Startupnews week 27 - 2025

Investments

Crosstown receives CHF 3 million and EU patent for CO₂-free gas turbine technology

Swiss DeepTech startup Crosstown has raised CHF 3 million in a seed financing round from new and existing investors, including 2100Ventures, Climate Insiders and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The capital will be used for the market launch of the H2R® burner technology, which converts existing gas turbines to run on CO₂-free fuels such as hydrogen. Crosstown also received a patent from the European Patent Office that secures the technological basis of the solution. The technology enables flexible fuel use and significantly reduces NOx emissions without the need for completely new turbine systems. The aim is to contribute to decarbonization and to strengthening Europe's energy independence.

Balthazar raises €1.85 million

Amsterdam-based startup Balthazar has raised a total of €1.85 million in pre-seed funding to develop a platform for the digitalization of research processes in deep-tech laboratories. The latest funding round of €1.2 million, led by CapitalT with participation from Antler, will go towards product development, AI capabilities and team expansion. Balthazar offers a cloud-based system that enables research teams to control, monitor and document complex experiments in real time in the browser. The aim is to make research processes more efficient, reproducible and easier to coordinate.

2.3 million euros for energy start-up avoltra

The Nuremberg-based start-up avoltra, founded by Angelo Canzaniello Sáenz and Franz Zünkler, has received 2.3 million euros in a pre-seed financing round. Investors include Project A Ventures, the CDTM Venture Fund and several well-known business angels. With its AI-based platform, avoltra aims to make industrial energy procurement more efficient and transparent. The fresh capital will be used to drive forward product development in particular. The start-up's aim is to make energy a strategic advantage for industry rather than a cost factor.

Talon.One receives 115 million euros for AI expansion and global expansion

The Berlin-based loyalty startup Talon.One has received 135 million US dollars in growth capital from investors such as Silversmith Capital Partners, Meritech Capital and CRV. The aim of the financing is to drive the further development of the SaaS platform - in particular through AI-supported functions for analyzing and predicting consumer behavior. With over 270 international customers, including H&M, Adidas and Sephora, and around 230 employees, Talon.One aims to strengthen its market position in the USA, Europe and Asia and establish itself as a more comprehensive alternative to competitors such as Salesforce.

Mätch VC successfully closes fund with 49 million euros and 91 investors

Mätch VC has significantly exceeded the final closing of its fund and raised an impressive 49 million euros instead of the originally planned 35 million euros. The participation of 91 Limited Partners (LPs) - personalities from family businesses, start-ups, science and industry who not only contribute capital, but also knowledge, networks and active support - is particularly noteworthy. The new supporters include Martina Merz, Dr. Anna-Katharina Wittenstein and representatives from Festool and wenglor. Mätch VC remains true to its goal: investing in courageous founders, pioneering technologies and sustainable early-stage business models.

Awards & Events

Strüngmann Award 2025 goes to Araris founding team

The founding team of Araris Biotech (Dr. Dragan Grabulovski, Dr. Philipp Spycher and Dr. Isabella Attinger-Toller) was awarded the Strüngmann Award 2025. The jury recognized their innovative technology for the development of a new generation of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), which should make targeted cancer therapies more efficient and precise. The award is endowed with 100,000 euros and highlights Araris' successful development, including partnerships with Chugai and Johnson & Johnson as well as the acquisition by Taiho Pharmaceuticals. Araris thus exemplifies the innovative strength of the life science scene in the DACH region.

CanChip and ALL ABOUT MIDLIFE win the final of Female StartAperitivo 2025

At the nationwide final of the Female StartAperitivo 2025 in Berlin, the start-ups CanChip and ALL ABOUT MIDLIFE were selected from over 300 applications. CanChip, represented by founder Ghazaleh Madani, received the jury prize for its innovative approach to tumor research. The audience award was won by the ALL ABOUT MIDLIFE team with a digital health program for women in midlife. Ten finalists presented their ideas to the jury and audience, accompanied by networking, investor talks and an awards ceremony. The aim of the format, which is supported by the Business Angels Club Berlin-Brandenburg (BACB) and the Hamburg Investors Network (HIN), is to promote more diversity in startup financing.

