European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has indicated readiness to use the anti-coercion tool to put pressure on the US by threatening to tariff its services surplus with the EU, if negotiations break down. She also signaled readiness to introduce a tax on digital advertising revenues targeting tech groups such as Meta, Google, and Facebook. The implementation of this tax depends on the outcomes of negotiations on tariffs between the EU and the US. Von der Leyen seeks a 'completely balanced' agreement with the Trump administration and is not against adding product standardization to the trade discussion agenda. However, landmark EU regulations like the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act are not expected to be included in the talks.

Lemon.markets, a Berlin-based FinTech, has launched its brokerage-as-a-service platform, providing a white-label solution for investment offerings. The platform collaborates with established firms like Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, and Tradegate Exchange, aiming to serve 100 million European investors. Lemon.markets secured $15 million in Seed funding from investors including Creandum, Lakestar, Lightspeed, and System.one.

In this episode of the Startup Masterclass, Jan Thomas discusses with Alex Mueller, Commercial Director of Holvi, and Max Linden, Founder & CEO of lemon.markets, about the important topic of liquidity management. They explain how Holvi and lemon.markets collaborate to provide business customers with an easy and fast way to invest their excess funds into money market funds.

European fintech startups are targeting Generation Z, a tech-savvy demographic with a projected annual earning potential of $40 trillion and $140 billion in spending power. Key fintech innovations include seamless investment platforms, neobanks, and personalized AI-driven tools. Companies like lemon.markets and Birdwingo are leading the charge in providing accessible and engaging financial services to Gen Z.

Katjes Greenfood hat 56% des Bio-Müsliherstellers Mymuesli übernommen. Das Münchner KI-Verteidigungs-Startup Helsing hat 450 Mio. Euro in einer Finanzierungsrunde eingesammelt. Die Berliner Brokerage-as-a-Service-Plattform lemon.markets hat 12 Mio. Euro erhalten. Lilium steht kurz vor einem Großauftrag mit der saudi-arabischen Fluggesellschaft Saudia. Der Venture Capital Fonds BOOOM hat sein erstes Fundraising mit 17 Mio. Euro abgeschlossen. Alpine Space Ventures hat einen Early-Stage-Fonds mit 170 Mio. Euro für Investitionen in den europäischen Raumfahrtsektor abgeschlossen.