happened recently? That’s always in the #StartupTicker
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