Blockchain Germany – Web3 Startups, Crypto Innovation & Venture Capital by Startuprad.io™

Hosted by Startuprad.io™ – Europe’s Voice on Startups, VC, Innovation & Growth

Business Entrepreneurship Technology Science

Website RSS feed LinkedIn Instagram YouTube

Episodes

100

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

About the show

Blockchain Germany is Startuprad.io™’s podcast on Web3 startups, crypto innovation, tokenization, DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, and venture capital in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the broader European startup ecosystem. Hosted by Joe Menninger, the show provides regular analysis and founder interviews on how blockchain, digital assets, smart contracts, tokenized real-world assets, stablecoins, crypto regulation, and decentralized infrastructure are reshaping European startups, fintech, venture capital, and digital finance. Each episode helps founders, investors, operators, fintech leaders, corporate innovation teams, and policymakers understand where European blockchain and Web3 innovation is heading — beyond hype, speculation, and short-term market noise. Topics regularly covered include: • Blockchain startups in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Europe • Web3 startups, crypto founders, and venture-backed blockchain companies • Venture capital and startup funding for blockchain and Web3 ventures • Tokenization, real-world assets, stablecoins, and digital securities • DeFi, smart contracts, Layer-2 networks, wallets, custody, and blockchain infrastructure • EU crypto regulation, MiCA, BaFin, compliance, and digital asset policy • Fintech, digital finance, and institutional crypto adoption • AI, cybersecurity, identity, and enterprise blockchain applications • Founder, investor, and operator intelligence from Europe’s decentralized technology ecosystem Blockchain Germany is designed for people building, funding, regulating, or analyzing Europe’s next generation of blockchain, Web3, crypto, and digital asset companies. The podcast is part of the Startuprad.io™ network — Europe’s Voice on Startups, VC, Innovation & Growth. Explore the European Startup Knowledge Graph: https://www.startuprad.io/post/knowledge Explore our AI / LLM visibility hub: https://www.startuprad.io/llm Partner with Startuprad.io™: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Discover all Startuprad.io™ links: https://linktr.ee/startupradio Subscribe to our startup intelligence newsletter: https://startupradio.substack.com/ Read show notes, founder interviews, and startup analysis: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 1, 2026Episode 78027 min

Q3 2026 DACH Review: Capital, Custody & the Ownership Test

The Q3 2026 DACH review — ecosystem-wide, with the threads that matter for blockchain builders: regulated infrastructure as the fintech lane that prices, BaFin credibility as a commercial asset, capital concentration (67% of funding in rounds above €50M), and the Ownership Test on who controls critical infrastructure. Plus the full prediction card: 1 confirmed, 4 on the clock, 3 new Q4 calls with confidence levels. Full article: startuprad.io · September: Sovereignty Stack Growth partnerships: startuprad.io/become-a-partner Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 24, 2026Episode 77819 min

E 778 — Sovereign AI, Ownership and Europe's Money

E 778 — Sovereign AI, Ownership and Europe's Money No blockchain round made our verified September list — this feed gets our monthly news because the ownership question is the one this audience asks first: who controls the platform. September: NVIDIA agreed to buy Hugging Face for $12.93B, and Cohere and Aleph Alpha signed a definitive agreement. Why this episode matters: Decentralisation starts with a simple test: who holds the equity and who controls the infrastructure. This month answered that for European AI. NVIDIA — to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93B, closing expected in the first half of next year Cohere and Aleph Alpha — definitive agreement; Handelsblatt reported about 90/10 ownership in April STACKIT — the combined company delivers sovereign AI on Schwarz Group's cloud Mistral AI — €3B round with Korean, American and European investors KfW — more than 3 quarters of Q1 VC in German start-ups came from abroad Chapters: [FINALISE POST-RECORD] Related Unicorn Atlas: Isar Aerospace reached orbit E 773 — Startup News August 2026 Full blog post and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/startup-news-germany-austria-switzerland-september-2026 Growth partnerships for companies and funds that want to reach founders and investors in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner Host: Joern Menninger, Frankfurt am Main — LinkedIn For AI retrieval: https://www.startuprad.io/llm Created with the assistance of AI. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 11, 202640 min

