OKAPI:Orbits, the leading European Space Traffic Management solutions provider, has announced the completion of its latest financing round led by Ventech, a pan-European early-stage VC deeply rooted in Germany, with strong support from Matterwave Ventures, a European industrial deep tech investor, and existing investors, such as the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund.

In addition to venture capital firms, the company’s new financing round attracted investments from well-known individual investors such as Christian Miele, former chairman of the German Start-up Association. The funding will be used to advance the company’s technical capabilities, expand the team, and scale its international footprint.

OKAPI:Orbits provides end-to-end Space Traffic Management (STM) solutions designed to support space missions from the mission planning phase to end-of-life. The company’s AI-based Space Traffic Management platforms leverage advanced data fusion to predict, detect, and deal with risks and movements in space, frequency interference, and environmental impacts. Besides increasing operational efficiency for satellite operations, OKAPI:Orbits offers full simulation capabilities and tools to ensure compliance with international regulations and standards.

“Our goal is to create lasting value for our customers while ensuring the long-term viability of our orbital environment. This round allows us to further solidify our leading role in the space industry. Based out of Europe and backed by worldwide best talent we are in the unique position to build resilient and independent Space Domain Awareness capabilities for commercial and institutional customers internationally.” commented Kristina Nikolaus, the company’s CEO.

In addition to Europe’s focus on space sustainability with regulatory frameworks such as the EU Space Act, ESA launched its Strategy 2040 in March, outlining an ambitious roadmap that emphasises innovation, sustainability and autonomous access to space. In short, the European space industry needs innovative infrastructure and services, and this is where OKAPI:Orbits comes in.

Benedikt Kronberger, Partner at Matterwave Ventures, adds: “Billions of consumers, as well as businesses and governments increasingly rely on the delivery of services enabled by satellites. OKAPI:Orbits offers the most advanced and reliable Space Traffic Management solution we have seen, setting new industry standards. Europe needs strong tech champions, particularly also in space tech, and we are committed to supporting the team at OKAPI:Orbits as they scale their impact and drive European leadership in the space sector.”

Since its founding in 2018, as one of the first commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) companies, by Kristina Nikolaus, Christopher Kebschull, and Jonas Radtke, the company has achieved a leading market position, serving commercial and Institutional customers in Europe, Asia, and the USA.

‍

Akhetonics, the pioneer of the world’s first true all-optical digital processor, has raised €6 million in a funding round led by Matterwave Ventures, with participation from 468 Capital, Bayern Kapital, and existing investors Runa Capital, Rheingau Founders, and more. This investment will enable Akhetonics to deliver their first-generation hardware to pilot customers as the demand for higher performance and energy-efficient computing intensifies.

Akhetonics’ groundbreaking technology marks a paradigm shift in computing. By processing and storing information purely with photons instead of electrons, it offers unprecedented processing speed and significantly reduced energy consumption compared to traditional electronic processors. Additionally, the low latency, deterministic execution, and immunity to electromagnetic interference are critical features for customers in sectors such as aviation, defense, and networking.

A key advantage of their strategy is the fully European supply chain, from fabrication to packaging. By manufacturing their devices on mature nodes widely available in Europe, they reduce dependency on advanced chip fabrication in Asia. This strategic advantage positions Akhetonics as a crucial player in strengthening European technological sovereignty.

Currently based in Berlin and Munich, the company is developing a full-stack product that goes beyond the traditional von Neumann architecture that has dominated chip design for over 50 years. Their solution brings together photonic hardware components, software tools, and an in-house design automation tool. After demonstrating the viability of the technology, Akhetonics aims to deliver the first full-scale optical processor to early customers in the coming years.

“Many companies that claim to use ‘optical computing’ actually take a hybrid approach, incorporating electronics in their processing.” said Michael Kissner, CEO of Akhetonics. “In contrast, we are shipping a completely new, all-optical, general-purpose processor. This not only enables higher performance at lower power, but also offers real-time processing that is simply not possible with electronics or opto-electronic hybrids.”

