News from the startup world week 32 - 2024

Anduril Industries receives 1.5 billion dollars. Slush'D 2024: First speakers and program highlights. Yext takes over Hearsay Systems. Frankfurt Sprungfeder 2024: Startupland Conference in Cologne. TBAuctions takes over Surplex. STIHL invests over 60 million dollars in battery production. Competitive strategy strengthens SMEs. German exports down significantly in June 2024.

STIHL invests over 60 million dollars in battery production

STIHL Inc., a leading company in the outdoor power equipment industry and well known to us through its German parent company, plans to invest over 60 million dollars in battery production in the USA by 2025. The focus will be on the manufacture of battery-powered equipment such as leaf blowers, hedge trimmers and trimmers, as well as the assembly of battery units in a state-of-the-art facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This investment reflects STIHL's strategy to increase the share of battery-powered products in total sales to at least 35 percent by 2027 and 80 percent by 2035. Already in 2023, 16 percent of all units produced at STIHL Inc. in the USA were battery-powered tools, a significant increase compared to previous years. Production capacity is set to increase significantly again by the end of 2024.

Slush'D 2024: First speakers and program highlights

Over 1,000 participants are expected to attend Heilbronn Slush'D 2024 in October, where more than 15 speakers such as Christian Busch, Magnus Grimeland and Dr. Annika von Mutius will share their insights. The event offers a platform for startups with exciting pitch competitions, including prizes such as the ONE Hundred Award and the CyberOne High-Tech Award. Successful stories from previous participants, such as SemorAI and Ventus, underline the importance of the event for the startup scene. Heilbronn Slush'D promotes exchange and collaboration in technologies such as AI, cloud, greentech and cybersecurity.

Yext completes acquisition of Hearsay Systems

Yext, a multi-site digital presence platform for brands, has successfully completed the acquisition of Hearsay Systems, a digital customer engagement specialist in the financial services sector. This merger creates the first comprehensive digital presence platform that combines Yext's digital presence management with Hearsay Systems' engagement solutions for social media, websites, text and voice. Customers such as First Horizon Bank see this as a significant boost to their marketing efforts and welcome the positive impact of the unified platform.

Frankfurt Spring 2024: Participate until August 29

The application period for the "Frankfurter Sprungfeder 2024" runs until August 29. The competition, which has been run by the Marketing Club Frankfurt since 2015, gives start-ups the chance to win prizes worth over 100,000 euros. The five finalists will present their ideas at a pitch event on September 23 at the IHK Frankfurt/Deutsche Börse AG, where the winner will be chosen on the trading floor. The award is aimed at young companies that are characterized by innovative business ideas and successful marketing strategies and are on the way to building a brand. Further information can be found at Frankfurtersprungfeder.de or on the Linkedin channel.

Startupland Conference in Cologne

On November 6, 2024, the first Startupland Conference will take place at the RheinEnergieSTADION in Cologne. This event, organized by the team of the startup magazine Deutsche Startups, is aimed at startups, venture capitalists and corporates. Presentations, discussions, interviews and pitches will be offered on three stages. Over 800 participants from the national and international startup scene are expected to attend. Keynote speakers include Philipp Schröder from 1Komma5°, Mirko Novakovic from Instana and New Forge and Hanna Marie Asmussen from Localyze. Early bird tickets are now available online.

Tim Rhoenisch takes over as Head of the Commerce & Ventures segment at ProSiebenSat.1

As of July 1, 2024, Tim Rhoenisch (35) has been appointed as the new CEO of the Commerce & Ventures segment of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE. He will also retain his position as CFO, which he has held since May 2022. The previous CEO Friedrich Thoma is leaving the company by mutual agreement. Under the joint leadership of Thoma and Rhoenisch, the digital investment business has developed successfully after the coronavirus period, with revenue increasing by 20% to EUR 206 million in the first quarter of 2024 and adjusted EBITDA quadrupling to EUR 17 million. Key growth drivers were the Beauty & Lifestyle business with flaconi and the online comparison portal Verivox. ProSiebenSat.1 plans to sell individual investments over the next 12 to 18 months in order to reduce debt and strengthen the Entertainment segment.

TBAuctions takes over Surplex

TBAuctions, Europe's leading B2B auction platform, has completed the acquisition of Surplex. This strategic move enables TBAuctions to strengthen its presence in Germany, Spain and Italy and to expand into new markets such as Poland, Portugal and Romania. Surplex, which specializes in auctions of industrial machinery for metal and woodworking, will enhance TBAuctions' industry expertise and provide access to a market of over €1 billion of auctioned goods annually in the DACH region. Customers will benefit from a wider reach and increased sales opportunities across Europe.

Anduril Industries receives 1.5 billion dollars to strengthen defense production

The US defense company Anduril Industries has received 1.5 billion dollars in a financing round to massively expand the production of autonomous weapon systems. The financing round was led by Founders Fund and Sands Capital. The company plans to build a 460,000-square-meter production facility called Arsenal-1, which will focus on the mass production of advanced warfare systems. With the new financing, Anduril plans to optimize processes, strengthen its supply chain and expand its infrastructure to meet the urgent needs of the U.S. and its allies. The company is valued at 14 billion dollars.

Knowledge & Research

Competitive strategy strengthens SMEs

A recent study by KfW Research shows that SMEs that consistently pursue competitive strategies have significantly higher innovation and digitalization activities and are more successful overall. In particular, companies that focus on "growth through innovation" are characterized by intensive investment in digitalization and innovation as well as rapid growth, but achieve lower returns. Companies with a "product differentiation" strategy achieve the highest returns, while companies without a clear strategic focus have the lowest innovative strength and productivity. The study underlines the importance of strategic orientation for economic success and highlights starting points for economic policy support measures. The study can be viewed on the website of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau.

German exports fell significantly in June 2024

According to the Federal Statistical Office, calendar and seasonally adjusted German exports fell by 3.4% in June 2024 compared to the previous month and amounted to 127.7 billion euros. Exports also fell by 4.4% compared to the same month last year. Imports, on the other hand, rose slightly by 0.3% to 107.3 billion euros, but were down 6.4% year-on-year. The foreign trade balance closed with a surplus of 20.4 billion euros in June 2024, less than in May 2024 but slightly higher than in June 2023. Exports to the USA were particularly affected, falling by 7.7%.