Startupnews week 36 - 2024

neoshare: Reorganization of the Management Board and Supervisory Board. Record number of applications for the Frankfurt Spring. Science4Life business plan competition starts. Dr. Jesko Thron becomes new CEO of mymuesli AG. jobvalley acquires YoungCapital Germany. Monda secures 5 million dollars in seed funding. Zive receives 3.2 million dollars. Segmed receives 10.4 million dollars Series A. Oxylus Energy with 4.5 million dollars seed funding. Bizzdesign announces two acquisitions. Over one million euros in seed funding round for Talent2Go. Teech secures prominent investors.

Personnel

idealo appoints Honey Deihimi as Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs

idealo has appointed Honey Deihimi as Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs to strengthen its leadership team and intensify its commitment to fair online competition. Deihimi, who previously worked at the German Federal Chancellery, will join idealo on September 1 and will report directly to Co-CEO Maxim Nohroudi. With her extensive experience in state, federal and European politics, she will advocate for transparent market conditions in e-commerce. idealo sees her appointment as an important step towards promoting fair competitive conditions and consumer protection at European and international level.

Dr. Jesko Thron becomes new CEO of mymuesli AG

Katjes Greenfood has appointed Dr. Jesko Thron, the former Managing Director and CMO of Katjes Greenfood, as the new CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of mymuesli AG. Thron takes over the management of the company in the course of the majority takeover by Katjes Greenfood and is to drive forward the strategic development of the organic muesli pioneer.

Realignment at neoshare: reorganization of the Management Board and Supervisory Board

neoshare, an AI-supported platform for the digitalization of the real estate and finance industry, is strengthening its team with renowned industry representatives and making strategic personnel changes to the Management Board and Supervisory Board. Dr. Andreas Mattner and Matthias Leube join the Supervisory Board, while Peter Bigelmaier is promoted to Co-CEO. Piotr Bienkowski will head up the real estate and consulting business from September, and Dominik Wilcken will take on the role of CFO/COO from October. These new appointments are intended to promote the company's growth and international expansion.

Financing rounds

Monda secures 5 million dollars in seed funding

Monda, a Berlin-based B2B SaaS startup specializing in data monetization, has received 5 million dollars in seed funding. The round was led by Senovo and Acrobator Ventures, with participation from Techstars. The funds will be used to drive expansion in the USA. It will also be used to expand the partner network and further develop the platform. Founded as a spin-off from Datarade, Monda's platform is already used by over 150 companies to manage data products on cloud marketplaces. The startup plans to open its first US office in Boston in the fall.

Segmed receives 10.4 million dollars in Series A funding

Palo Alto-based Segmed, which specializes in providing real-world imaging data for healthcare innovation, has closed a $10.4 million Series A funding round. The round was led by iGan Partners and Advocate Health, with additional investors including Castellan Group and Bold Brain Ventures. The investment is intended to facilitate access to anonymized and standardized imaging data for the biopharmaceutical and life sciences industries.

Over one million euros in seed financing round for Talent2Go

The Landau-based startup Talent2Go has successfully raised a seven-figure sum in its seed round. In addition to the Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB), the investors include Mosel Ventures, allygatr, NewCon Ventures and other well-known business angels. The fresh capital will flow into the further development of the software, which digitalizes training management and makes it more efficient. Talent2Go, founded by CEO Mike Joszko, has already won over customers such as Bayer and Hornbach. The software simplifies complex training processes, combines training management, e-learning and talent management and thus offers a unique solution for training companies.

Zive receives 3.2 million dollars to accelerate the use of AI in companies

Berlin-based startup Zive has raised 3.2 million dollars from Headline in a pre-seed round to promote the use of generative AI in companies. Zive combines generative AI and semantic search technology to make unstructured corporate knowledge accessible and offers an intuitive AI platform. With features such as a centralized search, an AI assistant and a hub for structured knowledge, Zive addresses the problem of knowledge management in companies. The financing is intended to accelerate growth and further drive product and service development.

Oxylus Energy with 4.5 million dollars in seed funding

Oxylus Energy, a developer of carbon utilization technologies for the production of e-fuels, has closed a $4.5 million seed funding round. The round was led by Toyota Ventures and Azolla Ventures. Oxylus uses a catalyst technology developed by Yale University to convert CO2 directly into green methanol at low temperatures and pressures. This method is expected to significantly reduce the cost of green methanol production and promote the decarbonization of hard-to-reduce sectors such as aviation and shipping. The fresh capital will be used for further development of the technology, prototype testing and pilot operation.

Teech secures prominent investors

Teech, the education platform and organizer of Inspiration Days, has successfully completed a new round of financing and attracted prominent investors, including Tom Kaulitz and Georg Listing from Tokio Hotel, Germany's biggest creator Younes Zarou and ex-Drillisch CEO Marc Brucherseifer. The company is also supported by Roman Schuhmacher (Co-Founder of Personio), Meta-Manager Daniel Kramer and existing investors Udo Schloemer (Factory Berlin) and Rolf Schrömgens (trivago). With this strong support, Teech will continue its mission to reshape career guidance and further promote young talent through events such as the Inspiration Days, which have already inspired over 200,000 young people.

M & A

jobvalley takes over YoungCapital Germany

jobvalley, the digital platform for flexible work for students and graduates, is taking over YoungCapital's German business, thereby strengthening its market leadership. Through the acquisition, both companies combine their complementary strengths: jobvalley is the market leader in short-term work assignments, while YoungCapital specializes in medium to long-term assignments. Customers will benefit from an expanded service offering and a larger talent pool, which now includes 23,000 students. The acquisition marks the beginning of a new phase of growth for jobvalley, which is expanding its customer base to over 3,500 companies, consolidating its position as the largest workforce-as-a-service platform in Germany.

Bizzdesign becomes leading provider of digital transformation software through mergers and acquisitions

On September 5, 2024, software company Bizzdesign announced the completion of two significant acquisitions that will strengthen its position as a global market leader in digital transformation software. As part of the first transaction, Bizzdesign is merging with MEGA International, a recognized provider of Enterprise Architecture (EA) software. A further acquisition has also been signed, bringing the company to an annual turnover of 110 million euros and more than 600 employees. The new group will continue to operate under the Bizzdesign name. The acquisition of MEGA, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, is part of a strategic expansion strategy and is intended to extend the joint market presence worldwide.

Events

New record number of applications for the Frankfurt Sprungfeder: over 150 start-ups in the running

Over 150 applications have been received for the Frankfurter Sprungfeder, Germany's start-up prize - a new record. Now the expert jury, consisting of leading personalities such as Magdalena Pusch and Alicja Feltens, is faced with the task of nominating the five finalists. The final will take place on September 23, 2024 at the IHK Frankfurt am Main and Deutsche Börse AG. The Frankfurter Sprungfeder, which has been awarded since 2015, honors innovative start-ups with prizes worth over 100,000 euros and promotes their development into the brands of tomorrow.

Science4Life business plan competition starts

The Science4Life Business Plan Competition is starting its new round and invites start-ups and those interested in founding a company in the fields of life sciences, chemistry and energy to submit their ideas by October 14, 2024. The competition offers support in three phases, from the initial concept to the business plan to the founding of the company. Participants not only gain access to a network of over 300 experts, but also to prize money of 77,000 euros and various training opportunities. The best teams in the idea phase are invited to a digital academy day to further develop their concepts. The competition has already supported over 1500 companies, including successful companies such as Cardior and Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies.