Foreign.
Your podcast and YouTube blog covering the German
startup scene with news, interviews and
live events.
Welcome to our regular startup news from the startup and tech entrepreneurship
scenes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This is the deep
dive of our startup news with me, Chris
in New York and Joe like
frolicking around in Germany.
So this is the second episode, some of you might have listened to
the highlights and now here you will get even more
of our monthly news coverage. We
took a bit of a leaner approach, as
contradictory to the Christmas season, to the holiday season, but we
took a bit of a leaner approach in the startup news. Please let us know
how you like it. And before we go any further, one small milestone worth
pausing for. This is episode 730 of Startup
Radio. The number says a lot. A lot of
conversations, years of conversations, cycles of hype and corrections.
I mean yeah, I'm still missing super
fast supermarkets, thousands of founders,
investors and operators passing through our mics,
booms, busts, pivots, reinventions across the dark startup
ecosystem and we're still here, still hoping
that sometimes our signals beat the noise. So thanks for listening,
building this brand. Thanks for challenging us and for sticking around.
Now back to work and Back to the
December 2025 startup news part two.
The deep dive part one was a bit about bigger signals, headline
moves. This now is where we slow things down a bit and we looked at
what actually changed underneath. We are at more concrete
deals with a couple of companies and
you will, yeah, get the last wrap
up before we start the new year. So I'm
in the lead. Chris in New York. We move across the ecosystem piece by
piece. We will look at Europe shifting, AI competitiveness
debate. Two very concrete signals out of Germany, out of Austria, out of
Switzerland will hear which categories we see
are maturing, others are being repriced and
where founders are adapting faster than the market. Consensus,
consensus. So before
we will get into it, you have a little bit of
housekeeping and all the little
minutia for us. Yeah, just a tiny note
guys. Startup Radio experienced a brief publishing interruption
due to software update at the third party software provider that
did not go as planned. All content was fully backed up and
remains intact. Delayed episodes will be released and regular
publishing has now resumed. Fortunately.
Quick heads up before we continue. This deep dive
isn't about hype stories. We're talking execution signals,
regulatory shifts and where capital is actually getting
disciplined right now. Stay with us.
The interesting parts are just ahead.
Hey guys, welcome back from the ad break. I'm handing over to Chris again
because he's always been an ecosystem guy, right? Yes.
And this is the part of the show where we look more into
general context of the startup world. For example, in
Europe we found a report at
Antifa about Europe's AI
competitiveness and how the debate there shifts from
ambition to execution. Antifa Outline is outlining a
couple of scenarios for how Europe could remain competitive in the global AI
race. They are looking at infrastructure, specialization,
regulatory leverage and we see that for the D
ecosystem the re relence the relevance is clear.
The conversation has moved from whether Europe can compete at all to where
it can win which parts of the market. And
one idea is that that could be in particularly in applied
regulated and industrial AI. The
ecosystem in Germany has interesting
details about the Google search trends 2025
and Stan has an analysis there
and showing where public curiosity was lying in
2025. And for founders and operators, these trends
matter a bit more than just like the trivia and of a
proxy for mass market sentiment, cultural anxiety and
emerging demand. And
when we look at it, I mean a lot of it is political I guess
in the search trends, but
we also see
a lot of searches about dead
people unfortunately. So probably, yeah, so probably
a bit less about the start startup world, but a bit more about
what actually Germans were cur about.
The German Fintech ecosystem has
been the topic of a Tech Funding News article
that analyzes the ecosystem reaching
651 million euros in funding, highlighting also a
shift from explosive growth to some kind of operational
maturity. So we also see here that Fintech
is becoming more of an execution game, centering on
margins, centering on compliance, centering on scale economics and a
bit less the rapid growth stories of the past.
And Tech Funding News also reports that 2026 is shaping
up as a pivotal year for German accounting software, driven by
AI adoption and mandatory E invoicing. That means
for software as a service founders. In the Dach region,
regulation is once again acting as a forced innovation catalyst.
And bit less of a drag hopefully for
you guys. Moving on from Germany to Austria and moving on from
Christian to Joe. Yes, there's a new
electricity law in Austria. Wind and solar sectors
celebrate a regulatory win. The renewables industry
are positioned as beneficiary of the new
electricity market framework. Which market which matters? Because
climate startups don't scale on tech alone, they scale on the
market design. For daft founders, this is a reminder that regulatory
structure can be growth level. However, not only constrained,
we accelerate Arson attack raises concerns about
ecosystem security trending topic reports on a
confirmed arson attack at Vienna's We Accelerate
Startup Hub While no funding or product implications were
reported, incidents Highlights Growing A growing
uncomfortable reality Physical security and
political polarization are becoming non trivial
risk factors even in innovation spaces. In
Switzerland for 30 under 30 highlights Swiss
startup Talent the coverage spotlights a new cohort
of Swiss innovators reinforcing Switzerland's steady reputation
for producing globally competitive founders across deep tech,
fintech and life science. Let's go a little bit
into the general news, VCs, news and new funds just in case
you're looking for money. Hero Capital launches its
third European scale up Fund Hero Capital announced The launch of
Hero 3 spelled H I
R O a new European focus scale Up Fund while
adding Sir Nick Clack as general partner.
