News from the startup world week 37

Executive changes, international expansion and strategic partnerships. Steinunn Arnardottir becomes vice president of engineering at SPREAD. Sprinque expands into Germany. Zeotap and Artefact with strategic partnership in Europe. Signicat appoints Michel van den Bogaard as new CFO. Edurino expands to the UK. HYGH brings on Uli Wurth as CFO.

Steinunn Arnardottir becomes vice president of engineering at SPREAD.

Steinunn Arnardottir becomes the new vice president of engineering at SPREAD, a Berlin-based company. Arnardottir has many years of experience in music technology and previously worked at Native Instruments. At SPREAD, she will work closely with Chief Technology Officer Tomas Karlsson to lead the engineering team and support product and platform growth. Her expertise and experience in the technology industry make her the ideal fit for this key position at SPREAD.

Sprinque expands to Germany

Sprinque, a B2B BNPL provider, today announced its expansion into Germany with the opening of an office in Berlin. The company has previously received €6 million in seed funding and a €20 million credit facility from Avellinia Capital. Mikko Riikkinen has been appointed Head of DACH to lead market development. Sprinque plans to establish its BNPL solution in the German B2B market to improve the shopping experience for business customers. The FinTech startup, which facilitates cross-border transactions, continues to expand in Europe and has already established offices in Amsterdam and Madrid.

Zeotap and Artefact to form strategic partnership in Europe

Zeotap and Artefact have announced a strategic partnership to help companies in Europe increase their commercial success using an advanced Customer Data Platform (CDP). Zeotap, a German company, offers a next-generation, privacy-friendly CDP solution that enables businesses to effectively leverage customer data without using cookies. Artefact, a leading global expert in data consulting, will provide best practices for planning and implementing CDPs to help customers make the most of their enterprise data. This partnership aims to help companies achieve digital transformation by moving from isolated processes to a customer-centric omnichannel approach that drives better business outcomes. The collaboration between the two companies has already seen success in France and Germany and is now being expanded in various industries across Europe, including telecommunications, sports and luxury retail.

Signicat appoints Michel van den Bogaard as new CFO

Signicat, the pan-European digital identity company, has appointed Michel van den Bogaard as its new chief financial officer. Based in Rotterdam, van den Bogaard will lead a team of more than 35 people spread across Europe and report directly to CEO Asger Hattel. Van den Bogaard brings more than 25 years of experience in financial roles at global brands such as Shell and Heineken, and most recently served as Group CFO at SENTIA. The appointment comes at a time of change for Signicat, which has strengthened its position as a European leader in digital identity services through recent acquisitions. CEO Asger Hattel emphasized van den Bogaard's diversity and expertise and his contribution to the company's continued growth. Van den Bogaard himself expressed optimism about supporting Signicat's spectacular growth.

Edurino expands to U.K. to expand digital learning for kids

European EdTech company Edurino has announced it is expanding its presence to the UK to promote digital learning for children. The company offers a hybrid learning system for children aged 4 and up, which is already in use in several hundred educational institutions in the DACH region and available in more than 350 brick-and-mortar retail stores, including Müller and Thalia. Since its launch in 2021, more than 200,000 products have been sold to families in the DACH region. Studies in the UK show that a high number of preschool children own tablets or smartphones, underlining the relevance of educational digital learning solutions. Edurino recently raised €10.5 million in a Series A funding round from global investors and now plans to promote and establish digital learning in the UK as well.

HYGH brings on Uli Wurth as CFO

HYGH, a Berlin-based digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) company, has appointed Uli Wurth as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Uli Wurth, an experienced financial expert with a long career in the media industry and formerly CFO at Fleetpool Group, will support the company in its ambitious growth path. His expertise in M&A projects, financial partnerships and digital finance processes will help HYGH to grow sustainably and profitably. CEO Lauritz Elmshäuser emphasizes the key role Wurth will play in the company's growth strategy, highlighting his industry experience and skills in business process optimization.