Apply now: 4C Accelerator starts round 10 - MedTech start-ups wanted

The 4C Accelerator of Medical Innovations Incubator GmbH is entering its 10th round: MedTech start-ups with early product ideas in the fields of medical devices, digital health or in-vitro diagnostics can still apply until July 7, 2025. The teams will learn about 4C Business Modelling (Commercialization, Certification, Clinical Studies, Copyright/Patent) in 15 workshops. This is followed by six months of individual coaching from the MII team. The aim is to develop regulatory viable and economically sound business models and achieve investor readiness. More information and registration: https://mi-incubator.com/de/4c-accelerator-de/

Energy Startup Cup brings innovative energy solutions to the stage

On July 22, 2025, the final of this year's "Energy Startup Cup" will take place at the "Future Energy Lab Berlin". Eight selected startups will present their solutions for key challenges of the energy transition. These include everything from sustainable energy generation to digital control and efficiency technologies. The competition, organized by the energy accelerator AXEL in cooperation with the German Energy Agency (dena), offers founders a platform to present their business ideas to an expert audience, investors and partners. The aim is to make innovative approaches visible and promote exchange within the energy sector. The competition is part of the AXEL program, which supports start-ups with a focus on the energy industry in their further development and market launch.

Cooperation and partnerships

Affidea selects b-rayZ as strategic AI partner for breast imaging

Affidea, a European provider of medical imaging and outpatient healthcare services, has entered into a strategic partnership with the AI company b-rayZ. The aim of the collaboration is to use AI-supported software to support breast imaging. The b-rayZ solution is already in use at several Affidea locations, including Switzerland, Spain and Lithuania. The partnership also includes Affidea's participation in b-rayZ's Series A financing round. The plan is to gradually expand the collaboration to integrate digital applications into existing workflows and support diagnostics.

Xaver and Upvest launch partnership

Xaver and Upvest have entered into a strategic partnership to offer fully digital solutions for retirement planning, saving and investing. This step is being taken both directly for end users and as a white-label offering for banks, insurers and other partners. The combination of Xaver's AI-powered advisory and wealth management platform with Upvest's regulated custody and brokerage infrastructure covers the entire value chain. The aim is to bring modern financial products to market faster and more efficiently. Among other things, the solutions enable hybrid portfolios with access to public and private markets as well as new products such as children's custody accounts, flexible reinvestment products and cross-border PEPP offerings.

IDnow and Keyless: strategic partnership

IDnow and Keyless have announced a strategic partnership to ensure the security of digital identities throughout their lifecycle. The combination of IDnow's identity verification and digital signatures with Keyless' biometric multi-factor authentication (MFA) introduces the concept of "Continuous Trust". This enables continuous verification, especially for high-risk actions, and protects against modern fraud methods such as deepfakes. The partnership aims to provide secure and privacy-compliant solutions for industries with high security requirements such as FinTechs and healthcare.

M & A

Nect acquires Acadias

Hamburg-based tech Nect has acquired the provider of the AMLA compliance platform Acadias. The aim of the acquisition is to supplement its own identity and signature solutions with functions for KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYB (Know Your Business) checks. Acadias offers a digital platform for the automated verification of natural and legal persons in accordance with the German Money Laundering Act (GwG) for professional groups such as notaries, tax consultants and real estate agents. As part of the acquisition, co-founder Till Kramer is moving to Nect to take on a role in product innovation. The integration is intended to offer Nect customers a more comprehensive solution from a single source in future. The acquisition follows a recent €2.5 million investment from Round2Capital and underlines Nect's strategic goal.

Wemolo acquires Avrio and digitizes parking garages in Hamburg

Wemolo, a provider of digital parking solutions, has taken over its insolvent competitor Avrio and fully digitalized two Hamburg locations in Winterhude and Altona. Instead of barriers, Wemolo relies on AI-supported license plate recognition and enables barrier-free access, digital payment and data-based revenue optimization. According to the company, the changeover has increased short-term parking turnover by 50% and reduced operating costs by 25%. A complementary sharing model offers residents access to parking spaces outside of opening hours. The acquisition is part of Wemolo's expansion strategy in busy city center locations with parking pressure and good public transport connections.