Startupnews week 5 - 2024

Fiverrs Winter Product Release: New options for start-ups? Pleo conquers top European position in spend management. IDnow and netID cooperate. bmh records successful year 2023. Spore.Bio wins Future Food Retail Awards from the Greenman Group. Limehome expands its portfolio in Austria: from 13 to 23 locations in one year. Aleph Alpha appoints Carsten Dirks as COO. Knuspr and NFL star David Bada with Super Bowl cooperation.

Knuspr and NFL star David Bada: Super Bowl cooperation for unique culinary experiences

The German online supermarket Knuspr has announced a cooperation with NFL star David Bada for its Super Bowl campaign. The Munich native and current player for the Washington Commanders in the NFL will contribute his expertise in American cuisine and personally select a range of regional and original American foods for the major event. The online supermarket's range will be expanded to include typical American sweets, salty snacks, drinks and sauces, with the main ingredients for burgers, wings and more coming from regional partners. This collaboration marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between David Bada and Knuspr, which will be launched with a new advertising campaign.

Hessische Beteiligungsgesellschaft bmh records successful year 2023

bmh Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen draws a positive balance in its annual review for 2023, as the demand for investment capital in Hesse remains high due to ongoing inflation and the energy crisis. In the 2023 financial year, bmh invested in 63 equity financings for regional companies, with early-stage demand remaining strong, particularly for seed and new investments. Despite investment restraint in the SME sector, bmh recorded a record year with EUR 29.47 million in invested capital. The company was able to provide a total of EUR 100.8 million in equity capital for Hessian start-ups and SMEs through cooperative ventures. In close cooperation with national and international co-investors, bmh plans to continue providing the equity capital needed for the Hessian economy in the future. Particular highlights were large-volume investments of up to EUR 5 million and integration into the KfW "RegioInnoGrowth" program. The bmh is still planning to expand its investment business, supported by the Technology Fund Hesse IV.

Fiverr's Winter Product Release: New options for startups?

With its Winter Product Release, Fiverr announces significant innovations aimed at improving collaboration between freelancers and companies. The revamped platform presents a new category for consulting, where top-class industry experts are available. Particularly relevant is the introduction of Fiverr Agencies, which makes it easier for agency teams to build their client base and offer potential clients insights into their services. The transparent rating and review system and updated homepage design are designed to improve personalization and navigation for businesses. These changes are a particularly promising option for startups with short runways, as they can gain access to qualified professionals, individualized insights and an expanded network.

ChargeX: New CEO Tobias Scharfen leads scaling phase

The Munich-based startup ChargeX is in a scaling phase and has a new CEO, Tobias Scharfen, who replaces founder Tobias Wagner. Scharfen, an expert in e-mobility, is taking over the management of the company with the aim of international expansion and the development of new sales channels. Wagner will remain involved as a shareholder and member of the advisory board. ChargeX develops intelligent charging points for electric vehicles, including the Aqueduct charging system, which can charge multiple vehicles with one grid connection. As recently as 2023, we reported on an €11.5 million successful Series B of ChargeX on Startbase.

Spore.Bio wins Future Food Retail Awards from the Greenman Group

The Greenman Group has announced the winners of the Future Food Retail Awards, which took place in Dublin and brought together industry leaders from various sectors. The overall winner is French start-up Spore.Bio, which has developed an innovative device for the instant detection of pathogens on factory floors. The solution combines optical technologies with machine learning to reduce food contamination. Spore.Bio was not only the overall winner, but was also recognized as the winner of the Waste Reduction category. Other winners include Nerit'e (Packaging & Production), Optiwiser A.I. Solutions (Distribution), Hibyrd.io (Retail) and The Wonki Collective, who received the People's Choice Award. The winners share prize money totaling €100,000 and have the opportunity to network with industry leaders. The Growing Further Awards will become the Greenman Group's annual event, with the next edition scheduled for January 2025.

Aleph Alpha appoints Carsten Dirks as COO

Heidelberg-based AI start-up Aleph Alpha announces the appointment of Carsten Dirks as Chief Operating Officer following the successful completion of a financing round in November last year. Dirks, former COO of Powercloud GmbH, will play a key role in developing internal work processes and optimizing the organizational structure. The company aims to develop innovative AI technologies to strengthen Europe's position in the AI sector. Dirks emphasizes that, together with the Aleph Alpha team, he wants to build long-term and sustainable successes that contribute to strengthening Germany as a business location. Aleph Alpha, founded in 2019, is a German AI company that researches and develops transformative AI technologies, including large-scale AI language and multimodal models.

