Startupnews KW 34 - 2025

Investments

Eight Sleep secures 100 million US dollars

The New York sleep technology company Eight Sleep has raised over 100 million US dollars in a new financing round. The investors include HSG, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides, Founders Fund, Y Combinator and personalities such as Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc and McLaren CEO Zak Brown. With the investment, Eight Sleep aims to accelerate the development of the world's first AI Sleep Agent, advance medical applications in the areas of menopausal sleep and sleep apnea and expand internationally (including China). The company has already generated over 500 million US dollars in revenue with its pod, achieved 10-fold revenue growth since its launch and analyzed over 1 billion hours of sleep data.

Hades Mining secures 5.5 million euros in pre-seed

The Munich-based deep-tech startup Hades Mining has raised 5.5 million euros in a pre-seed financing round. The round was led by Project A, with Visionaries Tomorrow, Founders Factory, the Viessmann Generations Group and various business angels also participating. Founded by Max Werner, Björn Dressler and Dan Gengenbach, Hades Mining is developing a next-generation drilling system that will provide access to ultra-deep heat reservoirs and in-situ extraction of minerals. The aim is to reduce Europe's dependence on energy and raw material imports while creating a more environmentally friendly alternative to open-cast mining.

Awards & Events

BIG UP Spotlight Quantum brings quantum start-ups and investors to Braunschweig

On August 26, St. Catherine's Church in Braunschweig will be the meeting place for international quantum start-ups and investors. At "BIG UP Spotlight Quantum", young companies from Germany and the UK will present themselves to investors from the USA, Switzerland, Italy and Germany, including IBM Ventures and the High-Tech Gründerfonds. The event organized by Braunschweig Zukunft GmbH as part of the International Quantum Year 2025 focuses on the economic potential of quantum technologies. With the support of regional and international partners, the aim is to connect start-ups with investors and strengthen Braunschweig as a location for innovation.

Cooperation and partnerships

Openbank relies on Upvest for modern investment infrastructure

Openbank, the digital bank of the Santander Group, has successfully migrated its investment offerings to Upvest's API infrastructure. The partnership starts with fractional stocks and ETFs for the German market and will be extended to other asset classes in the future. Through the integration, Openbank benefits from a cost-efficient and scalable solution that enables low trading fees and a seamless user experience. For Upvest, the collaboration with one of Europe's largest digital banks marks an important step towards becoming the leading provider of investment infrastructure for financial institutions in Europe.

Expresso and Cyreen enter into partnership

The butterfly & elephant start-up Cyreen is cooperating with the shopping cart specialist Expresso to integrate its C.A.P. technology into the smart shopper platform. This makes it possible to precisely link advertising contacts in stationary retail with actual purchasing decisions. The technology uses RFID to capture in-store movements and GTIN-based purchase data, enabling a hyper-personalized approach to customers in real time. By connecting with Expresso's smart shopping carts, Cyreen can implement its concept in a scalable way in retail for the first time. Retailers and brand manufacturers benefit from measurable retail media campaigns, while consumers are supported by digital shopping aids and simplified payment processes.

HAFS and NaroIQ cooperate to develop the ETF business

Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services S.A. (HAFS) is expanding its offering to include the launch and management of active and passive ETFs, relying on the digital fund platform from NaroIQ. As one of the first KVGs with locations in Luxembourg and Ireland, HAFS enables fund initiators to efficiently and cost-effectively implement ETF products, the demand for which is growing rapidly. NaroIQ provides the necessary infrastructure, standardizes interfaces to market participants and replaces the need to set up a separate ETF platform. The first ETF listings are planned for this year.

Bolt Food launches Bolt Food Finance with finmid

Bolt Food has launched the Bolt Food Finance program in cooperation with the financial infrastructure provider finmid, which provides small and medium-sized companies with quick and uncomplicated access to growth capital. The service is initially available in Latvia and will soon be expanded to other markets. Partner restaurants and stores can apply for loans of up to 30,000 euros directly via the Bolt Food platform and receive them within 24 hours. Repayment is made flexibly via a percentage of the turnover on the platform. The aim is to facilitate investments in equipment, staff, renovations or marketing and to promote the growth of local businesses.