Unlike some companies that use a combination of electronic digital processing and limited optical analog circuits for mathematical operations, Akhetonics fully processes both digital and analog signals using optical technology. This integrated approach allows users to leverage the all-optical processor for general-purpose control flow while also employing the optical analog circuits as accelerators for specific tasks, such as AI applications.

“Our all-optical computing technology offers key advantages.”Kissner added. “It provides superior performance, and the ability to manufacture our processors in mature process nodes worldwide gives us a strategic advantage in the current political climate.”

“Akhetonics’ technology represents a fundamental shift in how we process information with photons, ushering in a new era in computing” noted our colleague Silviu Apostu. “Their all-optical processor promises to surpass the limitations of traditional electronic systems and increase Europe’s competitiveness and sovereignty in AI and dual-use applications.”

Our portfolio company Ikerian AG, a leading developer of software solutions for medical image and data management, and artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, announced today the successful first close of its USD 8M Series B financing, with new and existing investors.

The Series B funding was led by strategic investor Sanoptis alongside follow-on investment by existing co-investors the THINC Ventures arm of Topcon Healthcare, Inc., Zürcher Kantonalbank and Verve Ventures. Sanoptis operates in more than 420 clinic locations across Europe, and is the leading European ophthalmology provider network, fostering advancement in patient care through investment in innovation and modern solutions for patients with eye diseases.

As part of the financing and enabling the company’s evolution and growth in the clinical market, the company is accelerating the development of Discovery CONNECT™ (‘CONNECT’), a customized software solution to automate, anonymize and synchronize imaging data uploads within clinical workflows and networks. Data connectivity supported by CONNECT plays a critical role in modern healthcare to ensure sensitive health information is securely transferred minimizing manual effort, protecting patient privacy through advanced anonymization techniques and ensuring critical information is always available for clinical decision making, real world evidence generation and optimized clinical study recruitment processes. Discovery CONNECT will be deployed in Q1’2025.

Alongside the equity investment by Sanoptis, the companies have entered into a commercial agreement to support the distribution of the RetinAI Discovery® (‘DISCOVERY’) platform and its AI models at-scale within the Sanoptis network in Europe. DISCOVERY and its AI solutions supported by generative AI tools will support clinical workflows, increase efficiency and enable better quality of patient care in the clinic, helping to improve diagnostic and treatment pathways towards personalized patient care. Placement of DISCOVERY in a select group of Sanoptis clinics began at the start of Q4 2024.

Ikerian will also utilize the new funding and partnership to expand its capabilities in real-world evidence (RWE) and support advanced clinical insights on patient outcomes. Additionally, the company will integrate AI-driven patient pre-screening technology to accelerate the pace of clinical studies. In addition, this investment will enable Ikerian to broaden its focus into new therapeutic areas and oculomics, including neurodegenerative disorders, vascular conditions, and rare diseases.

Dr. Carlos Ciller, CEO of Ikerian, said: “Ikerian and its subsidiary RetinAI are committed to revolutionizing the way ophthalmology clinics connect and manage patient data. This funding allows us to enhance our platform and connectivity solutions further, ensuring clinics have uninterrupted, real-time access to critical information. By improving data connectivity, we are helping healthcare providers in ophthalmology make more informed decisions and ultimately improve the quality of care for patients.
We are also committed to broadening the application of our AI expertise into areas beyond ophthalmology leveraging the eye as a window into the health of the rest of the body.”

Dr. Volker Wendel, CEO of Sanoptis said: “We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with Ikerian which will enable us to drive significant improvements in ophthalmology clinical practice. Together, we will focus on advancing technologies that empower clinicians, enhance workflow efficiency and importantly, improve patient outcomes. This partnership marks a major step forward in transforming clinical practice for the better.”

Our portfolio company Dessia, specializing in developing a software platform to automate engineering processes through AI, announced today a €3 million funding round. Led by Matterwave Ventures, Supernova Invest, and the Orano Venture Fund, this funding will enable Dessia to accelerate its international expansion and reinforce its technical and commercial teams.

