Julian Riedlbauer's Recent LinkedIn Posts

I’m excited to share not one but two German transactions the Drake Star team advised on:  1) Today, Gini, a provider of AI-based solutions for banks, insurance companies, and e-commerce, announced its sale to Banyan Software, an acquirer and long-term operator of successful software businesses. Drake Star acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Gini and its shareholders on this transaction.  It was great working on this deal with Julian Ostertag, Josef Osterhammer, and Jan Sergio C.. Huge thanks to my colleagues for their hard work to achieve this successful outcome.  2) Yesterday, VEDA Group announced the acquisition of LOHNunion GmbH, a German specialized payroll accounting service provider. With this acquisition, VEDA Group strengthens its leadership in payroll software and services, laying the foundation for further dynamic growth. Drake Star acted as exclusive financial advisor to VEDA Group on this transaction.  Huge congrats to the team, led by Ralf Philipp Hofmann, and including Pablo Lundershausen and Jonas Kerkow, for their continued great collaboration with VEDA and Investcorp, as well as everyone involved in this successful transaction.  What a way to start the year with two great transactions to celebrate and a strong team to work with.

With Oktoberfest closed today for security reasons and no Bits & Pretzels table-captain session, I finally have a moment to share this: Drake Star wins the Equity Financing of the Year award for leading global aviation software deal Flightkeys – Insight Partners! We’re honored to receive the Equity Financing of the Year award at the 16th Annual International M&A Awards, presented by The M&A Advisor. This recognition celebrates our role in advising Flightkeys GmbH on its strategic investment from Insight Partners, a leading global software investor. Founded in 2015 and based in Vienna, Flightkeys is revolutionizing the aviation software space with its fully cloud-native, next-generation flight planning and optimization platform. The company supports major global airlines in reducing emissions and cutting costs with mission-critical, intelligent solutions. A huge thank you to the incredible teams at Flightkeys and Insight Partners for their trust, collaboration, and shared vision. Congratulations to my deal team, Maximilian von Bodman, Julian Wolf, and Christopher von Eickstedt – thank you for your dedication and outstanding execution throughout this process. It was great celebrating this achievement at the 2025 Leadership in Dealmaking Summit in New York the other week, together with Ralf Philipp Hofmann, Julian Ostertag (who were both also awarded), Gregory Bedrosian, and Jan Deahl, alongside industry peers and global leaders. For more information on the awards and deals, visit the Drake Star website. #AviationTech #startups #venturecapital #privateequity

I’m happy to share my 4th transaction of the year: Drake Star acted as the exclusive financial advisor to AI and video pioneer simpleshow on its sale to D-ID, the leading platform for generating digital humans. With over 15 years of experience in AI-driven video creation, simpleshow serves a global enterprise customer base of more than 1,500 corporate clients, mainly Fortune companies. Combining this expertise with D-ID’s pioneering real-time avatar technology will enable companies to deploy fully digital employees across a wide range of corporate functions. Operating under the D-ID brand, the newly formed joint company is set to revolutionize enterprise communication through the power of conversational visual agents, immediately assuming a leading position in the Enterprise AI Video and Interactive Avatar markets. We are proud to have advised on this transformative combination and would like to thank the D-ID and simpleshow teams, the latter led by Karsten Boehrs , for their trust and outstanding collaboration throughout the process. The combined company unites cutting-edge interactive AI visual agents and AI avatar technologies with an industry-leading explainer video maker, creating the most comprehensive, enterprise-grade platform for human-like, two-way video communication. By leveraging technological excellence, a commitment to security and ethics, a robust client base, and partnerships with industry giants, the joint company is set to deliver the user interface for the AI age. Huge congratulations to everyone involved in this transaction, and thank you to my deal team at Drake Star, Anton Donauer, Jan Sergio C., and Jonas Kerkow for your excellent work! #InvestmentBanking #startups #technology #venturecapital

