Flying Taxis, Jay-Z, Hello Fresh, and More | Startup Briefing Week 9

About this episode

Week nine brought another wealth of important developments in the startup scene. From spectacular funding rounds to strategic acquisitions – here are the key news items every founder and investor should have on their radar.

Flying Taxis Take Off: Volocopter and Lilium in Focus

The urban air mobility market continues to gain momentum. Volocopter, the German flying taxi company, raised an impressive 200 million euros in a new funding round. This sum underscores investor confidence in the vision of electric aircraft for urban transport.

Meanwhile, Lilium, another German player in the flying taxi segment, plans to go public. The company wants to list via SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) – a trend that has become popular among many tech companies in 2021.

HelloFresh with Record Profits

Meal kit delivery service HelloFresh can celebrate an exceptionally successful year. The company achieved profits of more than half a billion euros. This impressive figure shows how strongly the pandemic boosted HelloFresh's business model, as more people cook at home and rely on delivery services.

Square Acquires Jay-Z's Tidal

In a surprising transaction, Square, the fintech company founded by Twitter's Jack Dorsey, is buying music streaming service Tidal from rapper Jay-Z. This acquisition shows how fintech companies are expanding their business scope and creating new synergies between payments and entertainment.

IPO Wave Continues

Several companies are preparing to go public. Deliveroo, the British food delivery service, also wants to list on the stock exchange. In parallel, Robinhood, the popular trading app, plans to complete its IPO this month. The 2021 IPO wave continues.

Tech Updates and New Features

Instagram is introducing Live Rooms – a feature that allows multiple users to go live simultaneously. This function strengthens Instagram's position in live content and audio features.

Google announces an important change: the company will soon discontinue cookie tracking. This decision will have massive implications for the online advertising industry and force many business models to rethink their approach.

Record Funding Rounds

Hopin, the event platform that grew strongly during the pandemic, raised another 400 million US dollars. This sum illustrates the continued boom in virtual event solutions.

Investors and Accelerators

Christian Angermayer is launching a new fund with a volume of 290 million euros. The serial investor and founder continues his activities in the German and European startup ecosystem.

The Next Commerce Accelerator has invested in Medieninsider – an example of the increasing professionalization of the German media tech scene.

Conclusion

Week nine shows that the startup ecosystem remains in motion. While established companies like HelloFresh post record profits, emerging categories like flying taxis and virtual events continue to raise capital. For founders and investors, it remains important to keep an eye on these developments and identify trends early.