Corona: German Startups Defying the Crisis and Raising Money
April 2020
The corona lockdown in Germany has hit smaller businesses particularly hard, but as the German edition of Business Insider recently researched, a surprising number of fledgling companies are bucking the trend and attracting millions in investment capital. Here’s a list:
Trade Republic – This Berlin fintec and its app for free securities trading is hardly an insider tip anymore, with the company claiming to have attracted than 150,000 customers with almost a billion in capital. On April 17, the start-up proudly proclaimed the acquisition of more than EURO 62 million to expand its own services. © Trade Republic
Taxfix – This Berlin company has developed a step-by-step app that helps customers file paperless tax returns. Taxfix charges users an annual EUR 35 fee if they receive a rebate of EUR 50 or more. That may sound like chump change, but the firm announced on April 16 that it had raised EUR 59 million. © Taxfix
Choco – Another Berlin success story is Choco, which has created an app connecting restaurants and food suppliers. The service has recently been extended under the name “Choco Markets” to private purchasers, giving them access to excess food on wholesale markets. On April 16, they said they had procured EUR 27.6 million. © Choco
Dataguard – This Munich innovator develops software that helps companies conform to increasingly complex data protection regulations of authorities such as the European Union. In late March. It announced raising EUR 20 million. © Dataguard
Penta – This Berlin fintech is an online, app-oriented bank aimed exclusively at other startups and SMEs. Investors like the idea. On March 17, Penta said it had taken in EUR 18.5 million. © Penta
YFood – This Munich startup makes drinks and edible bars capable of replacing entire meals. The founders have parlayed an appearance on a reality investment TV show into a promising start. On April 21, they reported a EUR 15 million round of financing. © The founders of YFood on the German TV-show “The Lion’s Den”
Cannamedical – This pioneer from Cologne is the only German-owned firm with a license to market medicinal cannabis products. And with restrictions on cannabinoid medicines in Germany being loosened, the company announced in mid-April they had persuaded investors to part with EUR 12 million (founder David Henn). © Cannamedical
Twaice – This Munich firm, has developed a tool for analyzing the state of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, potentially extending their lives and saving fleet operators major maintenance costs. Twaice said on March 25 that it had raised EUR 11 million. © Twaice
Schüttflix –Gütersloh isn’t usually known as a business mecca, but it’s home to Schüttflix, an online trading platform for construction materials like sand or gravel. Buyers can use it to compare the prices of more than 200 providers and shorten delivery times. On April 23, Schüttflix’s bosses made it known that they had taken in EUR 8 million (on the right: German actress Sophia Thomalla invested last year in the startup). © Schüttflix
Watttron – And online business magazine Gründerszene is passing on good news about this producer of innovative heating systems from the town of Freital near Saxony. On April 24, Wattron announced that it had raised EUR 3.4 million in venture capital. © Watttron
All told that’s a reported EUR 236.5 million taken in over the past six weeks.
More information
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