Wishing my network a healthy, successful, and prosperous start to 2026! Looking back, 2025 was a strong year for Drake Star and me. I’m proud to work with such a powerful and globally connected team, led by Ralf Philipp Hofmann, Julian Ostertag, and Gregory Bedrosian. And more is to come in 2026: We enter the new year with a strong pipeline, exciting mandates, and strong momentum. While the German macro environment remains challenging, the valuations in the technology sector are high, and great companies can do great deals. I am hopeful that 2026 will bring more economic stability than the past year – and renewed confidence for founders, investors, and acquirers alike. I had the privilege of supporting several leading tech companies in different sectors through landmark technology transactions, including: ▶️ Modell Aachen – investment by Fortino Capital in the process management B2B SaaS and AI space ▶️ Aagon – sale of the German UEM & data integration software provider to GENUI ▶️ RetInSight – trade sale of the Vienna-based AI-native retinal imaging and diagnostics company to Topcon Healthcare ▶️ simpleshow – trade sale of the AI video pioneer SaaS provider to the Israel-based AI-first company D-ID, creating a leading platform for enterprise AI video and interactive avatars I am grateful to our clients for their trust and to our team for the relentless commitment and execution behind these outcomes. Here’s to a successful year ahead. Happy New Year! I look forward to the conversations and collaborations to come.

Start – Scale – Exit – Start Again: Learnings from a 100 Million-Euro Exit 🚀 The other week, I joined the conference Startupland 2025 in Cologne to interview Jochen Schwill, founder of Next Kraftwerke (€100 million exit) and now with his next startup SpotmyEnergy, who shared insights and the story behind building one of Europe’s most innovative energy startups, navigating a major exit, and jumping straight back into founder life. Bootstrapped in its early days, Next Kraftwerke grew into a European leader in virtual power plants and was ultimately acquired by Shell in a deal valued at around €100 million – a milestone that marked both an end and a new beginning for Jochen and his team. A standout lesson: Founding for the second time isn’t easier, but it’s different – more focused, more strategic, and shaped by the lessons and clarity only experience can bring. Furthermore, Jochen recommended that all first-time founders should consider having one or two great co-founders. He would not recommend starting as a solo founder for the first time around. He also explained why his new startup, which has a hardware element, is not only financed by equity but also by debt to fund upfront hardware investments and reduce dilution on the cap table. From the early grind of building in a complex energy market to stepping into a new venture with renewed ambition, Jochen showed what it truly means to scale with purpose, exit with impact, and start again with conviction. Thanks for having us, Alexander Hüsing and deutsche-startups.de #entrepreneurship #Exit #VentureCapital #Startups #Startupland Images by: Humyra Islam, Marius Faulhaber

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 – insights from renowned Everphone CEO & founder Jan Dzulko This week, I joined the Startupland conference in Cologne, hosted by deutsche-startups.de and Alexander Hüsing. I had the pleasure of moderating a session with Jan Dzulko on a topic that resonates with many founders right now: Profitability instead of hypergrowth. Everphone, a Berlin-based Device-as-a-Service provider founded in 2016, has taken this step over the past few years, a change of course that required painful decisions – and has transformed the company for the long term. A few key takeaways from Everphone’s journey: ▶️ Timing matters. Everphone was built as an early mover long before “device-as-a-service” became a category – but conviction in the model and a clear problem-solution fit enabled early scaling. ▶️ Core profitability and positive unit economics are key, no matter how fast you scale and how much cash (that you can burn) you have raised. ▶️ Hypergrowth works – until it doesn’t. Strong early momentum, venture backing, and rapid scaling were critical – but also created structures that later had to be fundamentally rethought. ▶️ The pivot is the hard part. Moving from “growth at all costs” to profitability required tough decisions, cultural change, and a reset of internal priorities. ▶️ Leadership is tested in transition. Bringing a team along through such a shift is one of the biggest challenges – it’s not just about strategy; it’s also about mindset. ▶️ Profitability is operational. Everphone improved EBIT by €15m within a year and reached profitability – driven by clear operational levers and discipline. ▶️ Different stages require different skills. What drives success in hypergrowth is not what builds a self-sustaining business that no longer depends on additional equity funding. For me, the session once again proved that building a company is not a linear journey. Each stage requires a different playbook – and often, the courage to change course fundamentally. Thank you, Jan, for the openness and honesty – and to the Startupland team for having me! And thank you to Meike Neitz for chairing the stage and the picture.