Forbes published its Midas Europe list spotlighting capital
concentration. Forbes released its annual list for Europe
highlighting the venture capitalists currently exerting the most
influence across the European startup ecosystem. For startup
founders, the list is less about prestige and more about
pattern recognition. Capital networks and follow on power
are becoming increasingly concentrated among a smaller and
smaller group of repeat actors. The
Deep Tech News Chris, you want to flux it in.
Because Flux 2 was presented as a new image generation
model reinforcing that European AI progress
is increasingly becoming more about shipping
as productized systems. And for founders this is
also so like an execution signal. You can say we see that
distribution and integration layers are now
where winners separate themselves from
labs. Aleph Alpha Co. We've talked about
a couple of times here too is part of a coverage of Handel's
Blood handle. Blood is framing an inflection point at
Aleph Alpha and reminder that sovereign AI in Europe is now in the
hard phase. Product procurement cycles and
durable economics are the main topics there and
the founders here. The takeaway is that AI credibility more
comes from actual delivery of operational systems and
not just from positioning as
exemplified by Aleph Alpha in that
report in the Defense Tech News.
Well we can only say keep in mind that we had the top news with
Quantum Systems and their dual use potential 3 billion
valuation and
so more about that in the upcoming
episodes. I think we also have nothing big
about the biotech news for
for now there will be more in funding and the mergers and acquisition sections of
the show. So we will move on to fintech with you.
Yes Mundu the Fintech News Mondo secures
100 million debt facility by JP Morgan
payments this is a maturity signal. Non
dilutive capital is back for fintechs that look like
infrastructure not experiments for Berlin and the dark fintech
scene. This is about unit Economics and credit worthiness.
Exactly the start of signal late stage partners
care about We Fox we talked about the former
unicorn. Quite frequently profit profitability
becomes the headline handels. But reports we Fox, aiming to be
profitable this year. So 2025 I would
assume an inflection that matters because Insuretech has been a
graveyard of growth first stories for dark founders. This
is a category wide signal. Sorry it's late
Here distribution models are being judged on
underwriting quality and operational discipline, not
funding optics. Bitpanda
expands into Asia Pacific bitpanda's
APEC expansion signals a crypto platform moving from
regional dominance into international positioning for
Austria and the Dach crypto ecosystem. It's a clean marker
of compliance area crypto scaling where distribution follows
licenses and institutional trust. We don't have
expert green tech news here, but Chris had a lot of
general news, right? Yeah. Let's move on to the general news. And
to move about a former guest of ours. Swiss Pod
Hits a Hyperloop Speed Record Moneycap
here reports that Swisspod is breaking the hyperloop
speed record on a major US test track for Switzerland
and Dark Deep Tech. It's a credibility milestone. We with
the hardware ventures only get funded long term if they can keep
converting ambition into performance. And that is something we see here.
Next topic. Interesting. If they would not be already
listed and would still be considered a startup, this would have made the
number one topic of our news overall because we're talking about
Auto Eins Auto 1. They are expanding
the inventory funding to 1.6 billion euros,
underlining the capital intensity behind Europe's largest
used car marketplace. All of this
also kind of a reminder that the marketplace scale is ultimately a
balance sheet story, not just a growth one. We see that
here and we see that access to structured financing can also
be a bit of a competitive moat.
Manager magazine reports a sharp directional signal in
Germany's EV market. BYD
is gaining while Tesla loses momentum.
So we see that the competitive advantage here is increasingly
about manufacturing cadence, coming up with pricing, strategy,
distribution and in the end also winning market share as
BYD does. And we also see, yeah, that
the brand brand narrative of Tesla has become a rather
toxic one. Let's say Flixbus
company in Munich that by now also already owns the famous
Greyhound buses or Greyhound Greyhound bus brand in the US
is pushing expansion into Australia.
That's a report by Munich Startup that shows that platform
economics and international replication actually can be a
thing. And we also see it's kind of a
disciplined global rollout and not just like okay Here's a new market
and a hyped up story. Flix Train
is a part of coverage of Fund scene
who or which reports that Flix Train is positioning themselves
around around a high frequency network
signaling escalating competitive pressure in German
rail. Also regulatory and Capex
Chessboard story here where we see that
strategy, your own strategy is always kind of constrained by
network access and political economics as is
part of the German rail system and regulatory
systems. And Hunderth Blood is reporting that Amazon
has inaugurated a new German headquarter while expanding their local
footprint. Even though there is increasing
regulatory scrutiny and political debate around the
e commerce giant or website giant or Amazon
AWS giant, Germany still remains a core
operational market for global tech giants like Amazon
and the country is reinforcing its role as a
logistics, talent and enterprise hub within Europe. More details about that
at Handels but and now we are talking about creative. Destruction,
yes good or shrimpetter we do have
insolvency, layoffs and other bad news. Not all companies here
are leaving the market. Starting with Flink, they
reportedly according to Vivo Virtual, they report
Flink the quick delivery is requiring close to 90 million
euros. Another data point in the
post hype normalization of quick commerce. For Berlin,
it's less about delivery and more about whether last mile
economics can be financed under sober terms.
