Startupnews week 31 - 2025

Investments

ARX Robotics expands financing by 11 million euros

ARX Robotics has raised an additional €11 million in a Series A expansion led by Speedinvest, bringing the total investment to €42 million. The company aims to transform the land sector of military and industrial applications by modernizing existing vehicle fleets, deploying autonomous systems and developing new technology standards. The funds will be used to expand production in Europe, collaborate with partners such as Daimler Truck AG and RENK Group and strengthen teams in the areas of AI, autonomy and system integration, among others.

Roadsurfer secures 85 million euros

Camper rental company roadsurfer has secured €85 million in financing, consisting of €60 million in ABS financing from the Macquarie Group and €25 million in venture debt financing with BBVA. The company intends to use the funds to further expand its fleet of currently 10,000 vehicles and strengthen its market presence in Europe and North America. The BBVA financing is part of the InvestEU program and is also intended to support the company's digital development. In total, roadsurfer's financing capacity thus exceeds the 500 million euro mark.

Mergers & Acquisitions

NICE acquires Cognigy for 955 million US dollars

The US software provider NICE is acquiring the German AI specialist Cognigy for around 955 million US dollars. The aim of the transaction is to integrate Cognigy's conversational AI into the CXone Mpower platform to accelerate the automation of customer service processes. Cognigy provides AI agents for multilingual customer communication and counts Mercedes-Benz, Nestlé and Lufthansa among its customers. NICE is financing the acquisition from its own funds. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025 and strengthens NICE's position as a provider of AI-based customer experience solutions.

iTernity and Biomedion join forces

Freiburg-based archiving specialist iTernity is merging with Biomedion, a provider of GxP-compliant data management software for the pharmaceutical industry. The aim is to better cover regulatory demanding archiving requirements across all industries. While iTernity is represented in over 1,400 companies in various sectors with solutions such as iCAS and iCAS FS, Biomedion contributes expertise in the pharmaceutical environment with its Watcher platform. The combined software suite addresses both general company requirements for data protection and compliance as well as industry-specific regulations. Both management teams remain active; the partnership is intended to drive innovation, growth and resilience in data management.

Pina Earth and Tree.ly merge

ClimateTech companies Pina Earth and Tree.ly are joining forces to become the largest technology-enabled platform for forest carbon offset projects in Europe. With over 80,000 hectares of forest under contract, over 500,000 tons of certified CO₂ certificates and a network of more than 100 corporate customers, a clear market leader is emerging in the DACH region. The new unit combines project development, software and sales, covers projects in six countries and aims to scale the range of regional, high-quality climate protection solutions across Europe. The Pina Earth brand will remain, and the merged company will be managed by Tree.ly founders Jodok Batlogg and Christian Lutz. A Series A financing round is in preparation.

Officine Maccaferri takes over CPT

The Ambienta portfolio company Officine Maccaferri has acquired the Italian specialist CPT in order to expand its technological leadership in the field of integrated tunnel construction solutions. CPT develops robotic prefabrication and control systems for mechanized tunnel construction, complementing Maccaferri's existing solutions. The acquisition strengthens the company's position as a provider of sustainable infrastructure solutions and enables a fully integrated platform for conventional and mechanized tunnel construction. Together, the two companies aim to meet the growing demand for automated and resource-saving infrastructure technologies.

Awards & Events

BLACKFORESTSPACE 2025 brings digital conference with top speakers to Offenburg

On October 14, 2025, the BLACKFORESTSPACE conference for digital marketing, technology and artificial intelligence will take place at Messe Offenburg. The event will feature over 50 speakers, masterclasses, panels and an expo with more than 30 exhibitors. Prominent guests include Burda COO Rebecca Gottwald, Lexware Managing Director Christian Steiger and former professional footballer Nils Petersen. The conference is aimed at specialists and managers, founders, start-ups and investors and expects around 2000 participants. Early bird tickets are still available until August 3.

Barcelona will host the Global MediaTech Pitch Day with up to €3 million in startup funding

On September 26, 2025, the Global MediaTech Pitch Day will take place in Barcelona for the first time. It is organized by Raw Ventures in collaboration with Tech Barcelona and the Harbour.Space Institute of Technology. Nine international MediaTech start-ups with scalable business models will present themselves to specialized investors and compete for up to 3 million euros in funding and a pitch prize of 10,000 euros. Following the move from Potsdam to one of the most dynamic startup cities in Europe, the event will target startups that are beyond the early stages but still face hurdles in growth and access to capital. With a strong focus on AI, content innovation and user experience, the event aims to close a gap that many media tech companies experience on their path to scale. With its growing tech infrastructure, over 2,000 startups and an active investor scene, Barcelona offers ideal conditions for this positioning.