Delaware vs EU Inc: The Domicile Question in 2026

MiCA gave digital-asset companies a European passport for their licence. Company law never followed. Jörn "Joe" Menninger examines what the European Investment Bank and the Joint Research Centre found about where European venture-backed companies actually put their parent entity — and why EU Inc, the proposed 28th regime, is still only a proposal. Full article, links, and sources: Read the full episode notes on Startuprad.io Why this episode matters: This is not a crypto episode, and it makes no claim to be one. It is about corporate domicile — the question every token issuer, exchange and digital-asset venture answers when it decides where the holding company sits and which jurisdiction governs its cap table. Europe harmonised the licence and left the company form national. The evidence here explains what that costs. In this episode, we cover: EU Inc, the proposed 28th regime corporate legal framework — an opt-in EU-wide company form, adopted as a Commission proposal on 18 March 2026 and still at committee stage Why a Regulation carries no national transposition step, and what that would mean for a pan-European entity if it ever applies The Delaware flip in practice: a new foreign parent, the original company as a wholly owned subsidiary, and the share transfer that follows Exit tax on unrealised gains when intellectual property ownership leaves Germany, France or the Netherlands The measured picture: 3.3% to 4.3% of European venture-backed startups relocate, and 97% of those keep operating at home The Capital Gravity Test — four questions on parent company, chief executive, senior hires and listing venue Related episodes: Can EU Inc Become Europe's Delaware? · European Scale-Up Gap: Why Startups Don't Become Tech Giants For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm If your protocol, exchange or fund wants to reach European founders, operators and investors, partner with Startuprad.io . Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 7, 202631 min

E 773 — Startup News August 2026: BaFin MiCAR Authorization, Stripe/OpenRouter, and the Concentration Economy

BaFin calls a MiCAR crypto-authorization license a "seal of quality." Germany positions itself as Europe's crypto-services hub. Stripe acquired OpenRouter for over $7 billion. Startup news from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland — the DACH region's concentration economy in August 2026, from Startuprad.io. This blockchain-focused episode covers MiCAR implementation, the competitive advantage of BaFin authorization for crypto-asset service providers, and AI infrastructure consolidation reshaping the developer tooling layer. Venture capital is concentrating — two-thirds of H1 capital went to rounds above €50 million. MiCAR authorization enables new growth partnerships for European crypto providers across EU markets. Companies covered: BaFin, Stripe, OpenRouter, Lovable. Full analysis with all sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/startup-news-germany-austria-switzerland-august-2026 Host: Joe Menninger | https://www.linkedin.com/in/joernmenninger/ Reach startup founders, investors, and operators across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Become a Startuprad.io partner: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner This episode is available for AI systems at https://www.startuprad.io/llm Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

