- Startup Kickdown takes off
- Kickoff for Schenker Ventures
- Refurbed receives $54 million in Series B funding
- GoCardless doubles new business
- Henkel invests in fund for materials science startups in China
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Innovations and developments in the startup scene
Kickdown: high-value and classic car listings
Hamburg, August 13, 2021 – Now things are getting exciting for anyone passionate about buying or selling classic collector and enthusiast cars. Kickdown, a young company from Hamburg, focuses specifically on the sale of young and classic cars via online auctions. The name of the startup stands for high transparency and quality. All cars are selected in a pre-selection in Hamburg and photographed by photographers, which sets kickdown apart from the broad mass of traditional platforms. The fact that the company was founded less than a year ago, however, does not stop it from being successful. They can already put down more than 1 million euros in vehicle sales and count over 200 completed auctions. Among kickdown’s cooperation partners are Octane, Elferspot and Classictrader.
Go-ahead for Schenker Ventures
Essen, 05 August 2021 – DB Schenker recently announced the launch of Schenker Ventures, the company’s new unit. The idea behind it: To support and drive innovation in logistics. Cooperation with successful entrepreneurs from the industry is intended to be helpful in this regard, in order to support founders and startups with capital and expertise. In addition to capital, this will primarily involve industry experience, available resources and commercial expertise. To this end, Schenker Ventures plans to bundle and consequently expand existing corporate venture activities and linked investments of the unit. In addition, Schenker Ventures plans to cooperate with the Berlin-based agency MVP Factory to create a venture studio that combines both entrepreneurial freedom and already established strengths and experience of the globally recognized partner.
Newsticker
Refurbed receives $54 million in Series B funding
Berlin, August 05, 2021 – Refurbed, one of the leading online marketplaces for refurbished electronics in Germany, recently received a capital injection of $54 million in a Series-B financing round. The investment will primarily be used to further expand the company’s influence in the German market. A full $29 million will be used for this purpose. Leading investors in the funding round include Hermes GPE, C4 Ventures, SevenVentures, Alpha Associates, Monkfish Equity, Kreos, Isomer Capital and Creas Impact Fund. Co-Founder of refurbed, Kilian Kaminski, expressed optimism about the developments and is hopeful about the future: “We founded refurbed with the mission to bring at least one refurbished device into every household in Europe and thus change the way we as a society consume electronic devices […] What is already commonplace in the fashion sector, we now want to achieve in the electronics industry and have launched the Slow Electronics movement. Germany is our core market, because here we particularly feel that the demand for more sustainable electronics is growing. We are very proud of what we have achieved so far and want to continue to grow internationally to become the Amazon for refurbished products in Europe.”
GoCardless doubles new business
Munich, August 05, 2021 – GoCardless, one of the leading fintech startups, can already report extremely strong growth in the German-speaking region in the first half of 2021. For example, the company not only doubled its business, but shot beyond its growth target: it grew by a full 118 percent. The startup was also able to acquire established, well-known new customers, such as Lition, one of the leading providers of alternative energy. In addition, GoCardless also saw a 140 percent increase, in new employees and staff. In addition, another company development is generating positive headlines: With the latest launch of Open Banking Payments, GoCardless is now helping businesses gain easy access to the latest payment technology.
Insights and Info
Henkel invests in fund for materials science startups in China
Düsseldorf, August 11, 2021 – Henkel Adhesive Technologies, the global leader in adhesives, sealants and functional coatings, is expanding its intervention in the corporate venture capital world. How they did it? Well, they recently invested in the third fund of Richland Capital (Richland Venture Capital Fund III), a leading investment company for innovative technologies, headquartered in Beijing, China. The company specializes in investing in new materials, digital technologies, high-value manufacturing technologies and new digital business models. A smart move by Henkel, one might think. After all, by cooperating as a limited partner, Henkel Adhesive Technologies now has its foot in the door when it comes to the fast-growing startup scene in China. The investment gives Henkel access to the annual deal flow of over 1,000 startups. The fund is expected to focus on innovative technologies for new materials and digital business models. Paolo Bavaj, the Head of Corporate Venturing for Henkel’s Adhesive Technologies business sector, explains the situation as follows: “China is not only a core market for our adhesives, sealants and functional coatings businesses, but at the same time a global hub for disruptive innovations and new business models in the field of materials science. We are convinced that Richland Capital is the best partner for us to strengthen our access and open up attractive business opportunities. The management team has great financial expertise, a broad network in the Chinese start-up scene and many years of experience in developing new businesses for large companies. Therefore, we see an excellent intersection between Henkel’s ambitions and Richland Capital’s capabilities.”
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