Participated · Equity · Jul 2024

Sdui Group offers a fully integrated, modular cloud suite supporting messaging, attendance, scheduling, grading and other administrative needs for K‑12 schools and preschools. The company says its software is trusted by individual schools, districts, and governments and is used by thousands of institutions across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Spain. Sdui has grown through both organic growth and acquisitions, having integrated several regional software players to expand capabilities. The business emphasizes a user-first approach and scalable, compliant cloud architecture to simplify daily workflows for teachers, students, administrators, and parents. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Koblenz, Germany, and currently employs around 230 people across several European countries. Sdui is continuing to expand into new regions and is investing in innovation, reliability, and user experience to support that growth. Sdui Group develops digital operating systems and communication/messaging solutions for schools, preschools and education providers. The company supports educational institutions, providers and ministries in digitalisation and offers products for school and preschool administration and communication. Sdui employs around 230 people and is active in more than 70 countries. Following its acquisition of FoxEducation, Sdui Group now serves 22,000 educational institutions; FoxEducation’s FoxApps (SchoolFox, KidsFox, TeamFox) were used by over 9,000 institutions in the DACH region. The company says it will invest part of the newly raised funds into the FoxEducation acquisition and to further develop its offerings, including payment management tools such as FoxPay. Financially, Sdui now has a total of €46M available for investment, combining the recent €21M round with a prior €25M Series A. Sdui Group builds a digital schools operating system offering communication and diary tools that let institutions stay in touch with children, parents and teachers. The company pitches its product as a digital operating system for virtual school workflows and aims to scale across Europe. More than 10,000 institutions across seven European markets, including Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, use Sdui's back-end software. Founded in 2018 and based in Germany, the scale-up reported revenue growth of more than 300 percent since its initial Series A in March 2021. Management says the extended funding will support Sdui's ambitions to continue scaling in Europe and further develop its platform. Sdui provides a central communication platform on which teachers, students and parents can exchange information in a GDPR-compliant manner. The solution delivers timetables, substitution schedules, letters to parents and announcements via a smartphone app or on desktop. Its cloud digitizes class registers, room bookings and supports other integrations. The company was founded by Daniel Zacharias (22) and Jan Micha Kroll (21) and is based in Koblenz, Germany. The app is already being used by around 1,000 schools throughout Germany and Sdui employs a team of more than 30 people. Financially, Sdui extended its seed financing to around €2m in a seed round extension involving new and existing investors.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2023

ecoworks develops AI-powered planning tools, digital twins and industrial prefabrication methods to enable serial, cost-efficient energy renovations of residential buildings. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Berlin, employing over 130 engineers, architects and digital experts. Its approach packages prefabricated facade modules, roof insulation and PV systems, upgraded windows and services to accelerate retrofit timelines and reduce tenant disruption. ecoworks is currently executing a flagship project in Hagen to upgrade twelve buildings (approximately 15,000 sqm and 192 apartments) to KfW Efficiency House 55, targeting a 36% reduction in final energy demand and about 190 tonnes of CO₂ savings per year. The company previously raised €40 million in 2023 for its AI digital planning solution and now announced a €23 million raise to scale serial renovation at neighbourhood scale. ecoworks states its mission to save one gigaton of CO₂ by 2045 through industrialised renovation techniques.