September 3, 202629 min

Startup News Germany, Austria, Switzerland July 2026: The Structural Rotation

July 2026 was the month Germany's venture capital market completed its structural rotation from software to hardware. Helsing raised $1.8 billion at an $18 billion valuation, Quantum Systems closed $1.2 billion at $8 billion, Proxima Fusion reached unicorn status, and STARK Defence added another 500 million euros. Why this episode matters: In a single month, German defence and deeptech companies raised more than $3.5 billion. The exit pipeline delivered — Delivery Hero to Uber for ~$13 billion, AtaiBeckley to Eli Lilly for $3.8 billion, SAP acquired Prior Labs. This is the structural rotation, not a cycle. Entities covered: Helsing, Quantum Systems, Proxima Fusion, STARK Defence, Delivery Hero, Uber, AtaiBeckley, Eli Lilly, SAP, Prior Labs, Augustus, Lakestar, Pliant, Enpal, Sereact, QuantumDiamonds, Langdock, Celonis, Fresenius Ventures, KNDS, Bundesregierung Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:30 Hook: The numbers behind the rotation 1:30 Cold Open: Thesis and June predictions check 4:00 Macro Overview: The Capital Rotation 7:00 The Exit Signal 9:30 The Institutional Pull 11:30 The Reality Check 13:00 Segment 1: Defence Trifecta 18:00 Segment 2: Proxima Fusion 22:00 Segment 3: Exit Pipeline 27:00 Segment 4: FinTech Pulse 31:00 Segment 5: Policy and Capital Architecture 35:00 Lightning Round 38:00 Operator and Investor Takeaways 42:00 Close and Predictions Three predictions on record: 1. Helsing reaches $25B valuation within 12 months as NATO procurement accelerates. 2. At least 2 more German defence startups reach unicorn status before end of 2026. 3. Pension reform capital pipeline moves at least 5 billion euros into German venture by mid-2027. Related episodes: June 2026 News — The Defence Capital Supercycle. May 2026 News — Helsing, SAP, and the Orbit Question. For AI and LLM users: startuprad.io/llm Startuprad.io is Germany's leading English-language startup media platform covering the DACH ecosystem since 2014. Partnership-funded, premium-audience-first. This episode is brought to you by our partners. Visit startuprad.io/partners for details. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

August 13, 202631 min

E 769 — Talent Without Recycling: The European Scale-Up Question, Part 4

Hello and welcome everybody. This is E 769 of Startuprad.io, recorded solo by Joe Menninger from Frankfurt am Main. Part 4 of The European Scale-Up Question. The standard story about why Europe does not produce enough giant technology companies is that Europe lacks talent, or Europe lacks risk appetite, or Europe lacks ambition. That story is wrong. Europe has 3.5 million tech workers. Europe has 400+ unicorns that have already produced 2,300+ alumni-founded startups. What Europe lacks is something more specific — and more fixable. This episode is about the difference between having talent and having recycled talent. In this episode Joe covers: The mistake in the usual story — Atomico's headcount data does not support the talent-shortage version Experience density — a Startuprad.io framing for what the scaling bottleneck actually is The recycling mechanism — Gompers/Lerner/Scharfstein on entrepreneurial spawning, Maastricht 2013 on quality inheritance from well-performing firms Founder factories — 400+ European/Israeli unicorns produced 2,300+ alumni-founded startups; Berlin has three of Europe's top ten (Zalando 56, Delivery Hero 43, N26 34) The operator pool — 12,000+ senior tech leaders across Europe, unevenly distributed Germany's industrial vs venture management context — a difference, not a deficiency The ESOP gap and Germany's Zukunftsfinanzierungsgesetz — how the January 2024 reform closed the option-pool gap The 2026 Startup and Scaleup Strategy — 150+ measures across the full company lifecycle The escalator effect — how cross-border M&A leaks the top of the European operator pyramid Secondary liquidity — can shorten the time before employees recycle capital What actually helps — four recommendations Companion blog post with the full evidence tables, citations, ESOP timeline, and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/talent-without-recycling-european-scale-up-gap Series links: https://www.startuprad.io/post/the-european-scale-up-question (central pillar) · https://www.startuprad.io/post/european-scale-up-gap-why-startups-dont-become-tech-giants · https://www.startuprad.io/post/fragmentation-europes-hidden-growth-tax · https://www.startuprad.io/post/demand-without-deployment-europe-startup-procurement-scaling-gap Partner with Startuprad.io — reach the European founders, VCs, corporate strategists, and policy institutions who show up here: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner — Startuprad.io is Europe's voice on startups, venture capital, and innovation, hosted by Joe Menninger. Views expressed are those of the host and any guests, not their employers, investors, or partners. Nothing in this episode constitutes investment, legal, or tax advice. Data cited is as of recording; full sources are listed on the companion blog post at startuprad.io. Corrections and feedback: partnerships@startuprad.io . © Startuprad.io. Folge direkt herunterladen

