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

The Spring 2025 DACH unicorn tracker: which startups and scaleups across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are minting billion-euro valuations — led by AI-drone unicorn Quantum Systems — and why deep tech is becoming the region's next frontier.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: A named, up-to-date map of DACH's billion-euro companies — the fastest way for founders and investors to see who's breaking out and where deep tech is pulling ahead.

In this episode, we cover:

• What DACH is, and why it's critical for innovation-driven founders and investors
• Quantum Systems and the new wave of DACH unicorns
• Whether deep tech is the region's next big frontier
• Where the funding and the opportunities are concentrating across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Related episodes: March 2025 DACH news · 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.

Fintech futurist Paolo Sironi, IBM's Global Research Leader for Banking and Capital Markets, on how AI is moving from back-end automation to full-scale transformation of retail, SME, and investment banking — from the AI-powered bank and embedded finance to the regulatory tightrope.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: Banking's AI shift is structural, not cosmetic — it reaches credit, org design, and where the value pools sit. A rigorous, named view from one of the field's leading analysts.

In this episode, we cover:

• The AI-powered bank: from chatbot to C-suite — customer service, credit, and org structure
• SME banking disrupted: tailored, data-driven solutions finally reaching smaller firms
• Wealth management reimagined: robo-advisors and personalized portfolios
• Embedded finance: banking built into the apps you use every day
• The regulatory tightrope for ethical, transparent AI in finance

Related episodes: Count: Fixing Money Anxiety · How Moss Automates SME Finance.

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

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

March 2025 across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein: Corsair's €300M IDnow acquisition, a stablecoin surge to $226B, and Thoma Bravo's €1.8B European fund — set against 'zombie VC,' insolvencies, and Germany's AI-implementation gap. Recorded with Chris Fahrenbach from New York.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: Consolidation and dry powder at the same time: a €300M fintech exit and a €1.8B fund alongside zombie VCs and shutdowns. The structural read on a splitting market.

In this episode, we cover:

• Fintech: Corsair's €300M IDnow acquisition and the stablecoin surge to $226B
• Venture capital: Thoma Bravo's €1.8B European fund vs. 'zombie VC' and insolvencies
• AI and tech: Germany's research lead and its implementation challenge
• Volocopter's acquisition and a BioMed cancer-detection breakthrough
• Funding rounds like Tectal's €52M and Swiss female-founder wins

Related episodes: DACH Unicorn Tracker Spring 2025 · April 2025 DACH news.

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.

February 2025 in DACH: Finn raises €1B for car subscriptions and Cherry Ventures launches a €500M AI fund — while air-taxi pioneer Lilium crashes into its second insolvency. Joe unpacks the month's biggest rounds, the fund gold rush, and how the German election reshapes the startup agenda.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: A split-screen month: a €1B private-mobility raise and a fresh €500M AI fund next to a high-profile eVTOL collapse. The read on where DACH capital concentrates — and what it abandons.

In this episode, we cover:

• Finn's €1B raise for car subscriptions — and whether it's all good news
• Cherry Ventures' new €500M AI fund and the VC gold rush
• Lilium's second insolvency and what it signals for eVTOL
• How the German federal election affects founders and investors
• Top trends across AI, fintech, and biotech

Related episodes: January 2025 DACH news · March 2025 DACH news.

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.

Introducing Latanya Sweeney on AI, trust, and privacy from Possible.

Follow the show: Possible

How does the rise of AI impact our sense of what’s true? How can humans maintain a degree of individual privacy and unlock the benefits of AI while mitigating potential harms? In this episode, Reid and Aria sit down with data privacy pioneer Latanya Sweeney, Professor of Government and Technology at Harvard; former Chief Technology Officer at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission; and founder of Harvard’s Public Interest Tech Lab and Data Privacy Lab. They discuss the future of privacy protection, technocracy vs. democracy, teaching in the age of AI, governance, content moderation, and more. 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/  

Topics:

0:55 - Episode introduction

3:05 - Lessons from Latanya's grandparents

4:30 - Latanya's early days at MIT

5:38 - Re-identification and Governor William Weld example

10:50 - Historical arc of AI

12:24 - The Third Industrial Revolution

15:11 - Technocracy vs. democracy 

18:38 - Making technological literacy a federal priority

21:03 - Divisiveness in AI 

26:20 - Exploring humanity's "cultural dream" of AI

27:17 - Midroll ad break

27:49 - What will it take to build trust in AI at scale?

31:11 - Inflection's Pi lists key elements for a tech-conscious social contract

32:04 - Latanya responds to Pi and talks LLM truth-telling

34:20 - The best of public interest technology

37:02 - Improving content moderation

43:24 - Democratizing public interest technology

44:24 - Feedback and improvements for LinkedIn

47:53 - What does AI mean for education?

