Flink vs Otto Group

Circus CEO Nikolas Bullwinkel to Keynote EU-Startups Summit 2027

Nikolas Bullwinkel, founder and CEO of Munich-based robotics company Circus Group, will deliver a keynote at the EU-Startups Summit 2027 in Malta on May 13-14, focusing on AI robotics and scaling DeepTech from lab to market. Bullwinkel, who previously co-founded quick-commerce startup Flink, founded Circus in 2021 to develop AI-powered robotic systems for autonomous food production. The company raised €11 million in 2022, acquired culinary robotics startup Aitme in 2023, and went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2024. Circus is now focused on its CA-1 autonomous food-production robot for civilian and defence applications. The event expects around 2,500 attendees.

• Nikolas Bullwinkel, CEO of Circus Group, will keynote at EU-Startups Summit 2027 (May 13-14, Malta).
• Circus Group develops AI-powered robotic systems for autonomous food production.
• Circus raised €11 million in investment in 2022.

Cyberattack on Flink: Hackers Demand Ransom Directly from Customers

After a cyberattack on the German rapid delivery service Flink, hackers have stolen personal data of about one million customers and 13,000 employees. Because Flink refused to negotiate or pay a ransom, the attackers are now directly contacting individual customers via email, demanding 0.005 Ether (about €11.50) to prevent data sale. This 'triple extortion' tactic is unusual in German-speaking regions. The stolen data includes names, email addresses, postal addresses, and phone numbers, potentially also delivery-related details. Flink has stopped the breach, which occurred through a former employee's compromised account, and is cooperating with forensic experts and authorities. Legal experts note that customers may claim damages under GDPR, especially after a recent German Federal Court ruling that loss of control over personal data alone constitutes compensable damage.

• Hackers stole personal data of about 1 million customers and 13,000 employees from Flink.
• Flink refused to pay ransom, leading attackers to demand 0.005 Ether (approx. €11.50) directly from customers.
• The breach occurred via a former employee's compromised internal account.

Uber Eats, Wolt, Flink, Lieferando dominate German quick commerce

A YouGov study reveals that 37% of German consumers use quick commerce services for groceries and daily goods, with usage highest among younger demographics. Flink's brand awareness has doubled since 2021 to 36.5%, surpassing Wolt (33.7%) but trailing Uber Eats (50.4%). In terms of purchase consideration, Lieferando leads at around 20%, followed by Uber Eats (6.9%) and Flink (6.5%), while Wolt trails at 3%. The study highlights the growing importance of quick commerce as a regular part of digital shopping in Germany.

• 37% of German consumers use quick commerce services at least occasionally.
• Flink's brand awareness doubled from 18.1% in 2021 to 36.5% in 2026.
• Uber Eats has highest awareness at 50.4%, followed by Flink (36.5%) and Wolt (33.7%).

OTTO: Mit ChatGPT-Plugin und -Ads zur Agentic Readiness

OTTO is advancing its e-commerce platform for AI-driven shopping. With its tech partner one.O, the retailer built an MCP-based interface, enabling a new ChatGPT plugin that offers product recommendations for over 19 million articles. Users can engage the plugin via '@OTTO' to get personalized product advice, with purchases completed on OTTO's own shop. Additionally, OTTO has been testing ChatGPT Ads since September 2026, one of the first European partners, while clearly distinguishing paid ads from organic recommendations. Earlier, OTTO introduced a voice-assisted shopping tool that has driven up to 37% higher order values and double conversion rates. Future plans include AI agents that can retrieve real-time data and handle transactions, but these capabilities are not yet available.

• OTTO launched a ChatGPT plugin for product recommendations across 19 million articles, built on an MCP-based interface with one.O.
• The plugin enables customers to get advice on OTTO's assortment within ChatGPT, with purchases completed on OTTO's shop.
• OTTO has been testing ChatGPT Ads since September 2026 as one of the first European partners, distinguishing ads from organic recommendations.

Witt-Gruppe eröffnet virtuelle Umkleidekabine; Nächste Phase der KI-Transformation: OTTO startet GenAI-Enablement-Partner-Programm

New press releases on the Otto Group newsroom: Witt-Gruppe launches virtual fitting room (08.10.2026) and OTTO starts GenAI-Enablement-Partner-Programm (07.10.2026).

Alexander Peters erweitert als CTO die Geschäftsführung der Hermes Fulfilment

Otto Group 26.08.2026