The startup news for Easter week 16 - 2025

We say goodbye to Easter with this Starupnews: Pliant takes over hi.health. Nominations for the Saxon State Awards. Enerix and Reonic enter into partnership. ABC Impact second fund with over USD 600 million. 34 million USD for billiards game. Lufthansa Innovation Hub and Munich Airport cooperate. MedKitDoc is acquired. Fleming and VVRB launch digital direct practice loan for healthcare professionals. getolo launches digital pet health insurance "patolo" in France. BayBG and founding family sell Lmb Technologie to Macopharma.

Exit & takeovers

Pliant takes over hi.health

Berlin-based fintech Pliant acquires Austrian insurtech hi.health in order to apply its payment expertise to the insurance sector and gain industry-specific know-how. hi.health will remain independent as a brand and team and will benefit from additional resources in the future to further develop its digital platform for the direct processing of insurance settlements. With the acquisition, which follows the acquisition of Friday Finance in 2023, Pliant is expanding its offering with specialized knowledge in the regulated insurance environment. Together, the two companies aim to digitize and simplify financial processes in the insurance and healthcare sectors. The transaction supports Pliant's strategic goal of expanding its payment platform across all sectors.

Future of health tech start-up MedKitDoc secured through takeover

PLUTA insolvency administrator Sebastian Laboga has found an investor for the insolvent BDS Digital Health Solutions GmbH, provider of the telemedicine platform MedKitDoc: The GoMedicus Group will take over the business operations as part of a transferring restructuring on February 1, 2025. In addition to traditional video consultations, MedKitDoc also enables more precise remote examinations using networked medical devices. Following the application in November 2024, the business was continued and successfully sold in a structured investor process. GoMedicus plans to further develop the technology platform and align the business model in a targeted manner. The retention of MedKitDoc's technological expertise and market potential is to be harnessed for the digital healthcare market.

MedTech exit: BayBG and founding family sell Lmb Technologie to Macopharma

BayBG Bayerische Beteiligungsgesellschaft and the founding family Jentsch have successfully sold their shares in Lmb Technologie GmbH to the French Macopharma GMPi group as part of a succession solution. The medtech company from Schwaig has been developing systems for blood separation and logistics used worldwide for over 40 years and is now set to continue its international growth under the umbrella of Macopharma. BayBG had been involved since 2013 and most recently supported Lmb with a follow-up investment in 2020. The acquisition marks the start of a new growth phase for Lmb, while Macopharma strengthens its market presence in Europe, America and the Middle East.

Venture Capital

ABC Impact closes second fund with over USD 600 million

The impact investment firm ABC Impact, which specializes in Asia, has successfully closed its second fund with over USD 600 million, doubling the volume of its first fund. Investors include the Asian Development Bank, Temasek Trust and other institutional partners. The aim of the fund is to address social and environmental challenges in Asia through market-oriented investments - particularly in the areas of climate resilience, health, education, digital participation and sustainable food systems. With the completion of Fund II, ABC Impact aims to expand its impact and demonstrate that responsible investment can also be economically viable.

USD 34 million for tech-driven pool entertainment concept

Poolhouse, a new, technology-driven entertainment concept centered around billiards, founded by top golf inventors Steve and Dave Jolliffe, has raised USD 34 million in a seed funding round. Investors include Sharp Alpha, dmg ventures, David Blitzer and Signature Hospitality Group, which has also signed a franchise agreement. The concept combines patented gaming technology with high-quality gastronomy and is intended to reposition billiards as a leisure experience. The first Poolhouse location is set to open in London, with further locations planned in North America, Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia.

Awards & Events

Nominations for the Saxon State Awards 2025 have been announced

The 30 nominees for the Saxon State Awards for Founding, Transfer and Innovation 2025 have been announced. A jury of over 150 experts selected the best projects from a total of 153 applications. The awards, organized by futureSAX on behalf of the Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Climate Protection, honour outstanding start-up, transfer and innovation achievements from Saxony. Nominees include innovative start-ups, companies with a social impact and successful collaborations between science and business. Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs Dirk Panter and futureSAX Managing Director Susanne Stump emphasized the high quality and diversity of the entries submitted. In the next round, the nominees will face the juries in pitches before the award ceremony takes place on June 25, 2025 at the Saxon Innovation Conference in Dresden.

Partnerships

Enerix and Reonic enter into partnership

The specialist company chain Enerix will integrate Reonic's software platform into its processes for planning decentralized energy systems in future. The aim of the strategic partnership is to bundle the design of photovoltaic systems and heat pumps in a single digital system. In addition to heat load and efficiency calculations, the software also offers simulation and individual configuration functions. The aim is to enable more than 115 Enerix locations in Germany and Austria to work more efficiently and precisely.

Lufthansa Innovation Hub and Munich Airport cooperate for more innovation in terminal operations

The Lufthansa Innovation Hub and Munich Airport's Terminal 2 company have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly drive innovation in aviation. The aim of the partnership is to optimize operational processes, promote sustainability and improve the passenger experience through pilot projects with start-ups. An initial project is the use of autonomous robots from the startup Ottonomy in Terminal 2, which support passengers, offer self-service functions and could also be used to transport goods in the future. The collaboration is part of Lufthansa's "Startup Gate" initiative for the rapid integration of innovative technologies into Group operations.

Fleming and VVRB launch digital direct practice loan for healthcare professionals

Fleming, a FinTech specializing in financial solutions for healthcare professionals, has launched "Praxis-DirektKredit" together with Vereinigte Volksbank Raiffeisenbank (VVRB). The new financing solution is aimed specifically at doctors, dentists and therapists and enables loans of between 20,000 and 100,000 euros - completely digital, efficient and tailored precisely to industry-specific needs. As part of the partnership, up to 40 million euros are to flow into the healthcare market each year. The aim is to finance investments in practice equipment, operating resources and modernization projects quickly and easily. With this initiative, Fleming is further expanding its role as a digital financing partner in the healthcare sector.

More exciting news

getolo launches digital pet health insurance "patolo" in France

Berlin-based InsurTech getolo, a subsidiary of Zurich Group Germany and partner of DA Direkt, is expanding into France and launching a fully digital pet health insurance product under the new patolo brand. With over 20 million uninsured pets, getolo addresses an enormous market potential and aims to impress with transparent, efficient and customer-oriented insurance technology. patolo offers benefits such as immediate insurance cover with no waiting period, free video consultations with veterinarians and unlimited benefits in certain tariffs. With over 265,000 customers in Germany, getolo's expansion is a clear sign of further growth in Europe.