Its Mission? Transform industrial engineering processes through AI. Major industry players such as Renault, Safran, Alstom, Boeing, Valeo, and Naval Group already rely on Dessia to enhance the efficiency of their engineering departments, underscoring its strong integration into the French industrial ecosystem.

Industrials face unprecedented challenges: shortened product-to-market timelines, eco-friendly designs, increased performance, all within cost constraints. Dessia addresses these challenges by offering engineering teams an AI-powered Generative Engineering software solution that shortens development time for new product generations.

As part of this fundraising, Dessia will provide Orano, an international player in nuclear materials, with innovative “generative design” solutions. This will allow engineers to develop and implement AI programs to automate the generation of multiple system architectures, thereby improving engineering study performance.

Among its clients, Renault Group uses the software platform to optimize the thermal and electrical architecture of its automotive platforms, shortening development cycles. OPmobility, meanwhile, leverages Dessia’s technology to automate the design of hydrogen storage systems.

This funding will support Dessia’s international expansion, with the sales and marketing teams expanding to forge new industrial partnerships across Europe, followed by other continents.

“This new fundraising is a decisive step for Dessia. It gives us the means to realize our ambition to become the global leader in engineering automation.” – Jean-Pierre Roux, CEO of Dessia.

Moreover, Dessia’s development capabilities will significantly increase to enhance the platform’s features. The company has initiated hiring efforts for backend, frontend developers, designers, and data scientists.

“With this funding, we will continue to develop our platform by integrating customizable agents based on proprietary AI. These agents are designed to mimic engineers’ working methods, providing valuable support in addressing the economic and environmental challenges facing engineering teams.” – Pierre-Emmanuel Dumouchel, CSO and founder of Dessia.

“We are convinced that Dessia’s engineering process automation technology will have a long-term impact far greater than the automation of financial and administrative processes with RPA tools, which are already widespread in large industrial groups.” – Robert Gallenberger, General Partner at Matterwave Ventures.

“At Supernova Invest, we support startups that bring breakthrough innovation to enhance their clients’ industrial performance. Dessia perfectly embodies this vision for industrial engineering teams, and we are proud to continue supporting its next phase of international growth.” – François Breniaux, General Partner at Supernova Invest.

“We are delighted to support Dessia in developing innovative automation solutions for the engineering sector . Its advanced technology has already proven effective with large industrial companies, and we believe in its potential application in nuclear engineering. This first investment marks Orano Venture Fund’s ambition to support high-potential startups aligned with our investment thesis in advanced industrial technologies and the circular economy to meet decarbonization challenges.” – David Claverie, CFO of Orano Group.

We are proud to have co-led Ventory’s €1.75M funding round together with Ghent-based Finindus (backed by ArcelorMittal). The consulting firm delaware, recognizing Ventory’s value as an extension to ERPs like SAP also participated through Ventures by delaware (the Corporate Venture arm of delaware).  This investment underscores confidence in Ventory’s mission to provide real-time visibility and control over field inventory, optimizing global operational efficiency. Ventory’s rise continues, following its win at the 6th European Supply Chain Startup Contest in 2023.

Ventory, a Belgian company founded in 2021, enables field services companies to gain complete control and visibility over their field inventory – including forward stock locations and engineers’ vans. Whether standalone or seamlessly connected to existing WMS or ERP systems such as SAP, Ventory’s SaaS simplifies inventory management and empowers professionals in the field to take accurate, data-driven decisions. Trusted by global leaders, Ventory is serving customers from several industries aiming for field services excellence such as 3PL, Infrastructure, Renewable Energy and High-Tech.

“Drawing from +12 years of firsthand experience with field operations at DHL and Panalpina, I am thrilled to receive recognition today for the Ventory platform. The challenges I faced during my tenure have profoundly shaped our approach, leading to a solution that truly supports and enhances the work of field engineers and operators. This acknowledgment from leading investors in smart industrial technologies not only validates our efforts but also underscores their confidence in Ventory’s potential to scale and make a meaningful impact in the industry. I am both honored and grateful for this support,” says Vishal Punamiya, Founder and CEO of Ventory.

