Startup News for the Weekend of Week 42, 2026

Funding & Venture Capital

RPTU, KIT, and the Palatinate Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK Pfalz) Launch VentureCampus Pfalz for Research Spin-offs

The Rhineland-Palatinate University of Technology Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the IHK Pfalz, and the South Palatinate Technology Network have jointly founded VentureCampus Pfalz GmbH. The public-benefit corporation, headquartered in Rülzheim, aims to strengthen technology transfer between academia and industry and facilitate more research-based spin-offs. Its focus is on venture building, innovation consulting, and facilitating access to research expertise and investor contacts. Initial thematic priorities include artificial intelligence, hardware and software platforms, cybersecurity, and technology-based services. Frank Petry and Martin Kröger will serve as managing directors. Through VentureCampus, the partners aim in particular to support regional small and medium-sized enterprises in developing new business models.

Elevatry Secures Three Million Euros

The Munich-based AI startup Elevatry has closed a pre-seed funding round of three million euros. Investors include Bayern Kapital, the management consulting firm H&Z, and several business angels. Founded in 2026 by Heiko Schwarz, Christian Ruck, and Tizian Ruck, the company is developing an AI platform that supports strategic procurement departments with supplier analyses, tenders, negotiations, and risk assessments. Specialized AI agents handle complex research and analysis tasks and prepare the groundwork for decisions. The platform has been available since September 28. With the fresh capital, Elevatry plans to further develop its technology, expand its team, and initially grow in the DACH region and the EU. Expansion into North America is planned for the medium term.

LearnUpon Secures $50 Million in Growth Funding from Claret Capital Partners

The Irish EdTech company LearnUpon has secured $50 million in growth financing from Claret Capital Partners. The non-dilutive debt financing is intended to support the further development of the AI-based learning platform, international expansion, and potential acquisitions. LearnUpon recently unveiled its Agentic Learning Platform, which helps companies provide continuing education for employees, customers, and partners. Specialized AI agents handle administrative tasks, curate learning content, and identify skill gaps. Strategic decisions and guidelines remain the responsibility of the relevant teams. With the additional capital, LearnUpon aims to expand its position in the digital corporate training market.

Goodweek Raises $12 Million for AI Management Platform

The French AI startup Goodweek has raised $12 million (approximately 10.8 million euros) in a funding round led by Adara Ventures. Investors include Anamcara Capital, BGV, FJ Labs, and True Ventures, among others. Founded in Strasbourg, the company is developing a platform that enables small and medium-sized businesses to centrally manage various AI models such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Mistral. The platform allows for control over user access, company data, and costs. Goodweek already employs 50 people across three countries and, according to the company, serves approximately 150 clients in Europe and North America. With the fresh capital, the startup plans to expand its sales operations and, in particular, extend its reach into Latin America and Asia.

Calibration Launches as a New Investment Firm Focused on Tech Talent

Investors Levin Bunz and Bela Wiertz have founded Calibration, a new investment firm specializing in early-stage investments in European technology startups. In addition to providing capital, Calibration aims to support founders, particularly in building high-performing engineering teams. To this end, the company relies on a Europe-wide network of technical experts and the early identification of suitable talent. Bunz brings more than ten years of investment experience to the table and was an early investor in Canva and FINN, among others. Co-founder Wiertz built the tech community Tech: Europe. Calibration aims to more closely link capital provision with talent acquisition and is currently expanding its investment and recruiting teams in Berlin.

Awards, Calls & Events

Gründerwasen Sets Attendance Record and Gains Three Foundation Partners

With more than 2,000 participants, the third Gründerwasen set a new attendance record on October 7, 2026, in Stuttgart. The event, organized by Startup Stuttgart e.V., brought together founders, investors, companies, and representatives from politics and government. Highlights included a visit from NEURA Robotics founder David Reger and the Startup Pitch Parade featuring 30 participating companies, in which FarmerOS from Nürtingen emerged victorious. At the same time, the association announced its first three Foundation Partners: NEURA Robotics, the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, and VfB Stuttgart. These long-term sponsorship partnerships are intended to provide financial stability for the association’s work and enable the expansion of networking and event offerings. Startup Stuttgart e.V. now has more than 200 members.

