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Before we talk about EdTech and Munich startups in the podcast, we will give you a brief insight into the events. We will report on the Plug & Play Inspiration Day (Minute 1:25). And of course, a preview of Bits & Pretzels, which starts on Sunday, September 28, is also included (Minute 2:55). Our highlight? Of course, the award ceremony for the "Munich Startup Award“ on Friday, October 2. But before this grand finale, you can expect a successful mix from panels, pitches, and masterclasses. Many Munich startups are participating, as are international celebrities.
Edtech industry is growing worldwide
Internationally, the EdTech sector is also doing well, with the market experiencing significant growth rates worldwide. This development has been fueled not least by the coronavirus pandemic. Online learning is more important in other countries than in Germany – either because the education system is different or because access to education is not equally easy in larger countries. Although the industry is still treated as a niche in Germany, several EdTech startups in Munich were already able to announce successful financing rounds in 2020. Some of the companies operating in the sector describe themselves as "software-as-a-service," media, or XR companies. A look at our Insights Dashboard reveals: There are around 50 startups in Munich that are tagged with “Education”.
In our podcast, we introduce you to five edtech startups from Munich. Study Smarter, Easy Tutor, Speexx, Craftguide, and Userlane are working to take edtech and e-learning to a new level.
B2C and B2B startups from Munich
First, we'll talk about two B2C startups that want to make life easier for students and pupils. Study Smarter has developed an online platform, which is designed to make learning content easier and more fun to learn (minute 11:10). The founders of Easy Tutor (minute 13:45) want to help students and parents find tutoring, whether for math, ancient Greek, or soccer training. Study Smarter, as well as Easy Tutor were able to secure a financing round in 2020.
In the B2B sector, the edtech company Speexx makes it easier for people to learn foreign languages (minute 16:15). At the same time, this startup helps companies track the success of their employees—and their return on investment in terms of training costs. Craft Guide (Minute 17:50) supports the trades sector in particular with immersive solutions, i.e., virtual and augmented reality. This allows users to learn how to operate machines in a virtual and playful way. Here, too, the founders have benefited from the coronavirus crisis with full order books and are currently working on VC financing.
Last but not least, we talk about Userlane (minute 21:10), which uses an automated solution to help companies ensure that their Employees use new software intuitively This is more fun than clicking through PDFs or videos – and ultimately being frustrated by not being able to use the new software. With their solution, the Userlane founders recently raised a multi-million dollar financing a.
How Ceregate investor Heal Capital convinces
In the last part of the podcast we talk about a Munich health startup that raised funding has: Ceregate. The startup is developing a computer-brain interface (CBI for short). This is a groundbreaking topic that Elon Musk's startup Neuralink is also working on. We explain what a CBI is and what exactly the startup is developing starting at minute 25:50.
We also introduce the investor Heal Capital in more detail. The European health tech investor launched a fund with a target volume of €100 million in 2019. The backing of the investors is the Association of Private Health Insurance Companies (including Allianz, Versicherungskammer Bayern, Signal Iduna, and many others). Through this venture capital firm, startups receive not only financial support but also a strong network with excellent market knowledge. Ceregate is the third investment that Heal Capital has made public.
