News & Podcast

Just in time for summer, we’ve rounded up the hottest ecosystem news from last week in our recap for you.nLook forward to many exclusive stories in our review. We conducted interviews with Katharina Hesseler from Omegga, the chairwoman of the Business Angels Deutschland e.V. (BAND) Katja Ruhnke, and also with Henning Heesen. In our latest podcast episode, founder Nicolas Höflinger talks about his AI startup Voiceline. nAnd financing didn’t fall short this week either: While Quantum Diamonds raised a total of 91 million euros, Proxima Fusion even cracked the three-digit million mark. In a Series A2 financing round, the Munich-based startup raised 411 million euros and is now valued at more than 2.4 billion euros. nDon’t want to miss hot startup news? Then subscribe to our newsletter! Enjoy our weekly recap.

Munich-based startup Auxilius has closed a pre-seed funding round of €1.3 million. The round is led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with Techstars and several business angels also participating.

Another eventful week has passed: While Quantum Systems raises one billion euros, Ororatech receives the TUM Presidential Entrepreneurship Award 2026. In the latest episode of our Pitch & People podcast, Auditr founder Elias Müller speaks openly about the downsides of founding. In an exclusive interview with Munich Startup, K5 CEO Verena Schlüpmann shares tips for startup trade fair appearances. Speaking of trade fairs: Have you already gotten your ticket for our Munich Startup Festival on July 22? This week we introduced you to a selection of moderators who will bring our main stage to life that day. And last but not least, over 100 startup founders are calling for an economic policy turnaround.

Week 26 in the year ’26 is behind us and we take another look at a selection of topics that have occupied us this week. While Munich car subscription startup Finn raises 140 million euros and achieves unicorn status, Openlaw acquires the insolvent company Firma.de with its platform Beglaubigt.de. This week was also marked by strong women: whether Valerie Laubsch from Moverloop, who answers our questions in an interview, whether Saskia Müller, who talks about her startup Stellamia in the podcast Pitch & People, or Sophie Prinz, who is revolutionizing the beverage market with Prinzz Matcha. We also look forward to seeing you on July 16 when you visit us at the Kinoliebe open-air event. Have fun browsing the photo gallery!

Startup feeling meets summer festival: Together with Kinoliebe, Munich Startup brings the Munich founding scene to the open-air stage at Königsplatz. On July 16, visitors can expect inspiring founder stories, exciting startup pitches and plenty of festival atmosphere. And five Munich startups have a chance at something very special.

This week we introduced you to The Consumer AI. The Munich startup, founded in 2025, wants to revolutionize market research with AI. Collimate Health and Causa Prima are each securing multiple millions of euros in seed funding, and we invited Secfix founder Fabiola Munguia to our Pitch & People studio. There she talks about the crucial turning point in her startup career. We also have another guest post from our Munich Startup Experts series for you: Tim Bäulke explains how to find the perfect location for your company. Finally, you should mark Slush in November in your calendar, as we’re still looking for Munich startups for that.

At the Festival of the Future 2026, tech, science, art, and startups come together. From July 2-5, everything revolves around the future on Munich’s Museum Island. As official media partner, we present the program highlights.

This week there was a lot happening in the Munich ecosystem: While Isar Aerospace closes an incredible 270-million-euro deal, we’re introducing you to Myriameat, which produces real meat without slaughter. In the new episode of our “Pitch & People” podcast, Rocket Tutor founder Yue Wu talks about how his grandmother saved him and influenced his business idea. While Yfood is being completely acquired by Nestlé, the “Redstone University Startup Index 2026” shows that Europe isn’t fully leveraging its startup potential. And last but not least, we want to toot our own horn a bit: we’re introducing you to the first confirmed speakers of the Munich Startup Festival on July 22. Enjoy our recap!

You should mark July 22 on your calendar – if you haven’t already – because this year’s Munich Startup Festival is taking place then. Backstage will transform again into the meeting place of the Munich startup scene – with founders, investors, talent, and everyone who wants new ideas and real connections. To get an insight, we’re presenting a first selection of speakers to you today.

When a million euros never arrives, even though you were counting on it, that’s quite a disappointment and brings everything to a halt. That’s exactly what happened to Law.me founder Katrin Stopp von Falkenstein. She talks about how she managed to found a startup despite personal bankruptcy on Pitch & People. This week we also reported on funding rounds for Bayshore and Encosa. Our 7 questions go to startup Octoscreen, and the latest Global Deep Tech Report highlights the biggest growth barriers for European companies. Last but not least, Balderton Capital is launching a pan-European initiative to unite founders and executives from various technology sectors. Enjoy reading!

Nexus Politics wants to become the LinkedIn for democracy, says founder Magnus Strobel in the latest episode of Pitch & People, our Munich Startup Expert Nico Reis from Scaleup takes a look at leadership mistakes in his guest article, and Furo answers our 7 questions. Additionally, Ewigbyte cooperates with Capsyra, Allo raises over 12 million euros, and Flixtrain will come to Munich from 2028. Here you see our weekly selection of topics from the Munich ecosystem.

Our Munich Startup Award needs a new jury that you can now apply to join, Helsing is on the verge of a mega-deal and could become Germany’s most valuable startup, and Kothontech founder Julia Inderst answers questions at Pitch & People. Also featured in our weekly recap are Omega Space, Regulate and the Kinoliebe festival. Check out our photo gallery.