Startupnews week 13 - 2025

OpenAI on the verge of closing a 40 billion dollar round! Marvel Fusion expands Series B to 113 million euros. KoRo with big tennis. hy relies on dual leadership. InnoEnergy launches new brand. n8n secures €55m in Series B. ai|coustics secures €5m seed. limehome reaches 10,000 apartments. Ambienta sells Namirial to Bain Capital. idealo streamlines management. 123fahrschule SE records sales growth. Daimler Truck and ARX Robotics enter into partnership. Alexandar Vassilev becomes new CEO of Sport Alliance.

Financing rounds & venture capital

Marvel Fusion receives EIC investment and expands Series B to 113 million euros

The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Program has made its first investment in fusion energy - in the Munich-based startup Marvel Fusion. With the expansion of its Series B financing round to 113 million euros (we reported on the Series B of 60 million euros) and new investors such as EQT Ventures, Siemens Energy and the EIC, the company's total financing has risen to 385 million euros. This makes Marvel Fusion the best financed European fusion technology company. The funds are intended to accelerate the transition from research and development to industrial implementation. Next steps include the construction of a laser facility with Colorado State University and the development of a concept for a fully integrated fusion power plant with Siemens Energy.

OpenAI on the verge of closing a record 40 billion dollar funding round

OpenAI is on the verge of closing its largest funding round to date with a volume of 40 billion dollars, as Bloomberg reports. The round is being led by Japanese group SoftBank, while other venture capitalists are in negotiations to participate. According to PitchBook data, this would bring OpenAI's valuation to 300 billion dollars - almost double the 157 billion dollars from the last funding round in October. A Bloomberg insider stated that OpenAI generated 3.7 billion dollars in revenue last year and is already expecting 29.4 billion dollars in 2026. However, the company does not expect positive cash flows until 2029, when revenues are expected to exceed 125 billion dollars. Part of the new funds will be used for the Stargate project, a 500 billion dollar initiative to build AI data centers in the USA. In addition to SoftBank, Oracle and the Dubai-based MGX fund are involved as partners.

Intelliseq receives 4.5 million euros for US expansion

Polish bioinformatics company Intelliseq has received EUR 4.5 million from Vinci HiTech, Unfold.vc and other investors to drive its expansion into the US market and develop innovative disease risk prediction algorithms. The company specializes in the automated analysis of genomic data and works with international partners such as the Metrodora Institute and the UK Biobank. The investment will support the advancement of precision medicine and strengthen Intelliseq's position in the growing genomics industry.

ai|coustics secures 5 million euros in seed funding

Berlin-based startup ai|coustics has closed a €5 million seed funding round. The round was led by Partech, with participation from Acurio Ventures, Intuition, Arc Investors, Connect Ventures, FOV Ventures and several business angels. Founded in 2021, the company develops AI-powered software to improve audio quality for applications in voice AI, communications, software and hardware. ai|coustics' technology is already being used by partners such as Elgato, Deutsche Welle and Infineon Technologies. The fresh capital will be used to expand the platform, further develop powerful real-time models and build a leading team in the field of speech and audio quality.

n8n secures 55 million euros in Series B funding

Open source automation platform n8n has raised €55 million in a Series B funding round led by Highland Europe, with participation from HV Capital and existing investors Sequoia, Felicis and Harpoon. With over 200,000 users and 3,000 companies worldwide, n8n enables the flexible automation of workflows and is used by companies such as Vodafone and Delivery Hero. The fresh capital will be used to expand the team, further develop the platform and increase investment in AI-supported automation and training offerings.

InnoEnergy launches new brand to mobilize up to 160 billion euros in cleantech investments by 2030

InnoEnergy launched its new brand this week, which is in line with its Vision 2030. The goal is to mobilize up to 160 billion euros in cleantech investments by 2030. These funds will support a wide range of clean-tech ventures that will play a key role in boosting competitiveness and growth in Europe. InnoEnergy plans to close the growth gap in Europe, launch new strategic initiatives and further expand its role in areas such as batteries, photovoltaics and green hydrogen. The company can look back on 15 years of success, during which it has supported over 500 start-ups and taken a leading role in the development of European cleantech value chains.