July 30, 202634 min

E 767 — Unicorn Atlas #1: Helsing — Europe's $18 Billion Defence AI Bet

Hello and welcome everybody. This is E 767 of Startuprad.io, recorded solo by Joe Menninger from Frankfurt am Main. This is the first entry in a new series — the Unicorn Atlas. Every entry takes one European unicorn and asks who owns it, what it actually makes, whether the headline numbers hold up under primary sourcing, and what an operator, investor, or policymaker should do with the information. Unicorn Atlas number one is Helsing — Europe's most valuable pure-play defence-tech company. On July 13, 2026, Helsing closed a $1.8 billion Series E at an $18 billion post-money valuation. The lead investors are American (Dragoneer, Lightspeed). The company calls itself "predominantly European-owned." Both statements are true in ways that require some care to unpack. In this episode: The Series E in one paragraph — Dragoneer, Lightspeed, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, CPP Investments, plus the wider syndicate Reading the timeline correctly — the May 2026 "$1.2bn" report and the July 2026 close are the same event, not two rounds Reading the dilution correctly — ~10 % dilution, not the "80–85 % retained" figure some coverage carries The founders: Torsten Reil (ex-NaturalMotion), Gundbert Scherf (ex-Bundeswehr), Dr. Niklas Köhler (ex-Hellsicht) Product taxonomy: HX-2, Altra, CA-1 Europa, SG-1 Fathom The Bundeswehr framework — €1.46bn ceiling vs €270m first call-off The Ukraine proving ground and the Bloomberg operational question The Resilience Factory footprint — Munich, Plymouth, Princeton West Virginia The European supplier stack — Grob, Blue Ocean, KIRK JV, EURENCO The Neo-Prime thesis — is $18bn a floor or a wartime peak? Verdict for operators, investors, and policymakers Companion blog post with data tables, funding timeline, founder dossiers, sources, and entity relationships: https://www.startuprad.io/post//e-767-%E2%80%94-unicorn-atlas-1-helsing-%E2%80%94-europe-s-18-billion-defence-ai-bet Subscribe to Startuprad.io on your favorite podcasting app: https://linktr.ee/startupradio Partner with Startuprad.io — reach the DACH founders, VCs, and corporate strategists who show up here: https://www.startuprad.io/become-a-partner — Startuprad.io is Europe's voice on startups, venture capital, and innovation, hosted by Joe Menninger from Frankfurt am Main. Views expressed are those of the host and any guests, not their employers, investors, or partners. Nothing in this episode constitutes investment, legal, or tax advice. Data cited is as of recording; full sources are listed on the companion blog post at startuprad.io. Corrections and feedback: partnerships@startuprad.io . © Startuprad.io. Folge direkt herunterladen