Zushi bikes insolvency D2C reality check
reporting frames Sushi Bikes as
insolvent, another reminder that consumer hardware brands live
and die by working capital. German startups Insolvency
highlights the fragility between showcase growth
stories. MSN reports on the solvency of
Dusseldorf based flagship startup, a case
that surprised many observers. For Dach ecosystem, this
means this serves a reminder that visibility and narrative
momentum do not replace financial
resilience, especially in a market that has turned decisively
towards fundamentals and selects cuts. Staff
aggregator Unwind continues.
Huntersblatt reports Seller X halving its
workforce aligning with broader aggregator correction that's been
unfolding since Cheap Capital ended. Chris,
you want to do some fundings above 90 million
euros US dollars? Answer with frankly yes, that's
my minimum requirement obviously.
Transcript reports Immatics placing
$125ameaningful scale signal and
biotech financing. This is the kind of
transaction for dark life sciences that keeps pipelines alive. We
can definitely say here and
more about that is in the show notes. As is the case with all of
our stories, you can always find additional articles or the in
depth coverage from one of our colleague or from
one of our competitor competitors websites.
Lime home raised 75 million euros to exc
accelerate the expansion of its tech enabled hospitality
platform, combining real estate operations with standardized
digital processes.
Mirelo closed an unusually large 41 million
dollar seed round backed by Index Ventures and
A16Z, positioning itself in the fast
moving intersection of generative video
and audio. So we also see
here that investors are willing to fund AI
creation platforms at scale, even at very early stages.
Let's see if the name of the next startup makes
our audience smile. Disco
Pharmaceuticals
Fin SME is reporting about the fact that
the company, obviously with our favorite name of the year,
is closing a 36 million euro seed round.
It's a company that works in biotech and
showing that seed money here can still be pretty large. 36
million euros proving it
lifi leafy li fi
is raising $29 million
reinforcing the infrastructure built out in crypto,
especially routing and liquidity layers that are
sitting beneath consumer brands.
Fin SME is also reporting that Asaya
Assaia is closing a 26
million euro Series B rounding round. They are
using that money to scale their AI platform for airport and
airline operations, focusing on turnaround efficiency and emission
reduction. Corinthis
raised an additional $25 million, reinforcing the
pattern that industrial AI with measurable efficiency
gains continues to attract repeat capital even
as broader AI narratives probably might cool.
Gravis robotics closed a 23 million dollar funding
round to scale its autonomous robotics platform
beyond their home markets. So here we also see that there
the investor appetite is still continuing for
applied robotics with a clear use in
industrial spaces.
Spryker is securing additional funding, reinforcing
their investor belief or reinforcing investor belief in
modular B2B commerce infrastructure.
Even though we sometimes see that consumer e commerce is a bit
cooling, but the signal here
enterprise grade platforms with deep integrations are still
able to attract capital.
Hamburg Startups reports that four people's return from
insolvency into the holiday period
is showing an execution heavy story in a month dominated by
mega rounds. We see here that resilience isn't
branding but restructuring under pressure and re entering the market
with tighter economics. More about this at Hamburg
Startups and now talking about companies that go together M and
A News. Yes,
German lidar specialist Plick fail to be acquired by
senstar strengthening sensor
portfolio, Electronic Net website
and multiple industry sources Reporter Plickfeld Game Behind Munich
based 3D LiDAR pioneer has entered into
definitive acquisition agreement with Senstar
Technologies Corporation with Blick Fed set to become a
Senstar subsidiary while continuing to
operate under its existing name and leadership a move
expected to close in early 2026. The combination
brings high precision 3D lidar sensors, notably
the QB Protect platform, into Senstar's
broader parameter security and situational
awareness ecosystem, expanding its addressable market
across security, industrial automation, transport and
infrastructure application and enhancing global go
to market reach. The deal underscores how advanced sensor
integration and real time 3D perception are
strategic differentiators in physical security and
industrial AI stacks at scale. Chris,
that. That was, that was quite a bit. We are almost done for the month.
I just have one question. How is New York between
Christmas and New Year's Eve? Any traditions you brought forth
with you from Germany? Yeah, I will. Yeah. Well
my tradition is to mind my own business.
So yeah, I will stay home
a lot. I will watch silly shows and that's probably it.
The only thing I'm going to do is probably go to the gym and then
the rest of the time I will hibernate under a blanket. It
maybe. Yeah, hibernation. How about you?
I mean, I guess it's very different with two kids, right? Oh
yeah, it's. It's different. You don't get time off, you don't get anything.
You're basically, you're very happy. When the holidays are over
you can send them back to kindergarten and school.
Nice. I know I'm speaking for all the, all the parents here.
So this is it for our today's show, right? Yeah, this is for the year
2025. Thank you very much. Looking forward
to see and hear you guys next year again. Thank
you. Bye bye. Bye.
That's all folks. Find more news, streams,
events and
interviews@www.startuprad.IO.
remember, sharing is caring.
Sam.