Since I have been living in this wonderful city, I have learned about a handful of exciting tech companies that are thriving in Frankfurt.
While not in the same league as Berlin, perhaps, the city has an energy, a vibrancy and a can-do attitude that is creating a climate highly conducive to start-ups and tech companies.
Here are a few that have caught my attention:
Antelope Club (Wearable Life Science GmbH)
This is one for all the fitness fanatics. This company makes a range of breathable compression fibre fitness wear with integrated electrodes.
According to the Antelope Club, these provide electro-muscle stimulation that assists reach more fibres with each exercise thus increasing strength and muscles to a greater extent than otherwise could be achieved. Then when training is done, the electrode program can be switched to regeneration, with the massage working to stimulate blood circulation and assist prevent muscle soreness.
Bd4travel
There is no doubt the tech yellow brick road is AI. It is going to change so much about how we interact with each other and technology. Travel and holiday booking is particularly ripe for change through AI powered user profiling.
Bd4travel are on to this with a platform to personalize the booking experience, to listen to customers understand their needs, to predict and recommend destinations and experiences and to create a unique personal experience for each visitor to a travel site.
The company was founded in 2013 and acquired by global logistics giant dnata in November 2018. It is still operated as a independent company in Frankfurt – firm proof for those with first mover advantage in tech there are cashed up buyers waiting to pounce.
Savedroid
I just love the name of this company. Even before I found out what they did, I’m a buyer.
Headquartered on the Niddastrasse in Frankfurt, this funky business is an AI-based saving and spending algorithm. The mobile app enables users to save for their wishes such as a holiday or a car without thinking about saving by creating a digital money box.
Each user specifies rules for saving and the app automatically transfers the money. Users have created rules as diverse as burning a certain number of calories at the gym or each time President Trump sends a tweet (that would be lot of saving by my calculation). This sounds like a great idea and venture capital seems to think so too – in February 2018 the business completed an initial coin offering and raked in more than 30 million euro for future growth.
Moneyfarm
Another great name from this Frankfurt local. Moneyfarm is a robo-advisor digital platform assisting investors build and grow wealth. The app determines an investor’s appropriate risk and return weighting then constructs a globally diversified, generally using index funds.
Moneyfarm pursues an active management strategy – the idea being to achieve above average returns with lower risk.
TechQuartier
The tech scene will ramp up a few notches in Frankfurt with the founding of the TechQuartier (TQ) in the huge Pollux high rise building. The TQ is a FinTech hub with members that include more than 120 founders of finance tech start-ups. The TQ offers a complete innovation experience with co-working spaces, acceleration programs, international networkers and community events.
It promises to move the tech and start-up scene in Frankfurt into the fast lane.
About the author:
Matthew Reynolds is an accountant, management consultant and Virtual CFO living in Frankfurt.
Matthew is available to work with expat companies and businesses requiring assistance in Frankfurt or global companies seeking to expand operations to Australia.
His website is www.austlinx.net and he can be contacted at: [email protected]