Acquisitions and cooperations

Ambienta sells Namirial to Bain Capital

Ambienta, the asset manager specializing in environmental sustainability, has sold its majority stake in Namirial, a leading provider of digital transaction management, to Bain Capital. Since the acquisition in 2020, Ambienta has developed Namirial into an international market leader, tripled its revenue and quadrupled its profitability through strategic acquisitions, organizational strengthening and product innovation. Namirial's digitalization solutions have also made a significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions and resource consumption. The management team and founder Enrico Giacomelli will remain involved to drive future growth with Bain Capital. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025

Defense mobility: Daimler Truck and ARX Robotics enter into partnership

Daimler Truck and ARX Robotics have agreed a strategic partnership to integrate AI and robotics technologies into military vehicles. The aim is to equip the Zetros and Unimog models with the Mithra OS operating system to enable networking, autonomous driving functions and teleoperation. The cooperation is intended to increase the efficiency and operational capability of defense vehicles and strengthen the European defense industry. Initial prototypes are being developed and there are also plans to retrofit existing fleets to ensure rapid modernization.

Personnel

Alexandar Vassilev becomes the new CEO of Sport Alliance

Sport Alliance GmbH has appointed Alexandar Vassilev as its new CEO. He succeeds Gregor Bieler, who is stepping down for personal reasons. Vassilev has extensive experience in managing digital platforms, including as CEO of WeTransfer and in management positions at Joyn and Google. He will continue to drive the company's growth and international expansion. Sport Alliance is one of the leading software providers in the fitness industry and supports over 10,000 studios worldwide with solutions for studio management, financial services and digital membership platforms.

hy relies on dual leadership: Dr. Sebastian Voigt becomes Co-CEO

hy is expanding its management team and will have dual leadership in future: Dr. Sebastian Voigt will take on the role of Co-CEO alongside Sebastian Herzog. Voigt, previously Partner and Head of the Pricing & Sales Consulting Unit, brings with him extensive experience in digital business models and monetization strategies. With this internal appointment, hy is relying on continuity and entrepreneurial expertise to further drive the growth of the consultancy.

idealo streamlines management

The comparison portal idealo is restructuring its top management: Co-CEOs Maxim Nohroudi and Martin Sinner will step down on April 1, 2025. In future, Axel Springer board member and CFO Mark Dekan will manage the company together with long-time managing director Jörn Rehse. The realignment is intended to make idealo more agile and efficient, but will also involve a reduction in staff. While Sinner will continue to work as a consultant, Nohroudi is leaving the company at his own request. The strategic changes are intended to strengthen idealo's position in the e-commerce market and enable further growth.

More exciting news from the world of start-ups

limehome reaches 10,000 apartments and continues its growth trajectory

The provider of digitalized design apartments limehome has reached the 10,000 unit mark and is continuing its growth trajectory with new projects in Cologne, Stuttgart, Barcelona and Madrid. Over 1,000 new apartments were signed in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Thanks to a strong partner network, limehome is realizing modern serviced apartment projects in top cities, including a mixed-use project on Hansaring in Cologne and another cooperation with the WATZL Group in Stuttgart. CEO Josef Vollmayr emphasizes the sustainable profitability, while Chief Growth Officer Daniel Hermann names expansion in major European cities as a strategic goal.

KoRo enters the international tennis stage - with its usual marketing flair

The Berlin-based startup KoRo is expanding its sports sponsorship and becoming an official partner of the BMW Open by Bitpanda in Munich (April 12-20, 2025) and selected athletes at the French Open (Roland Garros) in Paris (May 19-June 8, 2025). This gives KoRo a prominent presence on the international tennis stage - with branding on the court, in VIP areas and through social media campaigns. KoRo achieves global visibility through live broadcasts, particularly at the BMW Open. KoRo is once again demonstrating a keen sense for effective marketing and is focusing on the lifestyle character of tennis to further establish its brand.

123fahrschule SE records sales growth and profitability in the 2024 Annual Report

123fahrschule SE achieved strong growth in the 2024 financial year, with an increase in revenue of 9.2% to 22.5 million euros and a positive EBITDA of 532,000 euros (previous year: -887,000 euros). The digital business model and strategic measures led to a clear turnaround, which also increased cash flow to EUR 1.282 million. CEO Boris Polenske emphasized that the successful structural measures and acquisitions have sustainably strengthened the company. The full annual report is available online and the Annual General Meeting 2025 will take place on May 6 in Cologne.