Limehome expands its portfolio in Austria: from 13 to 23 locations in one year

Over the past 12 months, limehome, the provider of fully digitalized designer apartments in Europe, has significantly increased its pace of expansion in Austria. The company has almost doubled its portfolio from 13 to 23 locations. With an occupancy rate of almost 90 percent in 2023, limehome confirms the high demand for its apartment offering. The expansion plans are primarily focused on Vienna and the west of Austria, with ten new locations having been added since January 2023. In total, limehome now operates almost 600 designer apartments at 23 locations in Austria. The company's future plans include further expanding its presence in the Austrian capital and increasingly tapping into leisure tourism destinations in Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg.

IDnow and netID cooperate

IDnow, an identity verification platform provider in Europe, is cooperating with the European netID Foundation to launch a "netID Wallet" app. The app will offer an alternative to US platforms and will be available to the 40 million netID users in Germany later this year. The wallet enables the secure storage and shared use of digital identities. The cooperation supports the EU's efforts for a digital identity by 2030 and follows the eIDAS regulation. Identity verification is provided by proven IDnow solutions and netID partners can simplify their customer data verification processes. Uli Hegge, CEO of the European netID Foundation, emphasizes data protection and transparency, while Uwe Stelzig, Managing Director DACH at IDnow, underlines the common goals of IDnow and netID in terms of data security and user-friendliness.

Pleo conquers top European position in expense management according to G2 report

Pleo, an expense management provider, secured the top European position in the invoice, expense and expense management categories on G2. The G2 Report for Winter 2024 is based on 22,739 reviews and recognizes Pleo for high customer satisfaction and market presence. With the exclusive G2 Leader Badge, Pleo is one of the top providers. Over 30,000 European companies already rely on Pleo's solutions, which have reduced administrative processes by 70 percent. Jens Leucke, General Manager of Pleo, is delighted with the award and sees it as an incentive for further innovative business spending solutions.

Tretton37 selects ten startups for Startup Boost

The Swedish technology consultancy tretton37 has selected ten startups for its global social impact program "Startup Boost". The selection was made from almost 50 applications, and the selected startups will receive free support in the areas of programming, design and strategy. The companies, half of which have female founders or co-founders, were selected for their potential for social impact and environmental protection. They operate in a variety of sectors, including environment, education, law, e-commerce, mental health and healthcare. In collaboration with tretton37, the startups will create detailed plans to clarify their specific needs and potential support from tretton37. The companies' requested skills range from mobile/web development to product management, UX design, AI expertise, DevOps, cloud engineering and more. The selected startups are Ahiyoyo, Aliments, Datatera, EarthCare, Ecocentric, Iguru Therapies, Iko Africa, Plussa, Tablerone and Zupoto, each offering solutions to different challenges.

Main acquires majority stake in Millum

Main Capital has acquired a majority stake in Millum, a Norwegian procure-to-pay software company for the hospitality industry. Under the terms of the partnership, Main will provide strategic support to the management team to drive Millum's growth. Millum pursues a selective buy-and-build strategy and plans to internationalize by adding solutions for cross-selling. This move marks Main's first independent platform investment in the Norwegian market.

Maxim Nohroudi joins idealo's management team as Co-CEO

The price comparison service idealo has expanded its management team as of February 1 to include Maxim Nohroudi, who now joins Dr. Albrecht von Sonntag and Jörn Rehse as the company's third Co-CEO. Nohroudi will be particularly active in the area of Mergers & Acquisitions in order to further drive idealo's growth in the flourishing e-commerce market. In addition to strategic tasks, he will also assume operational responsibility on the management board. The decision to appoint Nohroudi was based on his successful entrepreneurial background, his digital network and his personal likeability, which fits in well with idealo's corporate culture.

KVL Group and TRIQBRIQ AG enter into system partnership

The KVL Group and TRIQBRIQ AG entered into a system partnership at the beginning of the year. TRIQBRIQ AG produces a timber construction system made of micro-modular timber building blocks as a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials in the shell construction sector. The KVL Group, a nationwide project management company, sees the partnership as an opportunity to take a new, circular and reliable approach to planning in the construction industry. The TRIQBRIQ system impressed the KVL Group above all with its circular and resource-efficient approach as well as its straightforward application in new builds and its potential in the area of redensification. The partnership is intended to enable more holistic advice for customers, particularly with regard to the complex management of construction projects.