“Ventory is solving the lack of inventory visibility in forward stocking locations, which is essential in fulfilling SLA requirements in many industries”, says Roel Callebaut, Senior Investment Manager at Finindus. “We were impressed by how precisely they understand the challenges their customers are facing, and how they’ve been able to find a user-friendly solution to address a complex problem.”

Benedikt Kronberger, Partner at Matterwave Ventures adds “Ventory’s experienced team has developed a software platform, that enables its customers to gain full visibility of inventory at edge locations, even including moving inventory, such as in vans or consignment stock. Unlike existing solutions, the platform is designed to be easy to use, allowing even untrained users to effectively manage inventory, which will certainly be a key driver for user adoption.”

Our portfolio company RetinAI, a leader in clinical and imaging data management software and advanced analytics using AI, and Retina Consultants of America (RCA), the largest retina care provider in the U.S. with more than 1.7M annual patient visits and over 200 locations in the U.S., have announced a strategic partnership to develop the most extensive and AI-insight driven Real World Evidence (RWE) U.S.-based database in Ophthalmology.

This groundbreaking partnership will leverage RetinAI‘s innovative digital health technologies and RCA’s robust network of clinics to analyze real-world health clinical and imaging data. The result will be a comprehensive resource that provides valuable insights into health outcomes, medication adherence, and the effectiveness of various treatment protocols. By using RCA’s quality-driven datasets and best-in-practice imaging standards for ophthalmic care and RetinAI’s Discovery® platform to aggregate, organize and analyze multimodal data at scale including the company’s certified and advanced research AI models for biomarker analysis and predictive disease analytics, the database will combine the best in clinical and imaging data with exceptionally detailed insights.

With the growing demand for real-world data from the industry, this partnership is poised to make a significant impact on data-driven decisions. The RWE database will offer healthcare stakeholders an unparalleled opportunity to gain insights into drug efficacy, improve drug development processes, and enhance patient care.

“Through this partnership with RCA, we are revolutionizing the efficiency and robustness of making decisions around patient care, with an unprecedented scale of biomarker-driven insights from quality-driven, real world data. This will enable an elevated level of target-based research and patient-centric care for continuous improvement to patient outcomes and the introduction of new precision-based medicines.” states Dr. Carlos Ciller, CEO of RetinAI

For more details, please refer to the official press release on the company’s website.

We are proud to have led ecoLocked‘s €4M funding round together with Climentum Capital, and are delighted to have existing investors Counteract, Startup Family Office, Sabanci Building Solutions, and VOYAGERS.io joining the round. The investment will support ecoLocked’s mission to revolutionize the construction industry with carbon-negative building materials.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies are a vital tool in combating climate change. With its innovative approach of transforming solid atmospheric carbon into high-performing building materials, ecoLocked offers biochar producers access to a highly scalable end application and unlocks the built environment as the largest human-made carbon sink.

Its first product line, eLM Zero, is an admix material, enabling carbon-neutral concrete. Multiple concrete producers in the DACH region and the Netherlands have already embedded eLM Zero into their product portfolio. Additionally, ecoLocked collaborates with prominent players in the cement industry and work with municipalities and real estate developers to bring down construction projects’ footprint.

“In order to stay well below 2 degree warming, emissions reduction won´t be enough: carbon will need to be removed from the air and stored safely. Biochar is among the cheapest and most scalable solutions to do it, and its addition to building materials provides an effective way to decarbonize the built environment, immediately” shares Ines Kolmsee, General Partner at Matterwave Ventures. “In this context ecoLocked plays the vital role of linking the biochar market to the building materials industry”.

“Emissions from building materials account for 15% of European carbon emissions and are one of the hardest to avoid. We looked at a broad range of technologies and decided to invest into ecoLocked as it offers a solution that works now and can be combined with future decarbonization technologies for concrete” notes Dörte Hirschberg, General Partner at Climentum Capital, a venture capital firm investing in European champions of decarbonization.

ecoLocked will use the fresh funds to expand its production plant, launch additional product lines, and accelerate the offtake of its products. With investments in its R&D team, ecoLocked is furthermore set to expand its AI-driven platform which enables them to make use of the feedstock variability – generally the key challenge for the construction sector – to efficiently create consistent, high-quality products for specific segments.

