This Month in German, Swiss and Austrian Startups - October 2024

Welcome to our October 2024 wrap-up with vital news from the startup and tech entrepreneurship scenes in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Our startup news is recorded with Chris, in New York City. Joe is joining from Frankfurt.
Today's news cut is October 28th. As always, all news not included will be in our next news wrap-up.

This time we even had harder criteria to make it into our news. We had collected more than 20 pages of raw news, so we needed to cut it seriously so you can have a brief news overview. Also: That means the startup scene is thriving again, which makes us very happy.

Happy Leave Peaking Season to all of you.

This very day 10 years ago, I posted the first Startuprad.io audio podcast.

# Our Highlights:

October 2024 has been a great month for startups across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, with notable funding rounds, valuations, and strategic shifts. We had this time a 10 M investment cut, but still found almost half a billion Euros in fundraising announcements!
Where there is light, there is shadow: German eVTOL company Lilium announced plans for self-administered bankruptcy, highlighting the tough financial environment in aerospace innovation. In contrast, fitness tech leader Egym and Swiss AI developer Orderfox both achieved unicorn status, marking major successes in health and AI industries. Austria’s Gropyus also raised €100 million, pushing forward its vision of sustainable housing through modular construction.
The month also saw broader tech growth initiatives. The European Union, partnering with venture capital firms, unveiled a support network aimed at strengthening the deep tech sector. However, challenges emerged as SolarisBank reported a €178 million loss and job cuts, underscoring profitability struggles within European fintech. This October update reflects a thriving, resilient startup scene, despite financial headwinds for some major players.

Let's talk startups.