Startup News for the Weekend of Week 40, 2026

Funding

Amara Raises 3.7 Million Euros

The startup Amara has closed a pre-seed funding round totaling 3.7 million euros. ECONA, Caesar Ventures, and IBB Ventures participated in the round. The company, co-founded by Philipp Hartz, is developing a voice-based solution designed to make it easier for older adults in particular to participate in their families’ digital communication. Users will be able to access messages from family chats via voice, reply to them, and ask questions themselves without having to use apps or adjust technical settings. Amara aims to make digital communication more accessible to people in the second half of their lives.

IBB Ventures Invests in OYL Foods

IBB Ventures has taken a stake in the food startup OYL Foods, founded by Julius Rüßmann and Nicolas Linsenmaier. The company is developing a consumer brand centered on high-quality olive oil, focusing on single-variety extra virgin olive oil and distinctive product design. With this investment, OYL Foods aims to accelerate the growth of its brand and position premium olive oil as a product for everyday use. Details regarding the amount of funding or other investors were not disclosed.

Generation Tech Partners Closes Fund at Over 60 Million Euros

Generation Tech Partners closed its GTP 26 fund in September 2026 at the hard cap with a volume of more than 60 million euros. Investors include European umbrella and pension funds, as well as family offices and entrepreneurs. According to the investor, approximately 120 million euros are available for acquisitions, including debt financing, supplemented by potential co-investments. Generation Tech Partners focuses on owner-managed service companies in Germany with EBITDA between 500,000 and five million euros that are seeking a succession solution. The first transactions from the new fund are expected to be announced shortly.

Headline Launches New $400 Million Fund for Europe

Venture capital investor Headline has launched EU VIII, a new $400 million fund for European startups. The fund is designed to support companies in early funding stages and guide them through international growth. According to its own figures, Headline manages a total of approximately $5 billion and also has a $900 million growth fund. This enables the investor to finance companies from early funding rounds through to later growth phases. The European portfolio includes, among others, Mistral AI, Staffbase, Podimo, Monta, and the Stuttgart-based robotics startup Sereact.

Awards, Events & Calls

BMUKN and SPRIND Launch 30-Million-Euro Challenge for the Circular Economy

The Federal Ministry for the Environment and SPRIND, the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovations, are launching their first joint challenge. They are seeking teams that can use AI to develop controllable communities of various microorganisms to biologically break down waste and residual materials and produce new chemicals or materials from them. The BMUKN is providing a total of 30 million euros for the competition, which runs through 2029. Up to ten teams are to be selected in early December and can receive up to 4.3 million euros in each of three funding stages. Applications are accepted through November 16, 2026. The goal is to scale the developed processes up to industrial levels and bring them to market.

MediaTech Hub Conference Brings More Than 80 International Speakers to Babelsberg

The MediaTech Hub Conference 2026 brought together more than 80 international speakers from film, TV, streaming, journalism, and technology at Studio Babelsberg. The two-day event focused on the use of generative AI, new production methods, European media sovereignty, and the evolving search for content. In a Virtual Production Area and an AI Garden, participants were able to test new technologies and workflows hands-on. At the accompanying MTH Startup Demo Day, eight startups presented their solutions for the media industry. First place and 5,000 euros in prize money went to the Hamburg-based startup BotTalk for its AI-based audio infrastructure for publishers.

Wolt Honors Eight Berlin Partners with Discover! Awards

For the first time, Wolt presented the Discover! Awards Berlin to restaurants and retailers in the capital. A total of eight partners were recognized in categories such as customer satisfaction, growth, and operational performance. East Side Burrito from Friedrichshain was named “Berlin Restaurant of the Year,” while BIO COMPANY received the title “Retail Partner of the Year.” Other awards went to Umami, Burgermeister, Mr Noodle Chen, and Chupenga, among others. To be nominated, partners had to hold “Best of Wolt” status; the selection was based on platform data and a jury’s decision. Currently, 356 locations in Berlin hold this status.

GREEN.AI BW Seeks Startups for GreenTech Projects

The Baden-Württemberg sustainability project GREEN.AI BW has launched a new call for proposals for practical GreenTech projects. The project is seeking partnerships between users and technology partners—including, specifically, startups—that can develop a functional prototype within three months. The focus is on applications in AI, data analysis, simulation, high-performance computing, and robotics for resource efficiency and climate protection. The projects will be supported with a budget of 8,000 euros and provided AI resources. Applications are accepted through October 29, and the selected projects will begin on or after December 1, 2026.

Canify Wins Multiple Awards

Canify AG achieved an average annual revenue growth of 405.9 percent between 2022 and 2025. As a result, the company—which specializes in medical cannabis—ranked second in Markt und Mittelstand’s “Top Growth Stars 2027” list and was also named “Growth Champion 2027” by FOCUS Business. Canify attributes its growth, among other factors, to the expansion of its supply and distribution structures as well as a broader range of services. For its next phase of growth, the company is increasingly focusing on international expansion. The planned merger with MG Health is intended to link production capacities in Lesotho with Canify’s European distribution network.

Personnel News

Vorwerk Ventures Promotes Marie-Sophie Ando to Principal

Berlin-based early-stage investor Vorwerk Ventures has promoted Marie-Sophie Ando to Principal. Ando has been part of the investment team since 2023 and previously served as Senior Investment Manager. Her focus is on investments in the industrial and skilled trades sectors, drawing on her background in mechanical engineering from RWTH Aachen University. At Vorwerk Ventures, she has been involved in investments in Averia and the IX Group, among others, and serves as a board member for the portfolio company Circonomit. With this promotion, Ando is expected to further expand investment activities in her existing areas of focus.

