Startup & Tech News from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland by Startuprad.io™

Joe Menninger and Bill Eastman, founder of the IBGR Network, dig into Atomico's State of European Tech 2021 — the definitive annual survey of Europe's startup ecosystem — and what its findings mean for founders and investors.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: Atomico's survey is the reference dataset for European tech. This is a guided read of the 2021 edition, at the top of the cycle.

In this episode, we cover:

• The headline findings of Atomico's State of European Tech 2021
• Where European tech was growing fastest
• What the data revealed about talent and capital
• The survey's blind spots
• What it means for founders and investors

Related episodes: European Venture Capital · 2024 Deutscher Startup Monitor.

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If your fund or company works with European founders and investors, partner with Startuprad.io.

January 2022 across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: Joe Menninger and Chris Fahrenbach open the year with the month's startup funding, deals, and ecosystem signals.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: Part of the continuous DACH signal record — the opening read of 2022, before the market turned.

In this episode, we cover:

• The month's top DACH funding rounds
• The ecosystem view across the German-speaking markets
• The standout startup cities
• The reads to stay ahead of the curve

Related episodes: 2024 Deutscher Startup Monitor · European Venture Capital.

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If your company wants to reach European founders, investors, and operators across the DACH ecosystem, partner with Startuprad.io.

Startuprad.io's annual Fintech Review for 2021 (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland): a panel including Paolo Sironi, OptioPay's Oliver Oster, and Epap's Janis Dust on the year banks digested a decade of digitalization in two — and why crypto and the metaverse moved to center stage.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: The annual DACH fintech reference for a boom year — where the panel called crypto's mainstreaming and the metaverse-payments question.

In this episode, we cover:

• How the pandemic forced banks through ~10 years of digitalization in two
• Crypto's surge into the mainstream
• The metaverse — and the question of how we'll pay in it
• The guests' outlook for DACH fintech
• What founders and investors should watch

Related episodes: Paolo Sironi: AI in Banking · Fintech Review 2024.

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If your company builds in fintech or financial services for Europe, partner with Startuprad.io.

December 2021 in DACH: banking-tech Mambu raises a monster $266M round, Volocopter calls off its SPAC IPO to a backlash from early crowd investors, and quick-commerce Jokr keeps scaling — plus a new unicorn. Joe Menninger and Chris Fahrenbach close the year.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: The end of the easy-money era in one month — a mega fintech round beside a pulled SPAC and crowd-investor backlash.

In this episode, we cover:

• Mambu's $266M round
• Volocopter's cancelled SPAC IPO and the crowd-investor backlash
• Jokr's quick-commerce expansion
• The month's new unicorn
• The year-end DACH deal flow

Related episodes: 2024 Deutscher Startup Monitor · European Venture Capital.

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If your company wants to reach European founders, investors, and operators across the DACH ecosystem, partner with Startuprad.io.

Joe Menninger walks through the highlights of Germany's most comprehensive startup survey — the German Startup Association's annual Deutscher Startup Monitor, run since 2013 — and what its data reveals about the state of the German ecosystem.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: The Deutscher Startup Monitor is the reference dataset for German startups. This is the fast read of its key findings.

In this episode, we cover:

• What the Deutscher Startup Monitor measures
• The standout findings from this year's survey
• How German startups are evolving
• What the data means for founders and investors
• Why this survey is the reference dataset

Related episodes: 2024 Deutscher Startup Monitor · European Venture Capital.

For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm

If your company wants to reach European founders, investors, and operators across the DACH ecosystem, partner with Startuprad.io.

November 2021 in DACH: N26 pulls the plug on its US operations, solar-car startup Sono Motors goes public on NASDAQ, and e-scooter firm Tier lands fresh funding and an acquisition. Joe Menninger and Chris Fahrenbach round up the month.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: Two defining moves in one month — a neobank's US retreat and a solar-car IPO — that marked the high-water line of the 2021 boom.

In this episode, we cover:

• N26's exit from the US market
• Sono Motors' NASDAQ IPO
• Tier's newest funding and acquisition
• The month's other standout DACH deals

Related episodes: 2024 Deutscher Startup Monitor · European Venture Capital.

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If your company wants to reach European founders, investors, and operators across the DACH ecosystem, partner with Startuprad.io.

A bonus tracker on the unprecedented wave of unicorn creation in the German, Austrian, and Swiss startup scene through October 2021 — who joined the billion-dollar club and what drove the surge.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: A snapshot of peak unicorn creation in DACH — useful context for how far valuations ran before the reset.

In this episode, we cover:

• The record pace of DACH unicorn creation in 2021
• Who joined the billion-dollar club
• What fueled the surge
• What it signalled for the ecosystem
• How to read a frothy market

Related episodes: 2024 Deutscher Startup Monitor · European Venture Capital.

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If your fund or company works with European founders and investors, partner with Startuprad.io.

October 2021 in DACH: N26 reclaims the title of Germany's most valuable fintech (Celonis still the most valuable startup overall), Sono Motors files to IPO in the US before delivering its first car, and COVID leaves its first marks — fewer startups but more funding for the survivors.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: The market at its frothiest — a pre-revenue IPO filing and record valuations — with the first hints of the correction to come.

In this episode, we cover:

• N26 reclaiming most-valuable-fintech status
• How Celonis still leads overall
• Sono Motors' pre-revenue US IPO filing
• COVID's first traces on the startup scene
• More funding concentrating on the survivors

Related episodes: 2024 Deutscher Startup Monitor · European Venture Capital.

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If your company wants to reach European founders, investors, and operators across the DACH ecosystem, partner with Startuprad.io.

Lawyer Jan-Philipp 'JP' Günther-Burmeister on what may be the world's first law to govern autonomous driving — how Germany moved ahead globally, what the law actually regulates, and what it means for mobility startups.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: Regulation shapes which AV products can ship. This is an early, lawyer-grade look at the world's first framework for autonomous driving.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why this may be the world's first autonomous-driving law
• What the legislation actually regulates
• How Germany moved ahead globally
• The implications for mobility and AV startups
• What founders and investors should know

Related episodes: Germany's DE Hub Blueprint (Jarzombek) · European Venture Capital.

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If your fund or company works with European founders and investors, partner with Startuprad.io.

Welcome to This Month in German Startups by Startuprad.io – in a news recording with Chris (from New York City) and me Joe (from Frankfurt am Main).

Guys, it is fall and we are back from the summer break! We bring you another bonus news episode as part of our news coverage of the German startup scene. We recorded this episode on September 28th, 2021, wrapping up July, August, and September. This is a Bonus Episode following our special coverage from June!

Find all links and show notes here: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/this-month-in-german-startups-september-2021-unicorn-tracker-bonus/

This episode is sponsored by

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/germanstartupnews/support