ENIGMA Wins Robotics World Championship with Wildfire Early Warning System

The Moldovan robotics team ENIGMA won one gold and two silver medals at the FIRST Global Challenge 2026 in Incheon, South Korea. Together with teams from Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and El Salvador, Moldova secured the tournament victory. In addition, the five-member student team received a silver medal for the technical design of their robot as well as for their innovation, Ember Mesh. The system they developed uses autonomous sensor capsules designed to detect wildfires early on beneath the tree canopy and transmit environmental data to a monitoring platform. Four of the five team members attend a school in rural Boșcana. With this success, Moldova has increased its total tally at the international robotics competition to nine gold medals since 2017.

Mollie Seeks Founding Team for AI Financial Platform and Offers Equity Package Worth Up to 50 Million Euros

The Dutch payment service provider Mollie aims to build an independent financial platform for AI agents and is seeking an external founding team for this purpose. Alternatively, the company is considering acquiring an early-stage startup. The planned platform is designed to enable companies to deploy autonomous AI agents directly through Mollie’s payment and banking infrastructure. For this project, Mollie is providing a performance-based equity pool valued at up to 50 million euros. The future team will have autonomy to make decisions regarding product development, technical architecture, and market launch. At the same time, it will gain access to the regulated financial infrastructure and a customer base of more than 350,000 companies. Applications are now being accepted.

HIGHEST and Futury Are Seeking Deep-Tech Startups for the Second Round of Their Company Builder Program

The innovation and startup center HIGHEST and Futury are accepting applications for the second batch of their Company Builder Program through October 18, 2026. The six-month program is aimed at technology-oriented founding teams from academia and research who want to further develop their business model and prepare for funding rounds. After three months, participants can receive an investment of up to 50,000 euros. In addition, a mentoring budget of 5,000 euros, individualized support, and connections to venture capital investors are available. Six deep-tech teams were accepted into the first cohort. Startups and aspiring founders from all over Germany are eligible to apply, even if they do not yet have a finished product.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Be-Cloud and QualityHosting Merge to Form a European Cloud Platform

The French cloud service provider Be-Cloud and the Hesse-based company QualityHosting have announced their merger. Together, they aim to build a pan-European platform for cloud and managed services, which will serve approximately 50,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and more than 2,000 IT partners in the future. The new group is particularly active in France, the DACH region, and the Benelux countries. The merger is backed by growth equity investor PSG Equity. Plans include expanding the company’s offerings in the areas of cloud, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, as well as pursuing further acquisitions. The current managing directors, Lenny Vercruysse and Christian Heit, will remain on board. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Partnerships

Quirin Privatbank and quirion Transfer Securities Business to Upvest

Quirin Privatbank and its digital wealth management platform, quirion, have entered into a partnership with the Berlin-based fintech company Upvest. Going forward, Upvest’s API-based infrastructure will handle key processes such as securities trading, custody account management, settlement, and automated portfolio management. The first step will be the planned launch of the government-subsidized retirement savings account in early 2027. Subsequently, quirion’s clients will be migrated to the new platform first, followed by Quirin Privatbank’s securities business. Together, the two companies manage approximately 11.1 billion euros for about 118,000 clients. Through this partnership, they aim to modernize their investment processes and expand the use of AI-powered, personalized wealth management.

Personnel News

Cyclize Brings Former Covestro Executive Klaus Schäfer Onboard to Lead Operations

The Stuttgart-based deep tech startup Cyclize has appointed Dr. Klaus Schäfer as Chief Industrialization Officer. The former Chief Technology Officer of Covestro has been responsible for the industrial scaling of Cyclize’s technology and its integration into European chemical parks since October 1, 2026. Schäfer has been involved with the company since 2024 as an investor and chairman of the advisory board and will continue in these roles. Cyclize is developing a plasma-based process that converts hard-to-recycle industrial and plastic waste into chemical feedstocks, with the aim of replacing fossil natural gas as a raw material. A pilot plant is already operational in Schwedt, and the company has a technology partnership with Siemens. The startup is currently preparing its first large-scale commercial plant. Since its founding in 2023, Cyclize has raised a total of 19 million euros in financing and grants.