Led · Equity · Jan 2023

Aerones develops patented robotic systems and AI-driven solutions for inspection, maintenance, and predictive services for wind turbines. The company serves major operators and its customers represent over 50% of global wind power capacity, including NextEra, GE, Vestas, Enel and Siemens Gamesa. Led by CEO Dainis Kruze, Aerones combines robotics, AI and manufacturing to deliver remote and automated turbine services. The company plans to expand globally, boost R&D in AI and robotics, scale manufacturing, and enhance predictive maintenance for the wind industry. Recent public funding milestones include a €4M grant from the EU Innovation Fund in 2024 and a $30M funding round in 2023, reflecting ongoing capital support for growth. Aerones develops and deploys patented robotic systems for wind turbine operations, focusing on inspection, maintenance and leading-edge blade repairs. The company plans to produce and deploy the world’s first wind turbine blade leading-edge repair robot sets using EU grant funding. Its services include external and internal blade inspection, lighting protection checks, ultrasound, painting, ice-phobic coating, cleaning, and leading-edge repairs. Aerones says its robotic technology performs crucial tasks 3x–6x faster and yields up to 10x fewer idle stay days than conventional methods, and it operates in more than 27 countries. The firm aims to cut repair downtime dramatically (targeting repairs within 18 hours and a 67% reduction in downtime) and to support the transition to renewable energy. Financially, Aerones secured a €4,416,000 grant from the EU Innovation Fund for a project with a total budget of €7,360,000, and it raised €27M in growth capital just over a year earlier in a round co‑led by Lightrock and Haniel. Founders Dainis Kruze and Janis Putrams lead the company from Riga, Latvia. Aerones offers a patented modular robotic solution that delivers a full suite of wind-turbine services including external visual and internal blade inspections, lighting-protection and ultrasound checks, painting, ice-phobic coating, cleaning, and leading-edge repairs. The company began offering basic inspection services in 2019 and has since expanded its capabilities to comprehensive maintenance and repair work. Aerones serves customers that represent roughly 50% of the world’s wind power capacity, including NextEra, GE, Vestas, Enel and Siemens Gamesa. The company is led by CEO Dainis Kruze and maintains a European headquarters in Riga, Latvia, and a North American headquarters in San Jose, USA. Aerones raised $30M in funding and plans to use the capital to grow technical and sales functions, increase the number of robot service teams, and expand into new markets. No revenue or other financial metrics were disclosed in the article. Aerones is a startup focused on developing robotic systems for cleaning wind-turbine blades. The company announced a $9 million fundraising to support development of those cleaning robots. The article frames the financing as targeted toward product development rather than reporting operating metrics. Public commentary quoted in the article praised the team and the concept of applying robotics to such maintenance tasks. Other commenters raised broader points about rising costs in green energy and suggested alternatives like self-cleaning or low-soiling blades. Aerones has shifted from using large industrial drones to a ground-based robotic system for wind turbine inspection and maintenance. The system combines a computerized winch, a robotic arm, and a small fleet of ground robots to perform tasks such as close-up photography, laser scanning, lightning conductivity tests, blade and drainage-hole cleaning, and coating application. Its design enables a two-man crew to service multiple turbines per day, including some nighttime and low-temperature operations. Aerones says the ground system is more stable and effective than its prior drone approach and has already been piloted in the U.S. and Europe. The company is Y Combinator–backed and moved from Latvia to the San Francisco Bay Area. The new funds will be used to further develop the robotic system and expand further into the U.S. market.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2022

1KOMMA5° operates Heartbeat AI, a virtual power plant that buys electricity on the spot market when prices (and CO2 emissions) are low and sells excess power back to the grid when prices are high. The company charges a flat software fee rather than margins on electricity and enables real-time individual electricity prices instead of conventional fixed tariffs. It positions Heartbeat AI as a grid-stabilizing solution amid rising renewable generation. Less than four years after its foundation, 1KOMMA5° has expanded through several acquisitions, including Arkana Energy, Solaray Energy, ZEWO Energy and Zonduurzaam. The company has secured a €150M Pre-IPO round, bringing total funding to over €650M. With the new funding it plans to accelerate growth, roll out Heartbeat AI across Europe and Australia, allow customers to become shareholders, and pursue an eventual IPO while building a European “New Energy” household brand. 1KOMMA5° develops a vertically integrated service platform for clean energy deployment, aiming to serve millions and replace fossil fuels and high energy costs. The company says it is executing toward a long-term 2030 trajectory and plans to become subsidy independent. Management is preparing for a public listing and has announced new U.S. investors joining as shareholders. The LinkedIn post cites Hamilton Lane and one of the largest U.S. pension funds as new shareholders and highlights continued interest from tier‑1 U.S. investors. Customer comments in the thread reference live installations (battery and wallbox) that have fed power into the grid and plans to use smart meters and Dynamic Pulse. Management thanks teams, partners, and customers and frames the investor additions as part of scaling the business internationally. 1KOMMA5° offers a one-stop shop for sale, installation and services for solar panels, energy storage, EV charging infrastructure and heat pumps, supported by its Heartbeat energy IoT platform. Heartbeat delivers centralized intelligent energy management to help homeowners optimize power consumption and increase grid independence. The company is pursuing aggressive European expansion through acquisitions and investments in portfolio companies in photovoltaics, charging infrastructure and heat pumps. 1KOMMA5° operates 68 locations with around 1,700 employees across Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Spain and Australia. It publicly targets €500M in revenues in 2023 and aims for €10B by 2030, planning to convert 1.5M buildings by then and to build capacity to convert 500,000 buildings per year. 1KOMMA5° provides carbon-neutral energy systems and the proprietary "Heartbeat" energy IoT platform that delivers centralized intelligent energy management to optimize home energy in response to price fluctuations. It operates a virtual power plant that pools customers' photovoltaics, electricity storage, heat pumps and charging columns to increase the profitability of networked customer systems. The company also invests in electrical-sector companies—focusing on photovoltaic systems, charging infrastructure and heat pumps—and offers partner entrepreneurs its software, centralized services, bundled purchasing, growth capital and a reverse shareholding in 1KOMMA5° Holding. 1KOMMA5° currently operates over 65 sites with around 1,500 employees across Germany, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Denmark, Spain and Australia and has capacity to convert 500,000 buildings per year to climate-neutral power, heat and mobility. Financially, the company became a unicorn in June after previously raising €630 million and this week closed an undisclosed double-digit million euro deal with VC firm 2150. It will use the funding to further develop and expand Heartbeat software and to open an R&D centre in Berlin with over 100 employees for software and product development and a test laboratory. 1KOMMA5° develops home-focused sustainable energy solutions, centered on its Heartbeat energy manager and companion app that give real-time visibility and optimisation of household energy flows. The company is pursuing vertical integration across the value chain and investing in device connectivity, virtual power plants, and broader energy management technology. It has expanded geographically via the acquisition of Viasol and operates with regional partners across 40 locations in Germany, Sweden, Finland and Australia, with further market entries planned. 1KOMMA5° announced a high double‑digit million investment in a new R&D site and team in Berlin to accelerate product and IoT development. Heartbeat is slated to be compatible with existing energy devices by 2024, supporting the company’s ambition to create the largest virtual power plant. The firm emphasizes reduced carbon footprints and energy cost savings for homeowners as core customer benefits.

