Funke Works

What Funke Works does

Funke Works GmbH is a Munich-headquartered, wholly-owned subsidiary of German media conglomerate FUNKE Mediengruppe that operates a portfolio of specialized job portals targeting the early-career segment in German-speaking markets. Its eight portals cover the full funnel: Azubiyo and Azubi.de for school students seeking apprenticeships and dual study programs, Lehrstellenportal for Austria, Absolventa for graduates and academics, Praktikum.info for interns and working students, Trainee-Geflüster for trainee programs, and truffls, an award-winning mobile app using swipe-based job matching. Adjacent monetization includes the iamstudent discount platform and, since the July 2024 acquisition of Austrian freyspiel GmbH, SCHOOLGAMES educational products used by thousands of schools for career orientation.

The underlying platform combines a job-portal content and matching technology stack with an XML/API integration layer for employer-side automation, runs on AWS infrastructure, and is operated with a Salesforce CRM. Revenue is generated B2B through subscription-based job postings, employer branding campaigns, premium company profiles, and mobile recruiting premium features on truffls, with a self-serve booking function, an inside/field sales team in Berlin, Köln, and München, and a self-serve API channel for enterprise employers. Job-seeker access is free. The company employs approximately 200 people across Munich, Berlin, Cologne, and Vienna, and is led by a four-person Geschäftsführung (Tobias Heberlein, Stephan Thurm, Simone Kasik, Christoph Rüth).

Name

Funke Works

Legal name

FUNKE Works GmbH

Website

https://funkeworks.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Funke Works GmbH is a Munich-based subsidiary of FUNKE Mediengruppe that operates a portfolio of specialized job portals (Azubiyo, Azubi.de, Absolventa, truffls, Praktikum.info, Trainee-Geflüster, Lehrstellenportal) connecting apprentices, students, graduates, and young professionals with employers across Germany and Austria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Job Portals

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Job Placement, Matching & Career Navigation Services (EDAAAOAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional & Business Services Marketplaces (Freelancers, SMB Services) (BPAMAHAG)

Keywords

• Online job portals
• Mobile recruiting app
• Apprenticeship matching
• Employer branding services
• Career orientation games

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Job Posting Subscriptions: Employers pay for job postings on specialized job portals targeting specific audiences (apprentices, graduates, young professionals). Pricing based on subscription tiers with different feature levels.
2. Employer Branding Services: Services for strengthening employer brands and employer branding campaigns on the job portals
3. Company Profiles: Premium employer profile placements and featured listings
4. Mobile Recruiting Premium: Premium features within the truffls mobile app for enhanced mobile candidate reach

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

FUNKE Works operates a network of specialized job portals (Azubiyo, Azubi.de, Absolventa, Praktikum.info, Trainee-Geflüster, Lehrstellenportal) and the award-winning mobile job app truffls, connecting young and experienced talent with employers in German-speaking markets. The company sells job posting subscriptions, premium employer profiles, employer branding services, and mobile recruiting premium features to employer customers, while job seekers access the platforms free of charge. The portfolio also includes the iamstudent discount platform and SCHOOLGAMES career-orientation educational games acquired in July 2024.

Product overview

FUNKE Works operates a multi-platform job portal network for the FUNKE Medien Group, combining a core platform with specialized job portals for different target audiences. The portfolio includes Azubiyo and Azubi.de for apprenticeships/dual studies, Absolventa for academics, truffls (award-winning mobile app with swipe functionality), Praktikum.info for internships/working students, Trainee-Geflüster for trainees, and Lehrstellenportal for Austria. Additional offerings include iamstudent (discount platform for students) and the recently acquired SCHOOLGAMES educational games from freyspiel GmbH for career orientation. The platforms connect young and experienced talent with employers through matching technologies, employing around 200 people across Munich, Berlin, Cologne, and Vienna.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Azubiyo: Job portal for Ausbildungsplätze (apprenticeships) and Duales Studium (dual study programs) targeting school students
• Azubi.de
• Absolventa
• truffls
• Praktikum.info
• Trainee-Geflüster
• Lehrstellenportal
• iamstudent

Products and services

• Azubiyo Specialized job portal for Ausbildungsplätze (apprenticeship positions) and Duales Studium (dual study programs), targeting Schüler:innen (school students) as the primary audience.
• Azubi.de Job portal specializing in apprenticeships (Ausbildungsplätze) and dual study opportunities, serving as an additional platform alongside Azubiyo.
• Absolventa Job portal specialized in recruiting academics, serving students and graduates as the target audience.
• truffls Mobile job app featuring a swipe-based job matching function that revolutionized mobile recruiting; targets career starters and professionals seeking a mobile-first job search experience.
• Praktikum.info Specialized portal for recruiting interns and working students (Praktikant:innen and Werkstudierende).
• Trainee-Geflüster Specialized job board for trainee positions, targeting individuals seeking traineeship opportunities.
• Lehrstellenportal Portal for apprenticeships (Lehrstellen) and dual study positions in Austria, targeting Schüler:innen in the Austrian market.
• iamstudent Platform offering high-quality discounts and vouchers for the student target audience, designed to make student life easier and more varied.
• SCHOOLGAMES Educational games products (acquired via freyspiel GmbH in July 2024) that facilitate career orientation through games used by thousands of schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• Career orientation through educational games used by thousands of schools
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SchoenherrminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 29 July 2024Schoenherr provided comprehensive legal and tax advisory services to FUNKE Works for the acquisition of freyspiel GmbH, including due diligence and contractual negotiations. This was a one-time advisory engagement for the acquisition transaction.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Studydrive: German student platform combining study resources with internship and entry-level job matching. Comparable student-segment targeting and marketplace-style employer access, but at smaller scale and earlier stage.
• Honeypot: Berlin-based tech-talent marketplace. Comparable in operating a curated, verticalized job platform in Germany, but focused exclusively on technical talent rather than the broader early-career segment FUNKE Works serves.

Direct peers

• StepStone: Germany's largest general job portal, operating a subscription-based marketplace connecting employers with candidates. Directly comparable business model (B2B employer subscriptions, multi-vertical coverage) but at much larger scale and without FUNKE Works' niche young-talent specialization.
• Stellenanzeigen.de: Mid-sized German job portal network with regional and vertical coverage. Closely comparable in marketplace business model and German SMB-employer focus, though without FUNKE Works' specialized young-talent brand portfolio.
• Meinestadt.de: Regional German job and city portal owned by Axel Springer. Comparable B2B job-posting monetization, but emphasizes regional/local job search rather than FUNKE Works' early-career specialization.
• Jobstairs: German job portal focused on graduates and young professionals. The most directly comparable competitor in FUNKE Works' core niche, sharing the same employer-paid job-posting model and target audience.

Broad incumbents

• XING (New Work SE): Leading German-speaking professional network with integrated job marketplace operated by New Work SE. Comparable in employer-recruitment monetization and DACH focus, but operates as a broader professional network rather than a specialized young-talent portal.
• Indeed: Global job-search aggregator dominant in Germany. Comparable in marketplace-driven B2B employer monetization and candidate-side traffic model, but operates at vastly larger scale across all experience levels rather than specializing in early-career segments.
• LinkedIn: Global professional network with integrated job marketplace and recruiter tools. Operates a similar subscription/recruiter-seat monetization model in Germany, but serves all professional levels globally rather than focusing on apprentices and graduates.

Regional players

• Karriere.at: Austria's leading job portal. Comparable marketplace business model and DACH regional focus, but operates primarily in the Austrian market rather than competing directly in Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/funkeworks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Funke Works