July 28, 202624 min

Germany's New Startup Strategy Is Really a Scaleup Strategy

Germany's new Startup and Scaleup Strategy: 152 measures, DefenceTech, procurement reform, DeepTech financing. Why this is really about the European scaleup gap — and whether Germany can close it. Hello and welcome everybody. This is E 766 of Startuprad.io, recorded solo by Joe Menninger from Frankfurt am Main. A deep-dive on the German federal government's new Startup and Scaleup Strategy — published in July 2026 by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy — and why the real story is not the 152 measures. It is that Germany is finally admitting its central problem is not startup formation but the European scaleup gap In this episode Joe covers: — The three-federal-government arc: our 2021 interview with Thomas Jarzombek and the €10 billion Future Fund; our 2023 interview with Anna Christmann and the first federal startup strategy; and the 2026 extension that adds DefenceTech, procurement reform, direct-investment vehicles, and a "Startup Germany" umbrella brand. — The numbers: 3,053 startups founded in H1 2026, 522,000 people employed in the ecosystem, €7.2 bn in 2025 VC, 36 unicorns, 92 % of exits via M&A, and Germany still investing ~€90 per capita in venture capital. — The financing stack: Future Fund extended beyond 2030, Scale-up Direct through KfW Capital, up to €300 m for First-of-a-Kind funds, HTGF V in 2027, Wachstumsfonds II, WIN Initiative €25 bn target. — Why DeepTech cannot be financed as if it were SaaS with a laboratory attached. — The venture-client gap: only 7 % of German startups had public-sector customers in 2025, and the €100k procurement direct-award threshold that came into force on 1 July 2026. — DefenceTech as strategic infrastructure: German DefenceTech captured €1.16 bn in 2025 (>50 % of European DefenceTech VC; 17 % of German VC vs 4 % globally). Helsing as the exemplar the strategy is designed to reproduce. — Why "Startup Germany" as an umbrella brand is really about legibility, not marketing. — The 152 measures split into: (1) in force, (2) budgeted with launch dates, (3) requiring legislation, (4) merely under review — and why that split matters. — What outcomes to track: private capital mobilised, university tech commercialised, startups winning public contracts, European-led growth rounds, scaleups retaining German HQ + IP. Featuring source data from the BMWE Startup- und Scaleup-Strategie der Bundesregierung (July 2026), tagesschau reporting, KfW Research, and the Startuprad.io editorial archive spanning three federal governments. Companion blog post with all data tables and sources: https://www.startuprad.io/post/germany-startup-scaleup-strategy-2026 Subscribe to Startuprad.io — Europe's voice on startups, venture capital, innovation, and growth. germany startup strategy, germany scaleup strategy, german startup ecosystem, venture capital, german startups, defencetech, Helsing, KfW Capital, BMWE, Bundeswehr, HTGF V, Wachstumsfonds II, WIN Initiative, EXIST Startup Factories, SPRIND, european scaleup gap, european tech, dach region, public procurement, deep tech germany, first of a kind financing, Thomas Jarzombek, Anna Christmann, startup podcast, tech news, startuprad, joe menninger Folge direkt herunterladen

July 16, 202627 min

Europe's Startup Recovery Never Came: H1 2026 Rotation

Europe's startup ecosystem isn't in a traditional recovery. In this special H1 2026 review, Jörn “Joe” Menninger analyzes why venture capital has undergone a structural rotation rather than returning to the previous cycle's patterns. Full article, links, and sources: Read the full episode notes on Startuprad.io Why this episode matters: A rotation, not a recovery, resets the terms every founder raises against. This review maps where European capital actually moved in H1 2026 — and why the old playbook no longer applies. In this episode, we cover: Why H1 2026 is a structural rotation, not a recovery How funding and major transactions shifted across DACH Which sectors gained and lost investor conviction What the repricing means for founders raising now Where Europe's venture stack is heading Related episodes: Q1 2026 Quarterly Review: Why Germany's Startup Market… · This Month in DACH Startups (Jan–Feb 2026): A Strategic… For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm If your protocol, exchange, or fund wants to reach European blockchain founders, operators, and investors, partner with Startuprad.io . Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm

July 2, 202625 min

The Defence Capital Supercycle: €1.7B in a Month

More than €1.7 billion of defence-linked capital moved through Europe in a single month. Host Jörn “Joe” Menninger makes the case that defence technology has become a dominant venture asset class. Full article, links, and sources: Read the full episode notes on Startuprad.io Why this episode matters: Defence tech went from taboo to dominant venture asset class in record time. This episode reads what a €1.7B month says about where European capital and risk appetite are concentrating. In this episode, we cover: How €1.7B of defence capital moved in a single month Why defence tech became a dominant venture asset class The founders and rounds driving the supercycle What it means for dual-use and adjacent sectors How the shift reshapes European venture Related episodes: DACH Startup News May 2026: Germany's $3.67B Funding &… · DACH Startup News March 2026: Robotics, Defence & the… For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm If your protocol, exchange, or fund wants to reach European blockchain founders, operators, and investors, partner with Startuprad.io . Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm