Startupnews KW 25 - 2025

Investments

Ostrom secures 20 million euros in series B financing

The digital green energy provider Ostrom has completed a series B financing round of 20 million euros. The lead investor is Eneco Ventures, the VC arm of the Dutch energy group Eneco. Existing investors such as SE Ventures, Union Square Ventures and J12 are also participating again. Ostrom intends to use the fresh capital to drive forward the rollout of smart meters, the automation of its platform and the expansion of the NeoGrid virtual power plant, among other things. The Berlin-based company, which tripled its customer base in 2024, is focusing heavily on AI and digitalization. Ostrom's total financing now amounts to over 40 million euros.

alago secures seven-figure pre-seed financing

Munich-based startup alago has closed an oversubscribed seven-figure pre-seed round led by Realyze Ventures, with participation from D11Z, CDTM Venture Fund and industry experts. alago develops an AI-supported platform for the automation of workflows in construction project management. By analyzing and intelligently processing operational documents such as logs, emails and contracts, the aim is to automate repetitive tasks, increase productivity and improve predictability. The first customers are already reporting significant efficiency gains. The founding team has extensive experience in the construction industry, AI and AEC software. The financing is intended to accelerate product development and market entry.

nuwacom receives 3.2 million euros in seed funding for AI-supported enterprise platform

The Koblenz-based AI startup nuwacom has closed a seed financing round of 3.2 million euros. The round is led by Dutch VC Newion, accompanied by experienced business angels. The aim is to expand the team, open up the European market and further develop the platform, which enables cross-departmental collaboration between humans and AI. The focus is on integrated AI agents that become part of real business processes, such as text creation, research or approvals. Instead of isolated tools, nuwacom offers a centralized, secure infrastructure for productive human-AI collaboration. Companies such as the Lufthansa Group, Vodafone and Union Investment are already using the solution. Co-founders Sascha Böhr, Christophe Folschette and Alexander Kleinen bring extensive SaaS experience to the new platform.

Awards & Events

Apply now for the GfK Innovation Award 2025

The GfK Innovation Award 2025 is looking for start-ups and founders with forward-looking ideas for sustainable change. In addition to a main prize of 15,000 euros, there are further funding opportunities of up to 75,000 euros, individual mentoring as well as visibility and access to a strong network. A Public Award of 5,000 euros will also be presented. Applications can be submitted until July 15, 2025, and the award ceremony will take place on October 16 at the Flora Köln. Further information and the opportunity to apply can be found at gfkmbh.com/innovationspreis.

VivaTech 2025 sets new standards with record participation and AI focus

With 180,000 visitors, 14,000 start-ups and participants from 171 nations, VivaTech 2025 in Paris set a new record and focused in particular on artificial intelligence. The four-day event featured over 300 new products and launches, including the presentation of Mistral Compute, an AI infrastructure for Europe developed in partnership with NVIDIA. With over 640,000 business contacts, around 3,600 investors and prominent speakers such as Emmanuel Macron, Jensen Huang and Arthur Mensch, the trade fair underlined its importance as an international innovation platform. Canada was this year's partner country, while award ceremonies such as the Female Founder Challenge and the AfricaTech Awards emphasized the diversity and social relevance of the event. The event also emphasized sustainability and social impact, including through the Impact Bridge developed with EDF. The next VivaTech will take place from June 17 to 20, 2026.

Munich Startup Festival brings Munich's start-up scene together again

On July 16, 2025, Munich Startup is hosting the third Munich Startup Festival at Backstage München. The all-day event brings together startups, investors, decision-makers and politicians and offers a varied program with keynotes, panels, live pitches and networking formats. On the Main Stage, representatives from Google Cloud, UnternehmerTUM, the City of Munich and the Bavarian Ministry of Digital Affairs will discuss innovation, internationalization and location promotion. The highlight is the presentation of the Munich Startup Award with 10,000 euros in prize money. The festival is complemented by co-founder matchmaking, an impact area and a large after-party with live acts such as Malik Harris. Admission costs 49 euros, students pay 19 euros.

M & A

Everfield acquires Danish POS specialist OnlinePOS

Everfield, a pan-European long-term investor in the B2B software sector, has completed its 30th acquisition with the takeover of OnlinePOS and entered the Scandinavian market for the first time. OnlinePOS is one of the leading providers of cloud-based POS software for the hospitality and event industry in Denmark and will remain operationally independent under the management of the founding team led by Lasse Peters. In addition to traditional POS functions, the scalable platform offers self-service via QR code, back office and inventory management as well as numerous interfaces to third-party providers. With this acquisition, Everfield expands its existing food & hospitality portfolio with additional technological expertise and strategically expands its presence in the Nordic region.

Main Capital Partners acquires majority stake in CarWise & AutoDisk

Main Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in CarWise and AutoDisk, two leading providers of integrated ERP software for the leasing and car rental market in the Benelux. Since the 1990s, the companies have jointly offered a modular platform that covers all processes from quotation calculation to vehicle management. With over 370 customers, around 65 employees and an active presence in nine European countries, growth is now to be accelerated beyond the Benelux region. The founders remain involved.

Fabrick acquires majority stake in finAPI

The Italian open finance company Fabrick has acquired 75% of the shares in Munich-based finAPI GmbH from SCHUFA Holding AG. Following approval by the supervisory authorities, the transaction has been completed. The aim is to jointly develop innovative open finance and payment solutions with a focus on security, speed and user-friendliness. The acquisition strengthens Fabrick's market position in Germany and Austria and will make it one of the leading European providers in the field of account-to-account payments. finAPI brings over 400 customers, strong API performance and extensive experience in open banking to the partnership. Both companies intend to closely integrate their platforms and technologies in the future in order to offer an expanded digital solution portfolio and further drive growth in the European market for embedded finance and open banking.