‍”I firmly believe that the future of carbon removal lies in developing products that not only store captured carbon for long periods, but also become valuable resources for local industries, such as the construction sector. The fresh funding will allow us to expand our product portfolio and scale up ouroperations with the help of strong new partners.”, says Dr. Mario Schmitt, CEO of ecoLocked.

We are thrilled to announce our investment in ZeroPoint Technologies today, which closed a EUR 5.0 million Series A, led by us, Matterwave Ventures. Additionally, Nordic Deep Tech fund Industrifonden served as the local lead for this round. Other existing investors participating include Climentum Capital and Chalmers Ventures. The new capital will be used to scale sales of existing products, bring additional hardware-accelerated memory products to market, and grow the company’s existing teams in Sweden and the United States.

“ZeroPoint Technologies’ customers include some of the biggest semiconductor companies in the world and our products are in demand by data center operators looking to overcome the mounting challenge of memory bottlenecks,” said Klas Moreau, CEO of ZeroPoint Technologies. “In fact, leading hyperscalers, such as Meta and Google, are now specifically calling for hardware-based compression technologies related to CXL-connected memory.”

“We are thrilled to back ZeroPoint Technologies and its world-class team on their mission. Their sophisticated memory compression and compaction technology has immense potential to improve performance and resource efficiency across many categories of devices. We have been impressed by the ZeroPoint team’s ability to engage with industry leaders and are excited to support their further growth and impact,” said Silviu Apostu, Principal at Matterwave Ventures.

“Industrifonden has proudly supported ZeroPoint Technologies over the last three years and we are pleased to continue that support as they accelerate through commercialization,” said Tobias Elmquist, Sr Investment Director at Industrifonden. “With market trends such as the rapid expansion of AI, we believe that the memory bottleneck issue is more urgent today than when we made our initial investment in ZeroPoint.”

Typically, up to 70% of data stored is redundant. ZeroPoint’s products dramatically reduce that waste, which frees up memory capacity and increases bandwidth. This is accomplished by the company’s first of its kind hardware-accelerated compression and compaction solution. It combines lossless ultra-fast data compression with real-time data compaction and transparent memory management.

Given the exponentially increasing memory demands of today’s applications, partially driven by the explosive growth of generative AI, ZeroPoint addresses the critical need of today’s hyperscale and enterprise data center operators to get the most performance and capacity possible from increasingly expensive memory. ZeroPoint’s solutions are proven to increase memory capacity by 2-4x while also delivering up to 50% more performance per watt. In combination, these two effects can reduce the total cost of ownership of data center servers by up to 25%.

The technology is 1,000x faster than other compression technologies on the market, which allows ZeroPoint to compress data across the entire memory hierarchy – all the way from Cache to Storage. ZeroPoint’s technology is agnostic to data load, processor type, architectures, memory technologies and processing node, and the company’s IP has already been proven on a TSMC 5nm node.

Our portfolio company Ikerian, formerly known as RertinAI, announced today the successful closing of its USD 6.18 million Series A Extension round, with new and existing investors.

The final close was led by strategic investor the Corporate Venture Capital arm of Topcon Healthcare, Inc. The first close in 2023 added Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) as a new investor alongside existing ones.

As part of the financing, and to facilitate its evolution and growth, the company has concluded its corporate restructuring commenced in 2023, to spearhead development beyond ophthalmology with RetinAI Medical AG rebranded as Ikerian AG, and wholly-owned subsidiary RetinAI U.S. Inc. focused on the ophthalmology market.

Dr. Carlos Ciller, Chairman and CEO of Ikerian, and CEO of RetinAI said: “The successful closing of this financing confirms the importance of our AI technology to re-invent workflows for clinical and pharmaceutical research to support more efficient and effective patient care. These funds will allow us to expedite development efforts of our RetinAI Discovery® platform and our pipeline of AI technologies, and to collaborate with Topcon Healthcare and the industry to advance AI in ophthalmology and beyond.”

