Blockchain Germany - Startups and Venture Capital

Our Highlights

Startups in GSA did better than expected. We had a few insolvency filings, but also amazing fundraisings like Celonis 1 bn US$ combination of equity and debt funding. Insuftech Wefox raises 400 m. One can already see the signs of a downturn, M&A activity going up, as well as the news about insolvencies or job cuts/ hiring freezes. But — according to a Bikcom survey — 8 out of 10 startups are still hiring. Deal time our recent guest Qonto buys former guest Penta and there was more in a B2B neobank deal week. Even Allianz had to learn, that one can not buy fintech success and there is more news on Wirecard.

We will also bombard you with funding data on Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as global numbers. Keep in mind you can read all our news on our blog https://medium.com/@startuprad_io/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-summer-2022-wrap-up-603e2c1939ae

Top News Celonis Secures 1 bn US$ Funding

Celonis remains a success story with a 400 million Series D extension and a 600 mn US$ credit facility, at a valuation of nearly 13 bn US$. They are cementing their spot as Germany’s most valuable startup as well as its only decacorn. They do process mining and help to identify unrealized efficiencies. Right now, they’re helping with supply chain issues, for example.

Despite Market Conditions, WeFox Closes 400 m US$ Funding

Wefox, the Berlin-based insurtech, closes USD 400 million Series D round at 4.5 bn Dollar valuation

One Former Guest Has to File for Insolvency

• German crypto startup Nuri had a streak of bad luck. First, they announce to cut almost 20% of their headcount, then millions of their client’s money is frozen with Celsius and now a blog claimed it all hit during fundraising
• Eventually followed by an insolvency filing https://medium.com/startuprad-io/berlin-based-crypto-bank-nuri-formerly-known-as-bitwala-with-500-000-b4953e15dbfa
• Berlin-based crypto neoborker Nuri had to file for insolvency. Now the insolvency administrator says there are parties interested in buying the company

Neobrokers Facing Headwinds

• Neobrokers close to the edge: No good news from the SEC report on the poster child of all neo-brokers. Unfortunately, there is no report for Germany mentioning e.g. Trade Republic
• Robinhood almost imploded during GameStop meme stock chaos — TechCrunch
• Bankman-Fried’s FTX Is Seeking a Path to Buy Robinhood — BloombergWhat does this mean for BitPanda, Trade Republic, Scalable Capital, and N26? Do they also need to look for a strategic buyer rather than an IPO?

B2B Neobanks Had a pretty big Deal Week

Qonto Announces Plan to Acquire Penta https://buff.ly/3zwPCI3 as we have predicted two weeks before https://buff.ly/3zxUSeH we have extensive coverage of Penta from the past linked in the article, as well as an interview with Qonto’s head of Germany. Also Kontist was selling itself at a pretty hefty discount https://buff.ly/3c9pmuF

Viability of Quick Delivery Business Model still Questioned

• After only one year: Gorillas is closing shop in Belgium. Efarmz is taking over parts
• Gorillas wants to save itself with advertising from consumers and food giants of the world, the producer of the products they are delivering every day
• More signs of the current economic environment for startups: Munich-based quick delivery startup arive delivers tech gadgets and lifestyle products. They just had to shut down 2 of their 5 locations in Germany
• Gorillas-owned rider platform Street Fleet lays off 100+ riders and is set to shut down
• Quick delivery service Frischepost from Hamburg changes its delivery model at home (delivery with electric cargo bikes) and closes shop in Munich and Berlin — Supermarktblog
• Later Frischepost had to file for insolvency, along with competitor Getfaster. It looks like Frischepost will be able to continue, there is no statement from Getfaster the reason for Frischeposts filing was their acquisition fell through, their buyer pulled out
• In Germany you say: Erst hatten sie kein Glück und dann kam noch Pech dazu ⇒ “first we had no luck and then there was bad luck”Delivery Hero and Glovo targeted for EU antitrust inspection — TechCrunch
• EU antitrust authority searches Delivery Hero headquarters

The Job Cuts Kept Coming — Even During Summer

Current market conditions lead to a halving of open positions at German unicorn startups here are some other examples, including hiring freezes at established tech companies like SAP

• Office software company Lendis joins bigger names and cuts 15 % of their team
• Austrian crypto unicorn Bitpanda cuts more than 25% of its headcount and has do deny rumors it is cutting much more
• Real estate platform McMakler was seen as a unicorn candidate in Berlin, but they first celebrate with their employees (using #OneTeam to post photos) and then announce to fire 12% of their workforce a few days later
• Amazon aggregator unicorn SellerX has laid off staff — as a wave of layoffs continues to sweep the industry bites
• Or at least freezes: SAP joins hiring freeze of other big tech names

But startups are still looking for talent

8 out of 10 startups in Germany are looking to hire employees, according to a recent survey by association Bitkom

You Can’t Buy Fintech Success

Heymoney is insurance giant Allianz’s take on a multi-banking app. They even hired two experienced entrepreneurs, but now pull the plug on the project

More Sad Wirecard News

• Wirecard forged client details to secure €900mn investment from SoftBank reported The Financial Times

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