🏁 The Deep Dive is here.
Germany, Austria and Switzerland enter a new startup cycle where the headline isn’t “Who raised the biggest check?” but “Who’s building the most defensible foundation?” Hosts Jörn ‘Joe’ Menninger and Chris Fahrenbach break down October 2025’s most important stories in AI, fintech, venture capital, and climate tech.

• The €735 B 🇩🇪 Made for Germany plan and its impact on infrastructure, energy & innovation.

• How Aleph Alpha’s CEO transition reshapes Europe’s AI landscape.

• Why Sequoia and EQT Ventures are doubling down on the DACH region.

• Major funding rounds from Nexus AI, Eco Robotics, DeskBird, and Cartos.

• The rise of female founders in Munich and new hybrid-work innovation.

• What BioNTech + CureVac means for Germany’s biotech future.

• The shift toward defense and dual-use tech in Europe.

• Which startups are pivoting or consolidating (Heidelberg Pharma, FanRight, Casablanca AI).

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• Jörn “Joe” Menninger, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Startuprad.io (Frankfurt)

• Chris Fahrenbach, Co-host & Global Analyst (Hanover / New York)

Together, they track the most important startup stories in the DACH ecosystem — AI, deep tech, fintech, and scale-up growth.

Enjoy the show? Follow, review, and share this episode with your team.

Blog: https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-dach-startups-october-2025-deep-dive

YouTube: https://youtu.be/tnZx20FpsqA

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What if Europe — not Silicon Valley — defined the future of AI?

In this October 2025 episode of Startuprad.io Startup News, hosts Jörn “Joe” Menninger and Chris Fahrenbach break down the latest stories shaping Europe’s AI Supercluster, led by DeepL, Black Forest Labs, and N8N.

From record climate tech funding to biotech breakthroughs and industrial AI, this episode uncovers how Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are transforming into the epicenter of smart, sovereign innovation.

• How DeepL, N8N, and Black Forest Labs are driving Europe’s AI dominance

• The €700M NPAL climate tech deal reshaping energy and solar adoption

• Why Tubulis (€308M) puts Munich back on the biotech map

• The rise of sovereign AI and Europe’s privacy-first infrastructure

• Why startup governance and profitability are the new superpowers

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Built by the team behind NordVPN, NordStellar gives startups and scaleups real-time visibility into leaked credentials, dark-web threats, and exposed assets — before attackers can exploit them.

👉 Get 20 percent off your plan with code black friday 20 at nordstellar.com/startupradio

🕒 Offer valid until December 10 th 2025 — protect your business before your data ends up for sale on the dark web.

NordStellar — Know what attackers know. Act first.

• Jörn “Joe” Menninger, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Startuprad.io (Frankfurt)

• Chris Fahrenbach, Co-host & Global Analyst (Hanover / New York)

Together, they track the most important startup stories in the DACH ecosystem — AI, deep tech, fintech, and scale-up growth.

Enjoy the show? Follow, review, and share this episode with your team.

Blog Post: https://www.startuprad.io/post/europe-ai-supercluster

Youtube Full Video: https://youtu.be/K-yL359uCls

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He sold his AI startup for $60 million — and fell apart.

In this raw and powerful conversation, Xaver Lehmann, co-founder and former CEO of e-bot7, opens up about burnout, loss, and recovery after one of Europe’s biggest AI exits. What happens when you achieve everything you ever wanted — and it breaks you?

💡 What you’ll learn in this episode:
– How founder burnout starts long before the exit stage
– The psychology of post-exit identity crisis & loss of purpose
– Why mental health is the new startup competitive advantage
– How Xaver rebuilt his life and founded The Honest Founder community
– Why freedom > funding for the next generation of founders

🧩 Guest Spotlight:
Xaver Lehmann — Co-Founder & Former CEO of e-bot7, Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur turned mental-health advocate. His journey shows how founders can redefine success without losing themselves.

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Read full Blog: https://www.startuprad.io/post/founder-burnout-recovery-the-hidden-cost-of-startup-success

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Starting a company in Germany used to mean paperwork, notaries, and patience.
But now, a new wave of LegalTech and Fintech innovation is tearing down bureaucracy for founders — and turning incorporation into a digital-first experience.

In this episode of Startuprad.io, we sit down with Alexander Müller (Holvi) and Felix Gerlach (Beglaubigt.de) to explore how these two companies are shaping the future of digital company formation in Europe.

You’ll learn:

• How to start a company in Germany — step-by-step, digitally.

• Why bureaucracy has long been a barrier for founders (and how LegalTech fixes it).

• How Fintech platforms like Holvi speed up compliance and onboarding.

• What this means for international founders entering Germany’s market.

• Where LegalTech and Fintech partnerships are headed next.

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Blog: https://www.startuprad.io/post/how-to-start-a-company-in-germany-the-digital-playbook-for-founders

YouTube: https://youtu.be/c4e34R4FYIE

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In this episode, Steven Puri, CEO of The Sukha Company and former Hollywood VFX executive (Independence Day, Godzilla, Transformers Prime), shares the rituals, behavioral frameworks, and AI-powered systems he uses to help founders reach deep work in distraction-heavy environments.

Steven’s journey from blockbuster sets to startup leadership reveals how flow state rituals can transform founder performance.

