Luxury watch marketplace Chrono24 plans to go public

Founder Tim Stracke’s company could be valued at one billion euros. Also: Twitter rebels against Elon Musk takeover and new fund for the fight against climate change.

Good Morning! Even during the weekend, work in the digital scene continued in many places.

The top topics:

Luxury watches are in demand in times of stock market volatility: the online platform also benefits from this Chrono24. According to a report by the “Handelsblatt”, the founder Tim Stracke is even planning an IPO for the coming year. A valuation of up to one billion euros should be possible.

Further expansion is to be financed with fresh money from an IPO, including to Japan and China. So far, the luxury watch marketplace was already equipped with sufficient money. Only last August did the Germans receive a financial injection of over 100 million euros. Among the financiers were the US investor General Atlantic and Aglaé Ventures from Paris, an investment company of the Arnault family. [Mehr bei Handelsblatt]

on Founder scene: In his torque column, our columnist Don Dahlmann writes that the European car market is one of the toughest in the world. The market is saturated, buyers have high standards and expect good prices. For the Chinese automaker it has been difficult to break into the market so far. But now the premium segment should open the doors after all. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]

And here are the other headlines of the night and the past few days:

Of the TwitterAt a special meeting on Friday, the board of directors decided on a new one-year rule to prevent a possible takeover by Tesla boss Elon Musk. The measure — a so-called “poison pill” — takes effect if an individual or group buys at least 15 percent of Twitter’s outstanding common stock without board approval. In this case, the other shareholders have the opportunity to buy shares at a discount and thus make a hostile takeover more difficult. [Mehr bei CNBC und Handelsblatt]

The venture capital company Lowercarbon Capital has raised a $350 million fund to support startups focused on capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. Co-founder Chris Sacca wants to address a wide range of companies: He is interested in technologies that promote natural absorption in minerals, the manipulation of aquifer brines (aquifers), improving the alkalinity of the oceans or the cultivation of plants that don’t decompose. Had only two days before Meta, Alphabet and others have pledged about $1 billion in purchases in the space by 2030 to further boost the business. The Swiss CO2 start-up did not have until the beginning of April Climeworks collected half a billion euros in new investments. [Mehr bei Axios]

Pleas: Ahead, which sold drugs to treat ADHD online, is closing its offices. Founded in 2019, the San Francisco-based startup had raised $9 million from telemedicine company Truepill, according to financial data firm Pitchbook. The company is the second health startup to file for bankruptcy within days. Also the New York based company Halcyon Health, which offered virtual addiction treatments, was shut down. The company had problems raising additional capital. According to tech data provider CB Insights, more than a dozen U.S. startups have shut down operations this year as venture capitalists become less generous with their capital amid rising inflation, the ongoing war in Ukraine and flagging tech stocks. [Mehr bei Bloomberg und The Information]

Acquisition: Wizards of the Coastthe company behind the popular Dungeons & Dragons game D&D Beyond, which develops the role-playing game’s digital tool suite. The company is acquiring D&D Beyond from current owner Fandom for over $146 million. Wizards of the Coast is a subsidiary of US toy manufacturer Hasbro, which bought the company in 1999. [Mehr bei Techcrunch]

Investment: Swiggy has raised $180 million in funding for the pedicab startup Quick directed. The Indian food supplier is trying to expand its fleet network across the country. TVS Motor Company and existing investors Westbridge, Shell Ventures and Nexus Ventures also participated in the Series D funding round. The new round values ​​Rapido at over $800 million. The six-year-old startup, which also counts Fintech Cred’s Kunal Shah and Spotify India’s Amarjit Singh Batra among its supporters, offers its two-wheeler service in around 100 Indian cities. Rapido had raised $310 million so far. According to the company, it has over 25 million customers and 1.5 million drivers. [Mehr bei Techcrunch]

Our reading tip on Gründerszene: After studying sports in Cologne Lars Ermisch four years in Australia, where he most recently managed one of Melbourne’s largest water sports businesses. Back in Germany, the idea for a digital rental system was born, where everyone can easily rent a stand-up paddleboard with their smartphone. The demand is great. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]

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