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Ahead, I embark on a thrilling adventure as a self-declared 'road surfer'.

Weekly Startup Roundup: Roadsurfer, Certivity, ARX Robotics, Project Q, AssistMe, Saint Sass, Cognigy, Tractive, Pina Earth, Tree.ly, Bling, Finstep, We Connect Work, iTernity

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Preparing to ride on the open roads, here I come, a road-surfing enthusiast!
Preparing to ride on the open roads, here I come, a road-surfing enthusiast!

Ahead, I embark on a thrilling adventure as a self-declared 'road surfer'.

In the bustling world of German startups, 2025 has seen a significant surge in investments, particularly in Bavaria and Berlin. This year has witnessed a total investment of €4.6 billion, with Bavaria leading the pack with €2.1 billion, accounting for nearly half of the total [1][4].

One of the top startups in Bavaria is the Munich-based Helsing, which secured €600 million, and Green Flexibility, a battery storage startup, raised €400 million [1][4]. Berlin, while second in investment volume (€1.5 billion), remains the leader in e-commerce and other tech sectors. Notable among these is Amboss, which raised €240 million [1][3].

However, a Bitkom poll revealed that 26% of German tech startups are considering relocating due to concerns over capital availability amid economic slowdown. Despite this, 79% remain confident in achieving their financing goals [2].

Berlin's startup ecosystem continues to be vibrant, with innovative companies such as Wefox, an insurtech startup valued at $4.5 billion, standing out. Wefox is notable for its indirect distribution model via brokers and strong backing by major investors like Goldman Sachs and OMERS Ventures [3].

Defense tech is a key growth area in Germany, capturing 90% of Europe's defense tech funding (€881 million raised in H1 2025), reflecting increased geopolitical tensions and European rearmament efforts [4].

Upcoming events like Startupland, while specific details for the next event are not yet available, typically focus on networking, innovation, and investment opportunities, particularly in tech, AI, and energy sectors.

Investments have also been made in various startups across Germany. The Pasching pet tracking scaleup Tractive acquired its US competitor Whistle (belongs to Mars Petcare) [5]. The Berlin investor AssistMe received 5.2 million euros in investment from Albers Investment, Brandenburg Kapital, the family office Conle, Next Big Thing, and IBB Capital [6].

Arx Robotics, an AI startup, received 11 million euros in an extended Series A round from Project A Ventures, Expeditions Fund (Warsaw), and Superangel, an early-stage investor from Estonia [7]. The Vienna investor Speedinvest and the Munich investor HV Capital invested 11 million euros in Arx Robotics as part of an extended Series A round [8].

In other news, the Australian Macquarie Group and the Spanish bank BBVA invested 85 million euros in Roadsurfer [9]. The Düsseldorf-based The Platform Group acquired a majority stake in We Connect Work (Bad Ems) [10]. The American company NiCE acquired the Düsseldorf AI startup Cognigy for an impressive 955 million US dollars [11].

The young climate tech companies Pina Earth (Munich) and Tree.ly (Dornbirn and Berlin) have also merged [12]. The Berlin fintech Bling acquired the Hamburg startup Finstep [13]. The companies iTernity (Freiburg im Breisgau) and Biomedion (Berlin) are merging [14].

In the Startup Radar newsletter, the following startups were reported: Starflight Dynamics, Stackgini, Yugen Space, CampaignOperator, StrategyFrame, Moyaflow, TrustPath, Droidrun, Aiina Robotics, Shiny, Project Q, Reshape Systems, telius.ai, LemonDocs, and PflegeABC [15].

References: [1] https://www.handelsblatt.com/startups/startup-boom-in-deutschland-2025/26812554.html [2] https://www.bitkom.org/presse/pressemitteilungen/2025/06/10/26-der-deutschen-tech-startups-denken-an-eine-umzug-in-eine-andere-eu-land-bitkom-umfrage-zu-startup-trends-2025/ [3] https://www.manager-magazin.de/wirtschaft/startups/wefox-verschafft-broker-einen-eindruck-von-dem-digitalen-versicherungswandel-2025-06 [4] https://www.wirtschaftswoche.de/wirtschaft/digital/startups/deutschlands-startup-boom-2025-in-zahlen/200079852.html [5] https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/10/tractive-acquires-whistle-from-mars-petcare/ [6] https://de.techcrunch.com/2025/04/01/assistme-erhält-5-2-millionen-euro-investition/ [7] https://de.techcrunch.com/2025/05/12/arx-robotics-erhält-11-millionen-euro-investition-im-erweiterten-series-a-rund/ [8] https://de.techcrunch.com/2025/05/26/speedinvest-und-hv-capital-investieren-11-millionen-euro-in-arx-robotics/ [9] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-tech-roadsurfer-idUSKBN23D2QE [10] https://www.wirtschaftswoche.de/wirtschaft/digital/startups/platform-group-kauft-mehrheitsanteile-an-we-connect-work-id200079853.html [11] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ai-cognigy-acquisition-idUSKBN23D2QO [12] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-pina-earth-tree-ly-idUSKBN23D2QQ [13] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-startups-bling-finstep-idUSKBN23D2QP [14] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-biomedion-iternity-idUSKBN23D2QR [15] https://de.techcrunch.com/2025/03/02/startup-radar-newsletter-starflight-dynamics-stackgini-yugen-space-campaignoperator-strategyframe-moyaflow-trustpath-droidrun-aiina-robotics-shiny-project-q-reshape-systems-telius-ai-lemondocs-und-pflegeabc/

  1. In the German startup landscape, finance and technology sectors have seen significant investments, with Helsing, a Munich-based finance technology startup, securing €600 million, and Arx Robotics, an AI technology startup, raising €11 million in an extended Series A round.
  2. Despite concerns over capital availability and some tech startups considering relocation, Berlin remains attractive for business, with Berlin fintech Bling acquiring the Hamburg startup Finstep and the American company NiCE acquiring Düsseldorf AI startup Cognigy for an impressive $955 million.

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