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– How to use environmental & sound triggers to engineer daily flow
– Behavioral nudges that increased productivity by 77%
– Why bootstrapping vs VC discipline changes product quality
– How AI productivity assistants will personalize founder workflows
– Why empathy & resilience outperform hustle culture for long-term success

Steven Puri, CEO of The Sukha Company, blends Hollywood rigor with startup agility. He shares real-world frameworks founders can apply tomorrow to unlock focus, structure, and sustainable output.

Blog: https://www.startuprad.io/post/flow-state-rituals-for-founders

YouTube: Watch now

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Steven Puri, co-founder/CEO of Sukha, shares the flow state for startup founders playbook: body doubling, the coffee-shop effect, chronotype time-blocking, demo-first standups, and outcome-based leadership. You’ll learn how to beat the 22-minute context switching tax, design deep-work rituals for remote teams, and build a best-idea-wins culture that ships.

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What you’ll learn

• How ambient accountability outperforms solo willpower

• Practical body doubling setups for founders & remote teams

• Timer methods to defeat context switching

• Scheduling deep work around your chronotype

• Why demo-first standups accelerate shipping

Guest: Steven Puri — Co-founder & CEO, Sukha
Blog: https://www.startuprad.io/post/flow-state-for-startup-founders-the-complete-deep-work-playbook

YouTube: https://youtu.be/H9He13RyJ00

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In this September 2025 wrap-up, hosts Jörn “Joe” Menninger and Chris Fahrenbach break down the signals that actually matter for B2B operators: where capital is flowing, how deep tech is commercializing, and what shifting regulatory winds mean for product, go-to-market, and hiring. Expect fast, factual coverage of German startups, Swiss and Austrian scaleups, and the European cross-currents driving strategy in AI, climate, fintech, and SaaS.

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What you’ll learn in this episode:

• VC & leadership: New funds in Germany and leadership changes at HTGF—what it telegraphs for seed/early stage in DACH.

• Deep tech momentum: Germany’s first brain-inspired AI chip (testing abroad), plus quantum comms from QT Labs hitting a NASA spacecraft—why this matters for dual-use and AI hardware roadmaps.

• Green tech storage: Austria’s salt-based, long-duration energy storage initiative and how it ties into grid integration economics.

• Fintech shifts: Bitpanda revenue surge and Gen-Z finance via Bling + Finstep—who gains share next.

• Market & regulation: Uber consolidates in Germany; Doctolib faces scrutiny—platform power, patient data, and policy risk in practice.

• Deals & fundings: A slate of €10M–€100M+ rounds (Talon One, Q.ANT, MakerSite, Buena, and more), plus M&A (Scanbot SDK; Lemon Markets pending BaFin). SeptNews02_sound

🎙 Hosted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger (Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Startuprad.io) and Chris Fahrenbach (Co-Founder).

Enjoy the show? Follow, review, and share this episode with your team.

Blog Post: https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-startups-september-2025-deep-dive

Youtube Full Video: https://youtu.be/liuKkoOKy6c

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1. Primary keywords: German startups; DACH startup news; venture capital Germany; deep tech Europe; AI chip Germany; funding rounds Europe; B2B SaaS Europe.

2. Secondary keywords: quantum communications; green tech storage; fintech Europe; autonomous driving EU; ESG compliance EU; startup exits Germany; mobility startups Germany.

Berlin’s AI unicorn skyrocketed from $350M to $2.3B in valuation in just months.
Meanwhile, fintech giant N26 faces its most severe governance crisis yet, as its co-founder CEO steps down after regulatory pressure. And Europe’s climate tech sector is booming with mega-funding rounds, including a record €825M hydrogen allocation.

This is your September 2025 Startup News from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — the most important startup, VC, and tech developments you need to know as a founder, investor, or executive.

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To get the best discount on your NordVPN subscription, just head over to nordvpn.com/startuprad. And here’s the kicker — with our link, you’ll get four extra months on the two-year plan. Totally risk-free, because you’ve got the 30-day money-back guarantee. And of course, you’ll find that link right in the episode description.”

What you’ll learn in this episode:
– How Berlin’s N8N AI startup became a $2.3B unicorn in record time
– Why N26 is in turmoil after a BaFin audit revealed compliance gaps
– Europe’s hydrogen and climate tech surge led by Climeworks & Orange Bat
– Insights on German recession signals and founder cost advantages in Dresden, Leipzig, Bremen
– Policy shifts: remote driving pilots, defense innovation funding, and Bavaria unlocking VC capital
– Why Austria is experiencing a founder wave and how Pinterest chose Zurich for its new AI hub

🎙 Hosted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger (Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Startuprad.io) and Chris Fahrenbach (Co-Founder).

👉 Whether you’re a startup founder, VC, or ecosystem builder, this episode gives you the context, numbers, and insights shaping Europe’s innovation economy.

Blog Post: https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-startups-september-2025-top-news

Youtube Full Video: https://youtu.be/KVt4N-OpGw8

✉️ Work with us: partnerships@startuprad.io

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1. Primary keywords: German startup news, AI startups, venture capital Germany, climate tech Europe, startup news DACH, SaaS Germany.

2. Secondary keywords: fintech crisis, German recession, European innovation council, autonomous driving Germany.