M & A

Finexity AG acquires majority stake in liability roof provider Effecta GmbH

Hamburg-based Finexity AG has acquired 90.1 percent of Effecta GmbH, further expanding its role as a leading trading platform for tokenized private market investments. Effecta will remain an independent liability umbrella, while founder Tobias Hirsch will continue to lead the management and will also be involved in the strategic development of Finexity. The takeover will create synergies for over 80,000 investors and an expanded ecosystem that combines regulatory security with innovative investment infrastructure. The transaction, which is subject to BaFin approval, is an important step towards Finexity's planned stock exchange listing.

Unik System Design acquires Swedish LEB System

The Danish software company Unik System Design, backed by Main Capital Partners, acquires the Swedish provider LEB System AB. LEB offers a modular platform for real estate and facility management and serves customers in both the public and private sectors, including the cities of Stockholm and Malmö. The acquisition is the first add-on acquisition since Main's entry in 2023 and complements Unik's existing offering in areas such as rental management, financial management and tenant services. Together, the companies will employ more than 200 people and generate sales of more than EUR 25 million. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals.

Wirelane takes over Ladegrün!

Wirelane, provider of charging solutions and operator software for public charging, has acquired Ladegrün! The combination of Wirelane's CPO platform and technical expertise with Ladegrün's consistently sustainable approach creates a strong alliance for climate-friendly electric mobility. In future, customers of Ladegrün! will benefit from additional digital services, improved maintenance and flexible billing via WirelaneOS, while existing contracts will remain in place. Together, the two providers want to build a comprehensive, future-proof charging infrastructure for municipalities, companies and public locations.

Personnel

Susanne Krehl becomes Chief Growth Officer at wealthAPI

wealthAPI GmbH, a Berlin-based provider of wealth management interfaces, is appointing Susanne Krehl as Chief Growth Officer as of September 1, 2025. She will be responsible for driving the fintech's European expansion and developing new business areas in the wake of FiDA regulation. Krehl has over 15 years of fintech experience, most recently founded the personal finance startup Fabit and was previously instrumental in the internationalization of Barzahlen/viafintech. Together with the founding team, she wants to accelerate wealthAPI's growth and make access to financial data and financial education more widely available to consumers.

Ellen Goel joins the management board of Life Science Factory

Since August 15, 2025, Ellen Goel has joined Dr. Sven Wagner in the management of the Life Science Factory in Göttingen. The innovation manager was already active in the network as a mentor and brings expertise in entrepreneurship, sustainability and digital innovation. At the same time, she is also taking over the management of Life Science Valley GmbH in order to further develop the GOe FUTURE initiative. With her dual role, Goel will provide new impetus for the promotion of start-ups in the life sciences sector and the strengthening of Lower Saxony as a location for innovation.

Anurag Garg becomes Chief Product & Technology Officer at MARKT-PILOT

MARKT-PILOT, software provider for market-based pricing in mechanical and plant engineering, has appointed Anurag Garg as Chief Product & Technology Officer. The SaaS and industry expert brings extensive experience from leadership roles in technology-driven companies and will strengthen the company's global product and technology vision. With an eye on international expansion, particularly in Europe and North America, Garg will drive the further development of innovation, customer value and sustainability for OEMs.

More exciting news

BER relies on award-winning AI hotline for travelers

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) has introduced an AI-based agent that answers queries in German, English, Polish and Spanish around the clock. All this without waiting times and with access to real-time flight information. The solution is based on Parloa's AI Agent Management Platform and was implemented by KINOVA in six weeks. In use since February 2025, the service has been rated positively by 85 percent of users. BER received the award for the Most Innovative Airport Initiative at the Future Travel Experience for the project.