N26 Appoints Marc Heß as New Chief Financial Officer

The Berlin-based digital bank N26 has appointed Marc Heß as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Managing Director of N26 SE and N26 Bank SE. He is scheduled to assume his position on October 15, 2026, subject to the usual regulatory approvals. Heß has many years of experience in the banking sector and has previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Postbank as well as the retail and commercial banking segment of Deutsche Bank. Most recently, from 2018 to 2024, he headed the finance division at Aareal Bank. With his appointment, the N26 Executive Board is once again fully staffed.

FMC Adds Three Semiconductor Experts to Its Advisory Board

The Dresden-based semiconductor company FMC is strengthening its Senior Advisory Board with Dr. Olaf Herzog, Chuck Dennison, and Greg Schmergel. The three industry experts are expected to support the company in ramping up production and commercializing its DRAM+ and CACHE+ memory technologies. Herzog previously worked at Infineon, GlobalFoundries, and AMD, among others, and brings experience in the digitization and integration of semiconductor manufacturing processes. At Intel, Dennison was responsible for the process integration of Optane memory technology and previously worked at Micron. Schmergel is a co-founder and former CEO of the memory technology company Nantero.

More Exciting News

Tech Campus Mannheim Launches as a New Platform for Research, Startups, and Industry

With more than 100 guests in attendance, Tech Campus Mannheim officially launched at the MAFINEX Technology Center. The new collaboration platform aims to bring academia, startups, and industry closer together and promote technology transfer as well as the creation of new companies. Among the first partners are Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, NEXT Mannheim, John Deere, the Mannheim Smart City Network, and the software company osapiens. Together, they aim to turn research findings into marketable applications more quickly and utilize existing infrastructure for joint projects. Plans include pitch and demo days, open lab days, and networking events. A key goal is to increase the number of university spin-offs and strengthen Mannheim as a hub for innovation.

Berlin-based AdTech company Almedia reaches a $1 billion revenue run rate

According to its own figures, the Berlin-based AdTech company Almedia has, for the first time, reached an annualized revenue run rate of one billion U.S. dollars with its rewards platform Freecash. In fiscal year 2025, revenue stood at 330 million dollars. Through Freecash, users can earn cash rewards by using and testing games and apps. In total, the platform has now paid out more than $500 million to users in 217 countries and regions. More than nine million people earn rewards through Freecash every month. Almedia was founded in 2020, operates profitably, and has grown without external capital to date. In addition to Berlin, the company operates offices in New York, Beijing, Tokyo, and Seoul.

Remote positions itself as a global financial infrastructure and unveils a new brand identity

The international HR and payroll platform Remote has revamped its brand identity and will increasingly position itself as a global financial infrastructure for the international workforce. The company enables businesses to hire, manage, and pay employees in more than 150 countries. According to the company, the volume of payroll transactions processed has increased by 300 percent year-over-year. Its clients include Anthropic, GitLab, Vercel, and Miro, among others. The brand identity, developed in collaboration with the design agency COLLINS, is accompanied by the international campaign “For a World That Works.” At the same time, Remote plans to further develop its infrastructure with open interfaces for businesses and AI agents.

MyMarkets Expands Online Brokerage with AI-Powered Portfolio Analysis

The Munich-based online broker MyMarkets, operated by FDC Brokerage GmbH, has introduced new features for portfolio analysis and the comparison of investment strategies with the release of version 2.3. In the new “Financial Home” section, investors can compare the performance of their portfolio with market indices, well-known investors, and their own accounts at other brokers. The Pro Analysis provides additional evaluations of positions, sectors, countries, currencies, as well as risk and return. The AI assistant Charlie supplements the analyses with automated assessments. External accounts can also be linked via an interface for comparison purposes. With the new “Insights” section, MyMarkets also integrates editorial content directly into the platform. The update is available now.