Greetings from London, that’s where the money is. ​There is a massive amount of Venture Capital and Private Equity dry powder based here, waiting to be invested into Europen and specifically Germany-based companies. ​But here is the hard truth: There is a real shortage of excellent German companies with the scale and excellent (SaaS) KPIs required to unlock capital from selective UK- and US-investors. ​This is a true wake-up call for German entrepreneurs and the early-stage investors supporting them. To avoid being left behind, we must: 1) ​Grow companies faster ​2) Invest earlier (and heavier) in Tech, Product, and GTM. 3) Close the widening gap with the US ecosystem, which is currently surging ahead with massive AI investments. ​It can be done! Just look at my former clients Signavio, Mambu, Flightkeys, and Modell Aachen, and new superstars like Black Forest Labs, n8n, Parloa, Helsing, Quantum Systems, and Isar Aerospace, as well as more established successes like LeanIX, Celonis, Camunda, and Talon.One. Let’s step up, work harder, work together more often, and build the momentum the German ecosystem deserves and needs!

What will be the biggest tech hub in Continental Europe in 5 years from now? Watch out, Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Warsaw, Madrid, Barcelona, and all other tech hubs across Continental Europe! At the 30-year anniversary conference of Bayern Kapital, it’s evident that Munich and Bavaria are on a remarkable trajectory, accelerating fast and closing in on Europe’s largest innovation hubs. Let’s continue to join forces across all European tech ecosystems, including London, to ensure we stay competitive globally and don’t leave the field to the American and Chinese giants. Europe has the talent, increasingly the capital, and the vision. Now it’s about scale, collaboration, and determination. Let’s fight for it together. 🇪🇺 #Startups #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

Good news from New York: My investor meetings and a conference confirmed it again: There is so much dry powder here, billions of dollars in tech growth equity and private equity capital are waiting to be deployed into innovative, high-potential European technology companies. The tech market's flywheel is accelerating. Recent successful tech IPOs, combined with positive news around lower interest rates, are creating a more optimistic and active funding environment. Now is the time to make use of it: 1.) European tech entrepreneurs: Make use of this momentum for your growth rounds, secondaries, or exits. 2.) European venture investors: Tap into it for your portfolio companies for follow-on rounds, secondaries, or exits. #venturecapital #privateequity #entrepreneurshipp #startups

Congratulations to our Drake Star US colleagues for advising on yet another landmark transaction in the connectivity and media technology space: 𝗔𝗻𝘂𝘃𝘂'𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗺 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 Platinum Equity, a global investment firm with approximately $50 billion of assets under management, has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Anuvu, a leading provider of global entertainment and high-speed connectivity solutions for airlines, VIP/VVIP aircraft, cruise lines, and other mobility end-markets. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, after the receipt of regulatory approvals. Headquartered in Lombard, IL, Anuvu serves more than 150 airline- and 30 cruise-line-customers worldwide. The company operates two primary divisions: ▶️Media Technology Services: Licenses, distributes, localizes, and delivers entertainment content for aviation, maritime, and non-theatrical end markets, with a catalog of more than 400,000 titles. ▶️Connectivity: Provides telecommunications equipment, broadband satellite Internet access, passenger management services, and analytics solutions to airline customers. Well done, James Turino, Gregory Bedrosian, Mohit Pareek, CFA, Stanislav Bejanski, and Nicholas Gazdowicz. What an outstanding outcome.

