Earlybird Venture Capital vs redalpine

German VCs demand €15B annual funding boost

The German Venture and Growth Forum (GVGF), representing over 20 leading venture capital firms with €28 billion in assets, called for mobilizing approximately €15 billion in additional private capital annually to finance German tech startups. The call comes at the Invest in Germany Summit, the federal government's first investor conference. GVGF highlights that only a third of the €5.1 billion invested in German startups in H1 2026 came from domestic investors, while US investors have matched European investment in large rounds. The Forum urges German pension funds, insurers, and foundations to increase their venture capital allocation from 0.1% to 2% of their €2.8 trillion assets under management. It warns of economic and technological sovereignty risks due to reliance on foreign capital.

• GVGF represents over 20 German VC and growth funds with €28 billion in assets under management.
• €5.1 billion was invested in German startups in H1 2026, with less than one-third from domestic investors.
• GVGF estimates Germany could mobilize €15 billion in additional private capital annually for growth companies.

Calliora raises $6M for AI hospital billing accuracy

Munich-based startup calliora has raised $6 million (approx. €5.1 million) in a pre-seed round led by Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments (BHI) and Swiss VC redalpine. The company's AI platform helps hospitals find billing errors before invoices are sent to health insurers. This comes as German hospitals face stricter audit quotas from 2027 under the GKV contribution rate stabilization law, where high error rates could lead to 100% of invoices being audited. The platform integrates with existing hospital systems, covering coding, case review, MD audit management, and controlling. According to calliora, the platform is already in regular operation in hospitals across five German states, reducing per-case workload by over half and closing more than 90% of identified gaps before billing. The funds will be used to grow the AI, engineering, and product teams. The startup was founded in 2023 by Frederik Träuble and Jonas Wildberger.

• calliora raised $6 million (€5.1 million) in a pre-seed round led by Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments and redalpine.
• The startup's AI platform detects billing errors in hospitals before invoices are sent to insurers.
• From 2027, German hospitals face higher audit quotas up to 100% under the GKV contribution rate stabilization law.

A market that punishes narrative and rewards fundamentals: our current market view

Redalpine published a new market view article on September 29, 2026, discussing the current market dynamics.

Arlequin AI Raises €28M for Topological Neural Networks

Arlequin AI, a Paris-based company, has raised €28 million in Series A funding to accelerate the development of its topological neural network architecture and expand international deployment. The round was co-led by redalpine and OTB Ventures, with participation from Bpifrance's Defence Innovation Fund, existing investors Vsquared Ventures, 10x Founders, and Xavier Niel. Founded in 2024 by Hugo Micheron and Antoine Jardin, Arlequin develops AI systems for analyzing large, fragmented datasets used in security, defense, fraud detection, and AI safety. The company's topological neural network architecture captures complex interactions between data points, requiring less compute than traditional large-scale AI. The funding will support team expansion, model development, and opening offices in London, Berlin, and a planned AI lab in Silicon Valley.

• Arlequin AI raised €28 million in Series A funding.
• The round was co-led by redalpine and OTB Ventures.
• Bpifrance's Defence Innovation Fund participated in the round.