Munich-based car subscription company Finn has become Germany’s newest unicorn after announcing a €140m Series D funding round on Wednesday.
The round was led by Paris/London-based VC firm Portage, with participation from UVC Partners, Planet First Partners and Korelya Capital. BC Partners Credit and Runway Growth Capital also provided more than €40m in debt financing.
Finn — which allows customers to subscribe to a range of fossil fuel and electric vehicles from over 30 car manufacturers — was crowned Europe’s fastest-growing startup by Sifted last year. The company now serves more than 50k subscribers and generates over €300m in annual recurring revenue.
Asked whether reaching unicorn status had always been a goal, CEO Maximilian Wühr downplayed the milestone.
“No,” the 31-year-old tells Sifted. “I’m not a very sentimental person. It captures a single moment in time. Ultimately, it’s not a goal in and of itself.”
Wühr says the company remains focused on serving the same markets, rather than expanding globally. “The boring answer is that we’re going to do more of the same: pursue more profitable growth. We’re seeing very strong momentum in Germany.”
According to Wühr, the fundraising process proved smoother than expected. “It was easier than previous rounds,” he says, adding that he had worried investors might be concentrating their attention on AI and defence startups.
SevenVentures, the investment arm of German media company ProSiebenSat.1, also joined the round in a media-for-equity deal.
Television advertising has been a great marketing channel for Finn, Wühr says. “People said it was a dying medium, but it’s not.”
Does that mean Germans should expect to see Finn commercials during halftime of Germany’s World Cup matches? Not quite.
“We’re still too cheap,” Wühr says. “We’re not going after the biggest slots.”