Who’s heading to gamescom this year? Let’s meet in Cologne and discuss the current and future market environment, developments, and trends. Our latest Drake Star Global #Gaming Report Q2 2025 dives deep into exactly these topics and finds: Strong Rebound in Gaming Stocks with the Drake Star Gaming Index outperforming the S&P 500 by 23% in the 1st half of 2025, anticipating a new wave of M&A activity.     The newly published analysis by our Gaming experts @Michael Metzger and @Mohit Pareek, CFA includes key findings and highlights like:     ▶️ Public gaming stocks saw a strong rebound in the first half of 2025, with the Drake Star Gaming Index rising 28%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500’s 5% gain.   ▶️ Gaming M&A activity remained relatively stable in Q2’25, with 46 announced deals. The largest transaction was KRAFTON’s $516M acquisition of ADK, a Japanese company specializing in advertising and animation with some mobile game development.   ▶️ Q2’25 featured one of the largest and most successful exits for gaming VCs with CVC’s significant minority investment in Dream Games. The deal, comprising both equity and debt, totaled ~$2.5B at a $5B valuation.   ▶️ The most active investors over the past year included Play Ventures, BITKRAFT, and Makers Fund among larger funds, while Goodwater, TIRTA, and 1AM Gaming were the leading seed-stage investors. On the strategic side, Krafton, Tencent, and Samsung drove the most activity, while Animoca, Spartan, and Gam3Girl Ventures were the most active players in blockchain gaming.  ▶️ Take-Two Interactive announced a proposed $1B public stock offering, with an option to sell an additional $150M, while GameStop announced a debt raise of over $2B. Embracer plans to spin off Coffee Stain Group and Discord is in late-stage discussions with banks for a potential IPO.  After a strong rebound in public gaming equities in early 2025, we anticipate a new wave of M&A and IPO activity for the remainder of 2025 and heading into 2026. Additionally, IPO activity is likely to pick up, supported by the broader market recovery. Private equity interest remains high – both in taking public companies private and backing growth-stage firms. AI and tech platforms continue to drive innovation, while later-stage funding for studios remains selective. If you have read until here, you’re probably a real gaming enthusiast. Therefore: If you will be at @gamescom in Cologne on August 20-22 like myself, please reach out to get in touch or re-connect at the conference. I look forward to the exchange.  #MergersAndAcquisitions #VentureCapital #startups

Wie sieht mein Netzwerk die aktuelle Startup- und Investment-Aktivität im Bereich KI sowie im Spezifischen das Potenzial von DeepL? Im Gespräch mit Jan Lutz vom Handelsblatt durfte ich aktuelle Entwicklungen rund um Investments in KI, DeepL und die strategischen Weichenstellungen im KI-Sektor kommentieren: DeepL ist für mich ein absoluter Vorreiter im Segment der spezialisierten Übersetzungen. Während generative Modelle wie ChatGPT immer häufiger auch für Übersetzungen genutzt werden, kann DeepL gerade durch Spezialisierung, Präzision und Datensouveränität punkten. Letzteres wird zunehmend zu einem Wettbewerbsvorteil, denn Staaten, Behörden oder auch viele Unternehmen können oder wollen bestimmte KI-Modelle nicht einsetzen – und genau hier hat DeepL echten Aufwind. Wir beobachten diesen Trend aktuell bei mehreren europäischen Software- und KI-Firmen.   Das Thema Profitabilität ist im KI-Segment zweitrangig. Wichtiger für Finanzinvestoren ist, dass Unternehmen sehr schnell wachsen, Marktanteile sichern und ihre Position im globalen Wettbewerb stärken.   Ich bin gespannt, wie die Reise der KI-Industrie und bei DeepL weitergeht – möglicherweise sogar mit Blick auf einen Börsengang. Den gesamten Artikel gibt es hier zum Nachlesen: https://lnkd.in/dWtfy7kH   Herzlichen Dank an Jan Lutz für die gute Zusammenarbeit.

