Startupnews week 47 - 2024

Lighthouse secures 370 million US dollars in Series C. FOUNDERS JAM in Wolfenbüttel. Eye-Able® receives 20 million euros. Xayn launches legal AI Noxtua Research. N26 achieves first quarterly profit. Fairown and Miete24 launch rental and subscription solution for online retailers. Plug and Play launches Sustainability Fund. Frazier Healthcare Partners closes oversubscribed $2.3 billion Growth Buyout Fund XI in just six months. Extantia Capital launches flagship fund with € 204 million. elopage becomes ablefy. CellPoint Digital receives 30 million dollars. PETLUX launches in Germany. Topliner with Microsoft partnership. GitHub with new fund.

PETLUX launches in Germany

The Dutch brand PETLUX, known for luxurious cat products, has announced its market launch in Germany. With the PETLUX V3 XXL, an innovative and sustainable automatic litter box, the company wants to conquer the German pet care market. The product combines state-of-the-art technology with reusable liners and biodegradable cat litter to combine comfort and environmental friendliness. With over 16 million cats, Germany is the largest market for pet care in Europe.

Financing rounds

Eye-Able® receives 20 million euros for expansion in Europe

The Würzburg-based start-up Eye-Able®, which specializes in software solutions for digital accessibility, has raised 20 million euros in a Series A financing round. The lead investor is the Frankfurt-based B2B technology fund Yttrium, supported by the existing investor 5I Ventures of former SoftwareONE CEO Dieter Schlosser. Eye-Able® plans to use the capital to expand into European markets such as France, Italy and the UK. The company is considered the market leader in Germany and serves over 2,000 customers, including Deutsche Telekom and Roche. The European Accessibility Act, which will stipulate accessibility for digital services from 2025, will support the start-up's growth.

Lighthouse secures 370 million US dollars in Series C funding

Lighthouse, a leading business intelligence platform for the hospitality industry, has announced an investment of 370 million US dollars in a Series C financing round led by KKR. The funds will support further development of the AI-powered platform, strategic acquisitions and global expansion. Lighthouse supports over 70,000 hotels with tools to increase bookings and optimize operations. CEO Sean Fitzpatrick emphasizes that the investment accelerates the mission to make powerful data and AI solutions more accessible. KKR emphasizes Lighthouse's strong market position and innovation capabilities and sees great potential for further growth.

CellPoint Digital receives 30 million dollars

London - Fintech startup CellPoint Digital, which specializes in payment solutions for the travel industry, has raised 30 million dollars in a financing round led by Toscafund and Penta Capital. The funds will be used to drive the launch of the new Offer Order Settle Delivery (OOSD) platform, which enables modernized payment processing and personalized offers for airlines and travel brands. The company also plans to expand globally to meet the growing demand for payment orchestration solutions. CellPoint Digital already works with industry leaders such as Virgin Atlantic and Southwest Airlines and aims to further strengthen its market position with innovative technologies and optimized payment processes.

Partnerships and cooperations

Fairown and Miete24 launch rental and subscription solution for online retailers

The Estonian company Fairown and the German rental platform Miete24 are offering a joint rental and subscription solution for online retailers in Germany. The solution makes it possible to offer products such as consumer electronics and IT equipment for rent or by subscription via an integrated checkout system. Retailers benefit from embedded financing solutions and a buy-back option. Business and private customers can thus access affordable monthly installments, while retailers do not bear any credit default risk. The partnership aims to promote sustainable consumption and increase competitiveness through flexible rental models.

Topliner with Microsoft partnership

Amsterdam-based HR tech startup Topliner, which specializes in AI-powered executive recruitment solutions, has become part of the Microsoft for Startups program. With access to $150,000 in Azure credits, cutting-edge AI tools and technical advice, Topliner aims to modernize the executive search industry by automating the time-consuming process of finding candidates and providing real-time data. By integrating technologies such as Azure OpenAI Services, the company plans to increase efficiency and accuracy in executive identification and enable recruiters to work more strategically.