Participated · Series C · Sep 2020

Infarm builds climate-controlled vertical farms and a global farming network focused on producing fruits, vegetables and herbs near consumers. The company says it will use R&D to expand the range of crops it can grow, including a push into fruits beyond leafy greens. Management has an ambition to grow the entire fruit and vegetable basket and to provide premium products at affordable prices. Much of its current strategy centers on international expansion across Europe, the U.S., Canada, Japan, Asia-Pacific markets and the Middle East. Infarm highlights the water-efficiency and climate-control benefits of vertical farming as part of its case for expansion. Financially, the company has raised multiple rounds and now counts total funding north of $600 million and a valuation well above $1 billion. Infarm builds modular indoor farming systems—cabinets and 25-sq-meter growing centers—that allow retailers and food businesses to grow salad greens, herbs and other produce onsite. The company launched in 2013 and operates across 10 countries, supplying major retailers including Amazon, Kroger, Marks & Spencer, and Metro AG. Infarm’s modular center is marketed as extremely land-efficient, claiming a 25‑square‑meter unit can produce the equivalent of up to 10,000 square meters of farmland. The startup’s core offering is vertical, controlled-environment agriculture hardware and growing-as-a-service for supermarkets, restaurants and other indoor spaces. Management plans to use new capital to expand the team and broaden crop variety beyond salad greens and herbs into chilis, mushrooms and tomatoes to offer a more premium basket. CEO Erez Galonska says the product roadmap aims to accelerate shifts toward plant-based diets, and the company has no immediate plans to go public. Infarm builds modular, IoT-powered indoor vertical farms and a cloud-based control platform to grow herbs, microgreens and leafy greens for placement in grocery stores, restaurants, distribution centers and other customer-facing locations. Its distributed “Farming-as-a-Service” model combines hardware, IoT, big data and cloud analytics to monitor and control individual farming units remotely. The company operates across 10 countries and 30 cities and now harvests more than 500,000 plants monthly, offering a catalog of over 65 varieties. Infarm says its units use dramatically less space, water and transport, aims to run on high shares of renewable electricity and has a target to reach zero-emission food production next year. Founded in 2013, Infarm plans to scale by adding more modules and expanding distribution hubs to deliver larger volumes from next-generation farms; it expects the network to shift from a roughly 50/50 store/hub split to about 80/20. Future product plans include expanding beyond herbs to root vegetables, mushrooms, flowering crops and other specialty or superfood produce. To date it has raised more than $300 million. Infarm is a Berlin-based urban farming startup that has developed a quickly-deployable modular vertical farming platform. The company currently operates in Germany, Switzerland, and France and partners with retailers including Edeka, Metro, Migros, Casino, Intermarche, Auchan, Selgros, and Amazon Fresh. It has deployed 200 in-store farms and 150 farms in distribution centres, harvesting more than 150,000 plants monthly. Infarm secured $100 million in a financing described as a mix of equity and debt led by Atomico, with participation from Balderton Capital, Astanor Ventures, Cherry Ventures, and TriplePoint Capital. Management says the funding will be used to grow the company’s presence across North America, Asia, and Europe. The company plans to launch operations in the UK in September and is in talks with retailers in the US and Japan. Infarm has developed modular indoor vertical farming systems that grow herbs, lettuce, other vegetables and fruit and places them in customer-facing city locations such as grocery stores, restaurants, shopping malls and schools. Each farming unit is cloud-connected and monitored from a central control centre, combining IoT, big data and cloud analytics to deliver a data-driven "Farming-as-a-Service" platform. The distributed system is designed to be infinitely scalable by adding modules and supports tailored growing recipes controlling light spectra, temperature, pH and nutrients to optimize flavor, colour and nutritional quality. Infarm operates more than 50 farms across Berlin, including in EDEKA and METRO locations, and says a single farm unit can output up to 1,200 plants per month. The company plans international expansion to Paris, London and Copenhagen and other German cities, and is targeting 1,000 operational farms across Europe by the end of 2019. Financially, the Berlin-based company has raised $25 million in Series A and $35 million in total to date, including a $2.5 million European Commission Horizon 2020 grant, and will use the new capital to expand internationally and develop its 5,000 sqm R&D centre in Berlin.