A commercial stage ophthalmology company, with growing revenues, RetinAI continues to advance its product offerings for pharma, life sciences companies, and ophthalmology and optometry clinics. The company is expanding its Real-World Evidence (RWE) database across eye diseases, including Geographic Atrophy (GA), Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration (nAMD) and Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), where eye biomarkers play a role in diagnosis and disease monitoring. The company helps customers evaluate real world outcomes in diverse patient populations driven by AI insights on these biomarkers.

Dr. Sandro De Zanet, Chief Scientific Officer at Ikerian and RetinAI said: “Having a portfolio of RWE insights allows RetinAI to deliver even greater value to pharma by accelerating clinical studies and enriching AI-based data analysis to support future treatments. In addition, generative AI technology is helping us revolutionize analysis and patient screening for clinical studies. The Discovery tool and AI biomarkers that we have developed will simplify analysis across vast imaging datasets needed to successfully complete a clinical trial.”

RetinAI has achieved notable successes to date. It has a strategic collaboration with Retina Consultants of America (RCA), and has collaborated with major pharma companies including Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen (a J&J company) and Novartis. In February 2024, it entered a new market, launching its RetinAI Discovery® Clinics platform for ophthalmology and optometry clinics across Europe, establishing a footprint of AI-driven workflows for patient management. RetinAI Discovery® and the company’s AI models have 5 approvals including achieving FDA 510(k) clearance for the data management platform for clinical use and integration into U.S.-based clinics and in the European Union.

Dr. Carlos Ciller added: “I am proud of the achievements RetinAI has made and look forward to this next stage of growth. Ikerian will use the ‘eye as a window to the body’ to advance healthcare in systemic and chronic diseases, such as neurological and cardiovascular conditions, generating new knowledge and playing an instrumental role in improving healthcare for individuals worldwide.”

As France, Germany, and European countries commit to the re-industrialization of their territories, numerous challenges remain to be overcome to achieve this goal. Among these, telecommunications play a crucial role in creating sovereign, secure systems that enable the digitalization of industries of all sizes across all territories.

Firecell’s 5G solution offers unprecedented simplicity of installation and use, as well as exceptional stability even in the most challenging industrial environments. By reducing the footprint of 5G technologies to operate on standard servers and through strategic partnerships with renowned manufacturers, Firecell enables industrial enterprises of all sizes to pave the way for a smart industry.

The startup is part of the French Tech 2030 initiative under the category of “Mastering Sovereign and Secure Digital Technologies” and is a winner of the government’s 5G acceleration plan with an initial use case on a Stellantis production line.

Founded in 2021, shortly after the opening of dedicated mobile frequencies for enterprises by regulators in around twenty countries, Firecell already counts 75 clients, including: SNCF, Airbus, Thales, Fives, US Army, the US Department of Energy, ID Logistics, Campus Schwarzwald, and Team Henri Fabre.

In this promising context, Firecell is accelerating its deployment and concludes a €6.6 million seed round in equity led by Matterwave Ventures and Ventech, accompanied by Bpifrance’s Digital Venture fund and Bouygues Telecom Initiative.

Firecell’s Private 5G solution ensures unmatched efficiency in mobile communications, covering warehouses and logistics centers of over 30,000 square meters with less than 5 5G access points. Furthermore, it ensures an unparalleled level of security with native communication encryption and compatibility with all modern industrial terminals.

With its software developed in Nice in collaboration with the Eurecom research laboratory, and hardware equipment partners among the leading French and European companies, Firecell’s offering guarantees transparency and sovereignty.

“We are delighted with the enthusiasm and support we have received for our 5G solution,” said Claude Seyrat, co-founder and chief executive officer of Firecell. “This fundraising will allow us to accelerate our deployment and offer industrial enterprises cutting-edge connectivity to meet their growing communication and data management needs.”

