Startup news for the weekend week 11/26

Funding

finperks secures 4 million dollar pre-seed

finperks has raised 4 million US dollars in a pre-seed round, co-led by seed + speed Ventures and Motive Partners. The startup is building a modern API infrastructure for the prepaid market and enables banks, FinTechs and HR platforms to quickly launch digital prepaid products, from cashback and tax-free employee benefits to instantly usable gift cards. Founders Achim Bönsch, Sebastian Seifert and Andreas Veller already bring experience from building the European cash network Barzahlen/viacash, which was acquired by NYSE-listed Paysafe in 2021.

Peeriot receives seven-figure late-seed financing

Leipzig-based deep-tech startup Peeriot GmbH has closed a seven-figure late-seed financing round to prepare the market entry of its IoT technology. The round was led by Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen (TGFS) and beteiligungsmanagement thüringen gmbh (bm|t), with the business angel network Companisto also participating. The capital will primarily be used for the market launch of the community version of the "Myrmic" software in 2026, which is designed to simplify the development and operation of distributed IoT and edge systems. In the long term, the company plans to build on this with a commercial version for industrial applications.

Telura leaves Stealth with 5 million dollars in funding

The Munich-based startup Telura has received 5 million US dollars in a pre-seed round from European deep tech investors, including First Momentum, Nucleus Ventures and Possible Ventures. The funds will support the 2026 market launch of its innovative drilling system, which uses high-voltage electrical pulses to break open rock faster and more cost-effectively, thus facilitating access to geothermal energy. Telura is working with the innovation agency SPRIND to strengthen Europe's energy sovereignty through locally available, low-carbon base load energy.

Awards & Events

Futurail wins the Future Mobility Award 2026

The Franco-German deep-tech start-up Futurail was presented with the "Future Mobility Award 2026" in Karlsruhe. The jury was impressed by the practical solution: AI-supported autonomy for existing and new rail vehicles should make train transportation more reliable, efficient and cost-effective and counteract the shortage of train drivers. The prize, endowed with 5,000 euros and awarded as part of IT-TRANS, recognizes start-ups that are shaping the mobility of tomorrow with innovative, scalable technologies. Seven European companies competed in the final round, including Digitrans (Finland), Autonomous Systems (Poland) and Electric Oasis (France).

LDC Impact Prize 2026: Applications open for innovative food and AgriTech solutions

MassChallenge Switzerland and Louis Dreyfus Company have launched the application phase for the LDC Impact Prize 2026. The prize is aimed at startups and scaleups that develop innovative solutions to challenges in food and agricultural supply chains. The focus in 2026 is on climate adaptation and the future of production and industry. The two winners will be announced on October 29 at the MassChallenge Switzerland Award ceremony in Lausanne, where the winning companies will receive support in scaling their solutions.

Mergers & Acquisitions

MG Health and Canify merge

Canify AG and MG Health Limited announce their planned merger to create a global medical cannabis provider. The new company will offer a vertically integrated platform, from EU GMP-certified cultivation and extraction in Lesotho to pharmaceutical processing and distribution in more than seven countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland. The merger builds on the successful collaboration in place since 2024 and combines Canify's international supply chains and distribution with MG Health's cost-efficient production and sustainable approach. The aim is to create a leading international group with a focus on quality, clinical innovation and social responsibility as well as further expansion into European markets.

TMA acquires BrainsFirst as a further add-on

The Dutch HR software provider TMA has acquired the assessment specialist BrainsFirst. The transaction is TMA's second acquisition in 2026 and the fourth since the partnership with Main Capital Partners at the end of 2024. BrainsFirst develops neuroscience-based, game-based cognitive assessments to analyze talent potential and decision-making ability. By combining with TMA's talent management platform, both companies aim to expand their analysis of employee profiles and tap into additional growth and cross-selling potential in the HR software market.

Mietguru will be fully integrated into ohne-makler

The Austrian real estate platform ohne-makler.at is taking over the expertise of Mietguru, integrating almost 80,000 listings and 21 social media groups with over 306,000 members into the ohne-makler ecosystem. In future, owners will be able to list their properties once and publish them on several portals simultaneously, saving time and costs. The merger expands the offering nationwide, strengthens the digital reach and local expertise and should make ohne-makler the leading platform for commission-free real estate marketing in Austria by 2028.

Main Capital Partners acquires majority stake in Good Solutions

The investment company Main Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in the Swedish software provider Good Solutions. The company develops solutions for optimizing manufacturing processes, including real-time production monitoring and plant analyses via its RSProduction platform. With Main's support, Good Solutions aims to accelerate its growth, particularly through international expansion and a buy-and-build strategy in the smart manufacturing software market. The management team will remain on board and will continue to drive development together with the new strategic partner.

Cooperations & partnerships

Quantum Systems and Daimler Truck cooperate on autonomous military logistics

Drone and autonomy specialist Quantum Systems announced a partnership with Daimler Truck at LogNet 2026 and at the same time presented its new MOSAIC Ground Autonomy Kit. The technology enables automated and teleoperated driving functions for military logistics vehicles and is to be integrated into existing truck platforms. The aim of the cooperation is to develop scalable, interoperable solutions for unmanned military transport operations, in which vehicles can be deployed in a leader-follower network or controlled from a safe distance. The collaboration is also intended to strengthen European expertise in the areas of autonomy, AI and unmanned systems.

NEURA Robotics and Qualcomm launch strategic robotics partnership

The German robotics company NEURA Robotics and Qualcomm Technologies have announced a long-term strategic collaboration to advance physical AI and cognitive robotics. The focus is on the development of joint reference architectures for "Brain + Nervous System" that combine powerful edge AI processors - including Qualcomm's Dragonwing robotics chips - with NEURA's robotics platforms and AI software. The aim is to bring intelligent robots for industrial, service and household applications into practical use more quickly. The cooperation also includes developer platforms, open ecosystems and the integration of the Neuraverse cloud platform to accelerate the development and scaling of humanoid and versatile robotic systems.

Arvato cooperates with Unchained Robotics for logistics automation

The logistics service provider Arvato is entering into a strategic partnership with the robotics company Unchained Robotics in order to implement automation solutions in logistics and fulfillment processes more quickly. As part of the collaboration, Arvato is acquiring a minority stake in the Paderborn-based company. The aim is to develop modular, manufacturer-independent robotics solutions that can be tested under real conditions and then rolled out on a broad basis. In the coming years, Arvato plans to deploy a three-digit number of robots in various logistics locations and sees particular potential for international scaling, for example in the USA.