49:35 - Insights from Latanya's Harvard students

51:08 - Rapid-fire questions

Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to [email protected].

January 2025 opened with an M&A wave across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: Creative Dock acquiring Berlin hardware innovator NFrontier, and Swiss cybersecurity firm Sona buying TiteLift. Joe rounds up the acquisitions and funding rounds setting the tone for the DACH year ahead.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: The year started on consolidation, not just raises — hardware and cybersecurity tuck-ins that signal where strategic buyers see durable value in DACH.

In this episode, we cover:

• Acquisition frenzy: Creative Dock Group acquires Berlin hardware firm NFrontier
• Swiss cybersecurity: Sona strengthens its stack by acquiring TiteLift
• The funding rounds opening the DACH startup year
• The trends shaping AI, fintech, and hardware in 2025

Related episodes: February 2025 DACH news · December 2024 roundup.

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.

Introducing Greg Beato on superagency, AI, and the cognitive industrial revolution from Possible.

Follow the show: Possible

In an age of increasingly ubiquitous AI, how do we maintain control of our lives and successfully plot our own destinies? In this episode, Reid is in the hotseat alongside writer Greg Beato, discussing this and more in the context of their new book, Superagency. Greg is a seasoned journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Wired, The Washington Post, Reason, Spin, and Slate, to name a few. He and Reid delve into what could possibly go right with our AI future; the cognitive industrial revolution; and the difference between AI Doomers, Gloomers, Zoomers, and Bloomers. Plus, Reid’s AI avatar makes a cameo to join for a few rounds of the game “Overrated/Underrated.” 

For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/ 

For more on Superagency, check out superagency.ai. 

Topics:

2:04 - Overrated/Underrated Round I

5:02 - Why Reid chose Greg as his co-author

6:01 - Why Greg wanted to write this book

8:19 - Why Reid chose this book topic at this particular time

11:21 - How the rise of AI is similar to the rise of social media

16:36 - Agency, superagency, and AI

19:59 - Overrated/Underrated Round II

23:28 - Defining AI Doomers, Gloomers, Zoomers, and Bloomers

28:46 - How AI amplifies agency

32:16 - How ChatGPT shifted people’s relationship with AI

37:21 - Choosing AI vs. AI being baked into technologies 

39:28 - Speed and scale in the current AI moment

44:37 - How innovation and safety can coexist

48:49 - Rapid-fire Questions

Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to [email protected].

Startuprad.io's 10th Annual Fintech Review: a decade of fintech evolution and the trends, challenges, and opportunities defining 2024 — high interest rates, breakthrough AI, and rising regulatory demands — with an expert panel's predictions for founders and investors.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: A ten-year vantage point on European fintech: what compounds, what breaks in a high-rate market, and where AI and regulation move the value next.

In this episode, we cover:

• The biggest challenges for fintech in 2024: high rates and tighter funding
• Strategies for operational resilience and efficiency
• How AI is reshaping financial products and workflows
• Rising regulatory demands and what they mean for startups
• A decade of fintech lessons for founders and investors

Related episodes: Paolo Sironi: AI Revolution in Banking · How Moss Automates SME Finance.

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

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

December 2024 across DACH: Karlsruhe AI innovator Black Forest Labs hits a billion-dollar valuation, Upvest lands Germany's largest fintech round of the year at €100M, and Berlin insurtech Wefox fights for resilience. The year-end roundup of the stories reshaping the ecosystem.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: The names that closed 2024 — a billion-dollar image-AI lab, the year's biggest German fintech round, and an insurtech survival story — map where DACH value is consolidating going into 2025.

In this episode, we cover:

• Black Forest Labs' billion-dollar valuation and its global AI push
• Why Upvest's €100M was Germany's largest fintech round of 2024
• Wefox's survival strategy amid a tough insurtech market
• The rise of green-tech startups closing out the year

Related episodes: November 2024 DACH news · Fintech Review 2024.

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 2024 in DACH: air-taxi pioneer Lilium slides toward insolvency amid funding and regulatory pressure, while Volocopter secures government support and a new CFO — and Munich rises as Europe's hub for investor education.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this episode matters: The eVTOL reckoning and a resilience story side by side — plus Munich building the soft infrastructure (investor education) that compounds over cycles.

In this episode, we cover:

• Germany's turbulence: Lilium's insolvency risk from funding and regulation
• Volocopter's government backing and leadership change in eVTOL
• Munich's rise as a European hub for investor education
• The funding milestones and challenges across the DACH region

Related episodes: December 2024 roundup · October 2024 DACH news.

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.