Oyster Bay Brings on share Co-Founder Ben Unterkofler as Partner

The Hamburg-based food and agri-tech investor Oyster Bay Venture Capital is expanding its partner team to include share co-founder Ben Unterkofler. The former CEO of the social-impact brand will join the firm on October 1 and, in addition to investments and portfolio management, will be responsible in particular for branding and communications. Philip Stark was promoted to partner back in July, meaning Oyster Bay will be led by four partners going forward. Following the closing of its second fund, which raised more than 100 million euros, Oyster Bay invested in companies such as Meatly and eternal.ag in 2026 and sold its stake in Nukoko to Döhler. A third fund is planned for 2028, and initial discussions with investors are already underway.

Almato Appoints Martin Hofmann and Jan Hiesserich to the Supervisory Board

The Stuttgart-based AI company Almato is expanding its supervisory board to include Martin Hofmann and Jan Hiesserich. Hofmann is the founder and CEO of Novagentica and served as Group CIO of Volkswagen AG from 2011 to 2020. Hiesserich is Group Chief Strategy, Marketing & Communications Officer at GFT Technologies and previously worked at Aleph Alpha and Palantir, among others. With these appointments, Almato aims in particular to strengthen its expertise in industrial digitalization and robust AI infrastructures. The company, which has approximately 200 employees, is developing Bardioc, a semantic data platform that links information from various sources and makes it usable for AI applications.

Unchained Robotics Brings on Exotec Manager Markus Schlotter as CCO

The Paderborn-based robotics company Unchained Robotics has appointed Markus Schlotter as Chief Commercial Officer. Since October 1, he has been responsible for the go-to-market strategy as well as sales, marketing, and customer success, and is tasked in particular with driving international expansion in Europe and, in the long term, the U.S. Schlotter joins from the French warehouse automation company Exotec, where, as Managing Director for Central Europe since 2020, he had expanded the regional business to more than 75 employees. Prior to that, he worked for over 14 years at the intralogistics specialist Jungheinrich.

metergrid Appoints Moritz Lukas as Chief Revenue Officer

Stuttgart-based tenant electricity specialist metergrid has appointed Moritz Lukas as Chief Revenue Officer. In this newly created position, he is responsible for sales, marketing, the partner business, and the development of existing customers. Lukas comes from ERP provider Xentral, where he most recently served as VP Commercial, overseeing the commercial business. Previously, he held senior sales positions at Taxdoo and byrd and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey. According to the company, metergrid now manages more than 3,000 tenant-generated electricity projects serving approximately 75,000 residents. With this appointment, the company aims to expand its sales and marketing structures to support further growth.

INNO INVEST Acquires Private Banking Team from Fabricius

The Darmstadt-based asset manager INNO INVEST is acquiring the entire private banking team from Frankfurt-based Fabricius Vermögensverwaltung. Nesli Levent, Sebastian Zender, and Daniel Szymoniak are joining the company together. Levent and Zender will focus in particular on expanding private banking, portfolio management, and serving high-net-worth clients in southern Hesse. As a partner manager, Szymoniak will assume responsibilities within the liability umbrella and support, among other things, compliance, project management, and custodian bank relationships. With these three new hires, INNO INVEST aims to further expand both its own asset management business and the infrastructure for affiliated asset managers and advisors.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Mjuk Acquires KEEPR

The Finnish furniture resale platform Mjuk is acquiring its Danish competitor KEEPR, thereby strengthening its position in the Nordic secondhand furniture market. Together, the companies offer more than 10,000 pieces of furniture from 350 brands and operate in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. The goal is to continue expanding into a leading European platform for circular furniture.

More Exciting News

ToolTime Launches AI App for Construction Site Documentation

The Berlin-based software company ToolTime is launching “Echo,” an AI-based app for documentation in the skilled trades. Tradespeople can record work steps, materials used, and technical details using voice commands and supplement them with photos. The software processes input in more than 30 languages and uses it to generate structured work reports in German or English. After review and the customer’s signature, the data is synchronized with the ToolTime platform and can be used directly for further processes such as invoicing. Echo is now available in the EU and Ukraine for iOS and Android.

Stuttgart Stock Exchange Increases Trading Volume by 68 Percent

In September 2026, the Stuttgart Stock Exchange achieved a trading volume of approximately 16.1 billion euros, an increase of 68 percent compared to the same month last year. Structured securities accounted for the largest share, at 9.1 billion euros, with their trading volume more than doubling compared to the previous year. In equity trading, volume rose by 78 percent to 3.1 billion euros. Bond trading totaled approximately 1.6 billion euros, an increase of 31 percent. For exchange-traded products, trading volume increased by six percent to approximately 2.2 billion euros.

ARX Robotics and DEUTZ Deliver First GEREON Systems

Twelve weeks after the start of their joint production ramp-up, ARX Robotics and DEUTZ have delivered the first unmanned GEREON ground systems from the DEUTZ plant in Ulm. The vehicles are intended for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and will complement ARX Robotics systems already in use there. The first batch is part of a larger order, the production of which is to be gradually expanded in the coming months. Through this partnership, the Munich-based defense tech company combines its development, software, and integration expertise with DEUTZ’s industrial manufacturing capabilities.

Caverion Receives 15-Million-Euro Order from Nebius

Caverion Finland will design and construct a new substation in Mäntsälä, Finland, for the AI cloud provider Nebius. The contract is valued at approximately 15 million euros and is part of the expansion of the data center infrastructure there. The substation, with a capacity of 70 megawatts, is intended to connect Nebius’s new 70-megawatt data center to the power grid and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2027. Nebius already operates a 75-megawatt data center at the site. Caverion estimates that the construction of the substation alone will employ around 80 skilled workers from the energy and electrical sectors.