Looking ahead with confidence: Tech transactions and market trends for 2026 – key learnings from our high-profile event with around 100 entrepreneurs and investors from our community, co-hosted with business law firm CMS.     Thank you to our hosts and speakers Dr. Jörg Zätzsch (CMS), Ralf Philipp Hofmann (Drake Star), Dr. Tanja Emmerling (High-Tech Gründerfonds), Christian Meermann (Cherry Ventures), and Dr. Christian Saller (HV Capital). The conversation highlighted the developments expected to define the year ahead and how investors are navigating an increasingly dynamic market environment: ▶ “AI-first” has become the dominant market narrative. Elevated valuations are supported by exceptional growth rates, with leading companies achieving 3x to 10x year-over-year growth, underpinning the current AI momentum.   ▶ Defense technology is gaining significant strategic importance, driven by geopolitical developments and increasing public and private investment. However, the investors had slight question marks about exit opportunities because U.S. strategic buyers would be off the table.    ▶ Investment activity is accelerating across the entire tech stack to enable data sovereignty. Sustainable success requires not only regulatory tailwinds or commercial traction, but also a clear and defensible competitive edge versus comparable U.S.-based technology companies.   ▶ Despite ongoing investor skepticism toward B2C, select companies continue to outperform on the back of strong fundamentals, clear market positioning, and lower entry valuations.    ▶ Secondaries are emerging as a structurally important and increasingly relevant liquidity mechanism within the ecosystem (for example, Trade Republic's recent deal).    ▶ Increasing pressure from limited partners on fund performance and liquidity is translating into clear expectations for a higher level of exits going forward.   ▶ A growing number of European companies are IPO-ready. Several candidates have already begun preparations to ensure readiness once the IPO window reopens.   ▶ The market dynamics of 2021 are unlikely to return. The previously sometimes directionless growth phase has given way to a far more focused and disciplined investment environment.  The evening concluded with in-depth discussions in smaller groups and, of course, a lot of networking, offering a great opportunity to exchange views with tech entrepreneurs and investors. Many thanks to CMS and all speakers and participants for the engaging conversations and perspectives, and for sharing your insights. It was great to see the overall tone characterized by a strong sense of optimism and many growth areas heading into the new year.  #VentureCapital #startups #PrivateEquity #AI #DefenseTech #IPO

Waymo Targets $15B at a ~$100B Valuation – what does this say about the widening funding gap between the US and Europe? 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗨𝗦 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱: Waymo is raising $15 billion at a $100B valuation, according to media reports. That is impressive and, at the same time, a symbol for the widening funding gap between the US and Europe, and a wake-up call for our European ecosystem! While we celebrate individual rounds in Berlin, Munich, London, or Paris, the funding gap between the US and Europe isn't just wide - it’s also accelerating. If we want to lead in Enterprise Software, Deep Tech, AI, and autonomous systems, "working harder" isn't enough.  We need:  ▶️ Bolder capital allocation  ▶️ More unified European scaling paths  ▶️ A shift from a risk-averse to a global leadership mindset  Are we comfortable being a continent of "niche players," or are we ready to build the next $100B giants? What do you think and what should be done? For me – and I’m sure for many of you too –, this is a topic to reflect on and build New Year's resolutions around. As we move into the holiday season, let’s take the time to recharge with our loved ones and return to the new year with fresh energy, renewed perspective, and new ideas to make sure 2026 will be a success.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Wishing you a restful vacation and a bright, prosperous 2026! PS: And take a detailed look at the Gemini AI-generated picture, AI still struggles with text in images, it makes spelling mistakes! #startups #venturecapital #Entrepreneurship #fundraising

I’m happy to share another deal announcement from our global Drake Star team in the consumer sector: Christophe Morvan, Albert-Louis Bilger, and Emile Laurent from our Paris office advised Pernod Ricard on its sale of Bodeboca to Decántalo, a leading European online wine retailer. This strategic transaction marks a significant step for both parties. Bodeboca’s strong brand recognition and market leadership in Spain will reinforce Decántalo’s ambition to become the leading platform in online wine sales and traffic across Europe. Congrats to everyone involved in this transaction! It’s amazing to see how much activity there is within our firm all around the world. Head over to our website to read the full announcement. #startups #investments #MergersAndAcquisitions #InvestmentBanking

Wie definiert Ihr Erfolg? Zum Nachdenken und Kommentieren am Wochenende: Wir alle feiern hier unsere Erfolge – oder einige User machen auch aus Kleinigkeiten große Posts und Stories – aber die wirklich Erfolgreiche, die unsere Top 50 Music-Charts in Deutschland „übernommen“ hat, ist Taylor Swift. Wahnsinn! Ich habe ja mit Musik wenig zu tun, außer an und zu mal eine Music-Software- oder -App-Firma beim Firmenverkauf zu beraten, aber dieser Erfolg außerhalb unserer Branche ist ein wirklicher Erfolg.