Endolease wins the North Bavaria 2025 business plan competition

The Würzburg medical technology startup Endolease has won first place in BayStartUP's Northern Bavaria 2025 business plan competition. The team impressed the jury with its implantable technology for targeted drug release. Second and third place went to BreatheAssist from Erlangen with an innovative intensive care ventilator and fiveD, which is developing an AI-supported radar simulation platform. A total of 125 teams from Franconia and the Upper Palatinate took part in the competition - a significant increase on the previous year. BayStartUP highlights the high quality of the deep tech ideas and emphasizes the role of the competition as a springboard for technology-oriented start-up teams.

Heilbronn Slush'D 2025 launches application phase for pitch competition

Heilbronn Slush'D 2025, the official Slush'D event in Germany, will take place on October 23 with over 1,000 participants and will launch the application phase for its pitch competition on August 1. 50 start-ups will have the opportunity to present themselves in five categories and win prizes such as the ONE Hundred Award (€100,000) or the Co-Innovation Award (€25,000). The program will be complemented by speakers from the European tech and VC scene, including representatives from 1KOMMA5°, Norrsken VC, make.com and Seqera.

Energy Startup Cup showcases innovative solutions for the energy transition

Eight young companies presented pioneering technologies for electricity, heat and mobility at the Energy Startup Cupin Berlin's Future Energy Lab. The event was organized by AXEL, the energy accelerator of fokus.energie e.V., in cooperation with the German Energy Agency (dena). The start-ups showcased a broad spectrum ranging from battery and hydrogen technologies to drone solutions and digital energy use. In a sporty pitch format, the alteva team impressed with lightweight lithium-sulphur batteries for aviation and transportation and won the competition. The event made it clear how much innovation potential there is in the start-up scene.

Cooperations

Vonovia becomes a partner of startup accelerator ATechX

Vonovia is joining the proptech accelerator ATechX initiated by Aroundtown. The aim of the partnership is to offer start-ups practical development opportunities and drive forward digitalization and sustainability in the real estate industry. ATechX enables young technology companies to test their solutions under real-life conditions in residential, office and hotel properties. With the addition of Vonovia, which has a portfolio of over 500,000 units, the ATechX network grows to five partners, including investors Fifth Wall and noa as well as Round Hill Capital. Transparency notice: The editor is himself invested in Vonovia. The report is for information purposes only.

POLYAS and Winkhardt + Spinder cooperate

POLYAS, specialist for online elections, and the election organization expert Winkhardt + Spinder (W+S) are entering into a strategic partnership to enable election organizers to combine online, postal and ballot box elections from a single source. The combination of the POLYAS platform with the election management system WAHLPLUS creates an end-to-end digital process chain. The collaboration reduces organizational effort, increases efficiency and ensures maximum legal certainty.

Personnel

Parloa appoints Chris Silver as Chief Revenue Officer

Parloa has appointed Chris Silver as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). The appointment comes a few weeks after the successful completion of a USD 120 million Series C funding round. Silver brings extensive experience from leadership positions at companies such as Five9 and AT&T and will be particularly responsible for driving international scaling in North America and Europe. As CRO, he will be responsible for revenue strategy, customer success and go-to-market approaches.

b2venture brings Mathias Ockenfels on board as a new partner

b2venture is strengthening its fund investment team with Mathias Ockenfels, an experienced early-stage investor with over 15 years of experience and more than 70 investments in European tech start-ups. Ockenfels, who previously worked at Point Nine and Speedinvest, among others, will in future be responsible for investments in platform and marketplace models from the Berlin office. With its entry, b2venture is underlining its long-term investment approach and commitment to value-oriented venture capital financing.

Further exciting news

New biotech innovation center BioLabs|TUM to be established in Munich

TUM Venture Labs, BioLabs and Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) are jointly founding BioLabs|TUM, an innovation center for biotechnology in the heart of Munich. The aim of the partnership is to provide targeted support for early-stage biotech start-ups through state-of-the-art laboratory space, mentoring and international networks. On around 1,800 square meters, up to 20 start-ups will have access to high-quality infrastructure and tailored support to accelerate the development of new therapies. The cooperation combines academic excellence, entrepreneurial know-how and pharmaceutical expertise, thereby strengthening Munich's role as a biotech hotspot. The opening of the center is planned for early 2026.