Startup News for the Weekend, Week 33/26

Funding

Stefan Straßer Founds His Own Asset Management and Family Office Firm

Stefan Straßer, former managing director of BV Bayerische Vermögen GmbH, has founded his own company, Straßer Vermögenstreuhand GmbH, which provides asset management and family office services. Headquartered in Pocking, the company targets high-net-worth families, entrepreneurs, and corporations and has joined the partner network of INNO HAFTUNGSDACHS. According to the company, the asset management firm currently serves around 50 families and corporations with approximately 400 million euros in assets under management. In addition to securities investments, its approach also encompasses real estate, equity investments, financing, and complex family and corporate structures. Through its partnership with INNO, the company also gains access to INNO’s regulatory and technical infrastructure as well as various custodian banks.

Aisot Technologies Raises an Additional Two Million Swiss Francs

The Zurich-based fintech company Aisot Technologies has completed an extension of its seed financing round totaling two million Swiss francs. Existing and new investors, including family offices and business angels, participated in the round. A new investor is Felix Haldner, a former partner at Partners Group and former president of the Swiss Funds & Asset Management Association. Founded in 2021 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich, the company develops AI-based solutions for asset and wealth managers as well as family offices. Aisot combines quantitative financial analysis, machine learning, and AI-powered news analysis for portfolio decisions and risk management. The company plans to use the additional capital to further drive its growth in the field of AI-powered portfolio intelligence.

Zerolook Raises 1.5 Million Swiss Francs

The AI startup Zerolook has raised 1.5 million Swiss francs—equivalent to approximately 1.9 million U.S. dollars—in a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by the British investor Playfair, with participation from Vento, TrueSight Ventures, Alpha Venture, and several business angels. The company develops technologies for predicting airfares and plans to use the new capital primarily for the further development and market launch of its product, supporting its first customers, and expanding its team. Zerolook is currently looking specifically for additional software developers.

Collaborations & Partnerships

GS1 Germany and docdok.health Collaborate on Health Data

GS1 Germany and the Swiss digital health company docdok.health have agreed to a partnership to develop standardized digital solutions for health and care data. To this end, international GS1 standards will be combined with docdok.health’s AI-powered ePACLARA platform to, among other things, link medical devices, pharmaceuticals, treatment steps, and clinical outcomes in a structured manner. The resulting database is intended to enable applications in areas such as real-world evidence, health services research, quality management, and patient support. Initially, the partners plan to develop and pilot joint use cases in selected medical specialties.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Dynatrace Plans to Acquire Arize for Over $900 Million

Software provider Dynatrace has entered into an agreement to acquire Arize, a company specializing in AI observability. The goal is to integrate Arize’s AI-powered analysis and evaluation capabilities with Dynatrace’s observability platform, thereby covering the entire lifecycle of AI applications from development through production. Among other things, Arize brings the open-source platform Phoenix and the enterprise solution Arize AX to the table, which enable companies to monitor, evaluate, and optimize AI applications and agents. Once the transaction is complete, the existing offerings will initially continue to operate independently. Support for the open-source projects Phoenix and OpenInference will also continue.

TKD Acquires Polish Apple Partner Jupiter

TKD Solutions GmbH has completed the acquisition of Jupiter-Integration, a Polish Apple sales and service partner, thereby expanding its Workplace-as-a-Service business beyond its core German-speaking markets. Jupiter brings to the group, in particular, expertise in the lifecycle management of Apple devices as well as customer relationships across various industries. The company will continue to operate under its existing brand, with its current management, team, and location in Warsaw. With this acquisition, TKD aims to strengthen its offerings in the areas of procurement, management, security, and service for digital workplaces and to expand its European presence. The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details.

OverDrive Acquires Onleihe Operator divibib

The U.S.-based digital media provider OverDrive is acquiring divibib GmbH from ekz.bibliotheksservice GmbH, thereby strengthening its position in the German-speaking library market. As part of the transaction, the Onleihe service operated by divibib will be gradually migrated to OverDrive’s Libby platform, while the location, contact persons, and local support will remain unchanged. This will give libraries in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland access to a wider selection of e-books, audiobooks, magazines, and newspapers. The acquisition is part of a strategic partnership between OverDrive and the ekz Group, which intends to focus more strongly on its core services for libraries in the future. The Onleihe service will remain available during the phased transition.

Novonesis Plans to Fully Acquire MicroBioGen

The Danish biosolutions group Novonesis plans to fully acquire the Australian biotechnology company MicroBioGen, thereby expanding its expertise in yeast strains used in industrial applications. Novonesis has held a stake in MicroBioGen since 2013 and currently owns 23 percent of the company’s shares. The two companies have been collaborating for more than a decade, particularly on yeast solutions for bioethanol production. With this acquisition, Novonesis aims to strengthen its research and development capabilities and integrate MicroBioGen’s technology into its own business. Financial details were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.

Facts & Figures

Bitkom: AI Slows Hiring at One in Four Startups

Artificial intelligence is increasingly influencing the staffing plans of German tech startups. According to a Bitkom survey of 102 companies, 27 percent refrained from hiring new employees in the past twelve months due to the use of AI, while seven percent cut jobs. At the same time, 16 percent hired additional staff due to AI. On average, startups currently employ twelve employees, down from 13 last year and 15 in 2024. Nevertheless, 62 percent of the companies surveyed expect employee numbers to grow by 2026, with an average of four additional employees. For the coming twelve months, 28 percent expect to forgo new hires due to AI, while 19 percent plan to make additional hires related to AI.

More Exciting News

Fonio.ai Reaches $10 Million in ARR

According to its own figures, the Vienna-based AI startup Fonio.ai has achieved an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of more than $10 million within twelve months. Since switching to a subscription model in February 2026, the company has been growing by an average of more than 30 percent per month. Just last June, Fonio.ai closed a $17 million seed funding round led by 20VC at a valuation of $140 million. At the same time, the company is significantly expanding its team: Since its first hire in June 2025, the workforce has grown to 81 employees and is expected to rise to between 130 and 150 by the end of the year. Fonio.ai is targeting an ARR of between $20 million and $30 million by the end of 2026.

N26 Integrates European Payment Solution Wero

The Berlin-based digital bank N26 is integrating Wero, the payment solution developed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), directly into its app. Customers in Germany and France can now send and receive money in real time using a phone number or email address, without having to provide an IBAN or use an additional app. Through this integration, N26 is expanding its real-time transfers—already available within its own user base—to recipients outside the N26 ecosystem. Payments based on SEPA Instant and the Wero network are expected to be credited to the respective bank accounts in less than ten seconds. A phased rollout of Wero in additional markets is planned.

BURGA Invests 19 Million Euros in New Location in Kaunas

The Lithuanian accessories brand BURGA has invested 19 million euros in a new headquarters with production facilities in Kaunas. Founded in 2015, the company started out with custom-printed cell phone cases and, according to its own figures, has since sold more than twelve million products. Today, its product range includes, among other things, cases for various electronic devices, drinking vessels, smartwatch straps, and eyewear. The new facility in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone features, among other things, an automated packaging line developed in collaboration with Elinta Robotics. With this investment, BURGA is responding to its growth and aims to create additional production capacity. The company employs more than 200 production workers at the site and, according to its own figures, supplies over four million customers worldwide.