Große Finanzierungsrunden, große Erwartungen: Wohin steuert der Tech-Finanzierungsmarkt? In der aktuellen Folge von „Beyond Billions“, dem Private-Markets-Podcast der Börsen-Zeitung, mache ich zusammen mit Moderator Philipp Habdank einen Venture-Capital-Deep-Dive.  Trade Republic steigt zum wertvollsten Startup auf, das Investitionsvolumen nimmt zu, und trotzdem ist noch lange nicht alles gut. Was war aus dem VC-Jahr 2025 gut? Was kann weg? Welche Startups müssen Investoren dieses Jahr auf dem Schirm haben? Was bleibt vom KI-Hype? Und geht Private Equity am Ende bei den KI-Firmen leer aus? Diese und weitere Themen haben wir diskutiert:  🎙️Weniger Deals, dafür größere Tickets. Kapital konzentriert sich auf Unternehmen mit starken KPIs, klarer Mission-Critical-Positionierung im Enterprise-Segment und nachweisbarer Kapitaleffizienz. „Growth um jeden Preis“ trägt nicht mehr – die Flut hebt nicht mehr alle Boote. 🎙️Frühphase bleibt essenziell – große Runden ebenso. Seed- und Series-A-Finanzierungen sichern die Breite des Ökosystems. Gleichzeitig sind große Late-Stage-Runden entscheidend, um die Finanzierungslücke zu den USA zu verkleinern und global relevante deutsche Technologieunternehmen aufzubauen. 🎙️Dealbreaker entstehen oft im Prozess. Zu optimistische Wachstumsannahmen und damit eine Underperformance vs. Budget während des strukturierten Prozesses, wegbrechende Kunden oder unrealistische Bewertungserwartungen führen manchmal dazu, dass Käufer abspringen – selbst bei grundsätzlich attraktiven Firmen. 🎙️Sektor-Fokus verschiebt sich. Während Nachhaltigkeit und Consumer-Tech aktuell an Aufmerksamkeit verloren haben, stehen Enterprise-Software, KI, Defense Tech und ausgewählte Industry-4.0-Plattformen klar im Fokus von Investoren und Käufern. Es sind spannende Zeiten – mit klarer Selektion, aber auch mit echten Chancen für gut positionierte Unternehmen. Danke für die Einladung und die klugen Fragen!

Venture and Growth Capital is concentrating on proven winners, the average deal size has nearly doubled, and defense is moving into focus – great to discuss these shifts in investment trends live on air last week.   Thanks to ntvNachrichten for having me!

Retail Technology: Powering the Next Era of Global Commerce 🛍️ For Drake Star’s inaugural #RetailTech Market Report, our global team of experts analyzes technology as a critical core component of the $31 trillion retail sales market. Retail technology now sits at the center of global commerce, connecting demand, operations, and monetization at scale.  By advising my former clients in this space, e.g. Factor Eleven, a one-stop software platform for digital marketing for retailers, on its strategic partnership with Armira, as well as Sport Alliance, a software and payment specialist serving the fitness studio market, on its transaction with PSG Equity and uberall, a POS location marketing platform provider on its primary/secondary transaction with the growth investor HPE, I gained valuable insights into the sector which continues to show strong activity: In 2025, global retail sales reached $31.1 trillion, Retail Tech spend hit $282 billion, and there were over 750 M&A and fundraising transactions in the space.  As retail spending expands across both digital and physical channels, tech has become a primary lever for growth, efficiency, and margin protection. Our Retail Tech Market 2025 Report dives into deals and fundraising activity for the year, buyers and investors to watch, key market dynamics driving growth and shaping the sector in 2026 and beyond.  Key highlights include:  ▶️ Consumer and Macro Trends: With consumer demand, budget confidence, and channel patterns becoming increasingly volatile, retail technology is being pushed toward adaptive, real-time decisioning rather than static planning.time decisioning rather than static planning ▶️ The Retail Operating Agenda: Retail technology sharpens the retail operating agenda by illuminating the clearest levers for conversion and margin, ensuring ROI is visible and measurable across the business. ▶️ Market Map: The retail technology ecosystem is structured around a unified commerce flywheel – Plan, Market, Sell, Fulfill/Serve, and Learn/Monetize – bringing together capabilities across both digital and physical channels. ▶️ Segment Deep Dives: Retail technology is becoming a synchronized, data-driven ecosystem where planning, retail media, ecommerce enablement, POS-/in-store-tech, and post-purchase solutions operate as one stack to drive demand, conversion, experience, and profitability.  ▶️Capital Markets and M&A: The retail technology market is entering a consolidation phase where funding constraints and point-solution fatigue are catalyzing a wave of roll-ups by systems-of-record platforms to create integrated super suites. Download the full report via the link in the comments below for highlights and in-depth insights into the Retail Tech sector, and feel free to reach out to our team with any questions.