Cooperations & partnerships

Unzer launches European payment solution for SMEs with Wero

Unzer becomes a Principal Member of the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and enables small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany to access Wero from September 2025. Wero is based on instant account-to-account payments and is designed to enable simple, secure and cross-border transactions within Europe. The integration takes place via Unzer's UnzerOne platform and enables seamless processing in e- and m-commerce without additional technical hurdles. The partnership is intended to drive the digital transformation in retail and strengthen Europe with a sovereign alternative in payment transactions.

Rheinmetall and INERATEC cooperate

Rheinmetall and INERATEC have entered into a strategic partnership to develop and use scalable power-to-liquid solutions to enable a decentralized, CO₂-neutral fuel supply for the defense sector and critical infrastructures in Europe. The aim is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and make the energy supply more resilient in crisis situations. The cooperation focuses on synthetic e-fuels, which are characterized by high energy density, storability and compatibility with existing infrastructure. The Giga PtX initiative aims to create a long-term independent fuel network that combines technological innovation with strategic energy autonomy.

Personnel

Alexandre Boucly as new Head of Retail

Catella Property has appointed Alexandre Boucly as Head of Retail in France to further expand its own investment activities in the retail sector. Boucly has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, particularly in retail investment and leasing. Having worked at Savills and as co-founder of Avison Young's French office, he will work closely with Catella's Capital Markets teams and regional offices in Nantes, Lille, Lyon and Aix/Marseille. The appointment is part of Catella's strategic growth plans to strengthen its position in the French retail market.

Stephen Fauth becomes Chief Revenue Officer at MARKT-PILOT

MARKT-PILOT, provider of software for market-oriented spare parts pricing in mechanical engineering, has appointed Stephen Fauth as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). In his new role, Fauth will assume global responsibility for sales, marketing, customer success and revenue operations. With over 20 years of experience in the enterprise software sector, most recently at Tacton, he brings extensive industry knowledge and will continue to drive MARKT-PILOT's international growth. The focus will be on opening up new markets and expanding the high-margin spare parts business. MARKT-PILOT's software enables mechanical engineering companies to implement data-based pricing strategies and increase sales.

byte robotics hires Chris Douglass as Head of Sales

The Magdeburg-based deep-tech start-up byte robotics is expanding its management team and appointing international sales expert Chris Douglass as Head of Sales. With over 20 years of experience at companies such as SolidWorks, Autodesk and Visual Components, Douglass will accelerate the global market launch of the software solution for the automated programming of industrial robots. The appointment follows seed funding of 1.3 million euros and several awards. The software from byte robotics generates cycle time-optimized, collision-free robot programs using a plug-in, thus significantly reducing programming effort. CEO Erik May and Douglass will be personally available at Automatica in Munich at the end of June.

More exciting news

ATechX launches second cohort: five new PropTechs in real operation

Aroundtown's PropTech accelerator ATechX has entered its second round. Five new start-ups, including CQuel, Garentii, Super Polymer, Temperate and XNomad, will be working on solutions for the real estate industry over the next four months. The focus is on development and testing under real conditions in Aroundtown's portfolio. The start-ups will test their technologies directly in office, residential and hotel properties. Supported by partners such as Fifth Wall, noa and Round Hill Capital, the teams are given access to pilot projects, mentoring and scaling opportunities. The aim is to find technological and market-oriented solutions to specific challenges in the sector.

starcopter launches one of the first C3-certified drones in Europe

The German tech startup starcopter has launched the HIGHDRA drone, one of the first fully C3-certified systems in Europe for the open category in accordance with new EU regulations. Developed in cooperation with software provider Auterion, the system is based on open standards and European manufacturing. Equipped with Auterion's Skynode X and Mission Control, HIGHDRA offers a powerful and scalable platform for commercial drone operations. The in-house development includes a flight platform, electronics and energy architecture and aims to provide a European alternative to existing drone systems. The official market launch will take place on June 23, 2025.

UnitPlus launches digital capital market CFO for SMEs

With the launch of the world's first digital capital market CFO, UnitPlus is offering small and medium-sized enterprises access to professional capital market strategies for liquidity management for the first time. In partnership with Goldman Sachs Asset Management and DWS, the platform enables surplus company liquidity to be invested in near-money market and short-term bond funds. Hundreds of medium-sized companies already manage a nine-figure investment volume via UnitPlus Business. In future, the solution is to be supplemented by an AI agent that automatically optimizes allocations in line with maturities. The aim is to increase treasury profitability and strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs.

"Dadi's & Nani's" Indian Ghost Kitchen in Switzerland

The Swiss food tech company Just Virtual Food is launching "Dadi's & Nani's", a new ghost kitchen brand that offers traditional Indian dishes exclusively via Just Eat in Switzerland. The brand is based on family recipes from the grandmothers of co-founder Gurpreet Singh and combines authentic cuisine with modern delivery culture. Popular classics such as Butter Chicken, Masala and Vindaloo will be available at the launch. The official launch will be celebrated on July 4, 2025 with a public pop-up at the Innovation Park Zurich, followed by an exclusive creator event on July 5. With several digital brands in the DACH region, Just Virtual Food is one of the leading providers in the Ghost Kitchen segment.