Fund

Plug and Play launches sustainability fund to combat climate change

The innovation company Plug and Play has launched the Plug and Play Sustainability Fund I, a venture capital fund that invests in start-ups developing solutions for decarbonization, circular economy, energy transition and water resilience. The fund builds on Plug and Play's sustainability program, which was launched in 2019 and is now active in 12 global locations. The aim of the fund is to support start-ups in the early stages of development and scale their environmental impact. Initial investments include companies such as Vaulted Deep and Carbon Run, which are developing technologies for CO₂ storage and sustainable innovations. A further 20 investments are planned over the next two years.

Frazier Healthcare Partners closes oversubscribed $2.3 billion Growth Buyout Fund XI in just six months

Frazier Healthcare Partners has closed the heavily oversubscribed $2.3 billion Frazier Healthcare Growth Buyout Fund X I (FHGB XI) in just six months. The fund focuses on majority stakes in mid-market healthcare companies and received broad support from investors such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices. Co-Managing Partner Nader Naini emphasized that Frazier's 30 years of industry experience and theme-based investment strategy convinced investors. With a specialized investment team and a 22-person portfolio operations department, Frazier identifies forward-looking trends and leverages proven leaders to drive sustainable growth in the healthcare industry.

Extantia Capital launches flagship fund with €204 million

Berlin-based climate-focused VC Extantia Capital has closed a fund with a volume of €204 million. The fund is backed by global institutional investors such as sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies and family offices. Extantia invests in early-stage climate-oriented software and hardware solutions (Seed to Series A) with entry tickets between €1 and €5 million. Since 2020, Extantia has built up around € 300 million in assets under management and a portfolio of over 20 innovations, including Reverion (reversible, carbon-negative power plants), INERATEC (market leader for e-fuels) and BeZero (carbon rating agency). As early as 2022 we reported on the VC's intention to invest €300 million.

GitHub with new fund

GitHub has launched the Secure Open Source Fund, a funding program designed to strengthen the security and sustainability of open source projects. With a starting capital of 1.25 million US dollars, supported by partners such as Microsoft, Stripe and American Express, 125 projects will be supported with 10,000 US dollars each. In addition to financial support, the program also includes training, mentoring, tools such as GitHub Copilot and advice from security experts. The aim is to provide open source maintainers with resources and knowledge to close security gaps and improve the stability of software. Applications are open until January 7, 2025.

Awards & Events

FOUNDERS JAM brings the start-up scene together in Wolfenbüttel

On November 28, 2024, the FOUNDERS JAM will take place at the Veränder.bar in Wolfenbüttel and invites people interested in founding a company, young talents and experienced entrepreneurs. From 5 p.m., Katharina Rother-Schönfeld, initiator of the Founders Circle, and Pascal Milfeit, founder of Deeptech, will speak about networking and their experiences as entrepreneurs in a relaxed lounge atmosphere. The Ukrainian trio Art Kitchen will accompany the evening with music. The event is open and free of charge and offers space for exchange, networking and insights into the regional startup scene.

What else was going on

N26 achieves first quarterly profit

Digital bank N26 has posted its first quarterly profit and reported accelerated growth since BaFin lifted its growth restriction. In the third quarter of 2024, the company recorded an operating profit of EUR 2.8 million and expects gross revenues to increase by 40% to around EUR 440 million for the full year 2024. With more than 200,000 new customer registrations per month, strong organic demand is driving growth. Strategic product extensions, such as N26 Shares and joint accounts, drive both customer activity and profitability Customer deposits exceeded the EUR 10 billion mark for the first time, with interest income expected to account for around half of revenue in the future.

elopage becomes ablefy: new name, expanded platform, more growth

The Berlin-based platform elopage is now operating under the name ablefy, ushering in a new phase of growth. With a transaction volume of over 1 billion euros and more than 70,000 providers of digital products, ablefy is expanding its platform to comprehensively automate and optimize digital sales processes. New features such as integrated dunning and collection solutions, an improved check-out and a curated network of experts are designed to help sellers make their business processes more efficient and focus on growth.

Xayn launches legal AI Noxtua Research

Berlin-based AI startup Xayn has launched Noxtua Research, an extension of its specialized legal AI. The solution enables legally compliant AI-supported research with precise references to laws and judgments. According to Xayn, the underlying search model significantly outperforms OpenAI in legal benchmarks. Noxtua Research was developed in collaboration with partners such as dejure.org and CMS, meets high data protection and compliance standards and is available immediately. The AI is designed to make legal work more efficient and secure.