Will this momentum continue in 2026? In 2025, gaming M&A reached a landmark, with a record $161 billion in disclosed deal value: Drake Star Global Gaming Report 2025 – before GTA 6 😉 Our global expert team, led by Michael Metzger 🔜 DICE and Mohit Pareek, CFA, analyzes #Gaming and #Esports dealmaking in the landmark year 2025 and outlines what to expect for 2026 and beyond (spoiler: the potential launch of GTA 6 is part of our outlook):   2025 was a landmark year for gaming M&A with a record $161B in disclosed deal value driven by two mega deals: the $55B leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts (EA) by a consortium led by PIF and Netflix’s $82.7B announced acquisition of Warner Bros., including Warner Bros. Games. In parallel, Paramount–Skydance launched a hostile $108.4B bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, underscoring the scale and intensity of consolidation across media and gaming. When it comes to 2026, we have a very positive outlook for the gaming & tech M&A market, following a year of several mega deals:  ▶️ Private equity is expected to remain a major force in the market, with several publicly listed gaming companies increasingly viewed as attractive take-private opportunities.  ▶️ We anticipate a healthy number of seed and early-stage financings, following the positive trend in the last quarters, along with select mid-to-late-stage rounds. Several new UA funds are expected to help scale mid-stage mobile studios. For financings, AI, UGC, tools, and tech platforms are expected to continue to be shining stars.  ▶️ We expect to finally see the launch of GTA 6, likely the biggest game release ever, now targeted for Nov’26. Other highly anticipated titles include Marvel’s Wolverine, Resident Evil: Requiem, Lords of the Fallen II, and 007: First Light.  ▶️ With public markets recovering, we anticipate IPO-ready gaming companies like Discord, Animoca Brands and MTG’s SimplePlay to go public this year. To my network: What are your predictions for the gaming and esports industry in 2026?

Hier ein Hinweis auf einen aktuellen Artikel zum Exit-Marktumfeld mit meiner Sicht auf die Dinge, verbunden mit einem herzlichen Dank an Thomas M. Kuhn für die wieder einmal gute Zusammenarbeit! Wie sieht mein Netzwerk die Situation?

Are we at the peak, or will the stock markets continue to rise? What do you think? I would love to pick the brains of my great network, consisting primarily of entrepreneurs and investors. Will the MSCI World stock index be lower, higher, or the same in one year from now? I think everyone agrees that the current stock market valuations are high, especially of the magnificent seven technology companies. From my perspective as an M&A advisor, this has created a clear "seller's window" for private tech companies. But the big question remains: Does the public market have more room to run in 2026? Will it get even better in the coming year? Please leave your vote in the poll and add your thoughts in the comments.

Wir suchen in München Verstärkung im Bereich Buchhaltung (Teilzeit), hier als Hinweis an mein Münchner Netzwerk!

What will be the impact on AI in 2-3 years from now on the job market and the way we work? Curious to hear from the smart entrepreneurs and investors in my network! The impact of AI on industries and our daily work is undeniable, but let's discuss its true effect on employment. Do you see AI primarily as a catalyst for productivity gains, or are we heading towards significant job displacement, potentially even mass unemployment? Vote in the poll, and please share your detailed thoughts below. I'm keen to hear your perspectives on the evolving landscape of work and where we all should focus our investment strategies. #startups #investment #ai #software