Our colleague Silviu Apostu, Principal at Matterwave Ventures, states: “In order to fulfill the promise of the industrial transformation, companies need secure, reliable, and high-performance wireless connectivity. In a short span of time, Firecell has built a compelling product and convinced demanding customers to deploy it in their production environments. We are convinced that the Firecell team has the experience and ambition to make mobile networks ubiquitous and we are excited to continue supporting them on their mission”

Jean Bourcereau, Managing Partner of Ventech, adds: “In three years, Firecell has demonstrated undeniable technological and product expertise, acclaimed by numerous players in Europe and worldwide. Moreover, Firecell has surrounded itself with a first-rate ecosystem of partners and advisors. We are very pleased to accompany Claude, Olivier, and the entire Firecell team in accelerating their plan! For Ventech, this represents a new investment in the European Deeptech sector following successes such as Artéris IP, Codasip, Microoled”

“Reindustrialization through innovation is one of Bpifrance’s priority objectives. We are delighted to be able to support a company that has developed groundbreaking technology that enables new use cases in factories and warehouses, not accessible with existing technologies,” continues Gwenaël Hamon, Senior Investment Director at Bpifrance Digital Venture.

For Edward Bouygues, President of Bouygues Telecom and the Bouygues Telecom Initiatives fund: “Bouygues Telecom faces the challenge every day of accompanying companies and organizations in their digital transformation. Being able to support projects like Firecell’s, through Bouygues Telecom Initiatives, demonstrates the agility of our teams in forging structuring partnerships for companies. Providing tailored solutions with industrial 5G and enabling companies to gain competitiveness is fundamental for developing Industry 4.0 and territories.”

Our portfolio company EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of highly integrated optical solutions announced today that it has secured $38 million Series D funding. The round was led by Innovation Industries Strategic Partners Fund, backed by Dutch pension funds PMT and PME, along with co-investor Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund and participation from other existing investors.

This investment will further accelerate the development and commercialization of EFFECT Photonics solutions and support ramping production to meet growing customer demands. EFFECT Photonics is focused on advancing its integrated product portfolio which dramatically drives down the costs, size, and power of high-speed fiber optics communication solutions.

Roberto Marcoccia, CEO of EFFECT Photonics, stated: “We extend our thanks to Innovation Industries Strategic Partners Fund and our existing investors for their continued confidence in EFFECT Photonics’ mission and products. Investor excitement marks the culmination of a dynamic year of advancements across every facet of our business, reinforcing the market momentum we’ve established in the rapidly growing coherent transceiver market.”

More details are available on the company’s website.

We are thrilled to announce our latest investment in the €2.5 million round for Ask for the Moon, a French company revolutionizing industrial Knowledge Management with Artificial Intelligence. The round was led by Matterwave Ventures and UI Investissement, two leading venture capital funds in the industrial deep tech sector.

Ask for the Moon is a pioneer in artificial intelligence applied to the sharing of critical industrial expertise in critical industries such as aeronautics, nuclear energy, defense, and aerospace. This capital injection primarily aims to support the R&D investment required to enhance the reliability, compliance, and sovereignty of Ask for the Moon’s proprietary AI. It will also help accelerate the commercial development, notably in Germany and Scandinavian countries.

The mission of Ask for the Moon is clear: to accelerate the industrial transformation by bringing people closer together through AI, particularly within large organizations with complex structures. Corporate silos fragment knowledge and hinder the transformation of these large groups, at the very moment when the challenges of decarbonization and relocation require general mobilization and alignment. Ask for the Moon identifies and brings together the most relevant colleagues to address a given issue in order to solve it in record time and share the solution across the group. The solution has already proven itself with the biggest players in the industry such as Framatome, Airbus, SNCF, Eiffage, SPIE, and more.

“We are convinced that Ask for the Moon represents the future of knowledge management in the industrial sector,” says our very own Robert Gallenberger, Founding Partner at Matterwave Ventures. “Their unique approach to solving complex problems on a large scale perfectly matches our vision of the challenges Europe’s industry is facing.”

Threedy’ s instant 3Dhub is a high-performance spatial computing technology, enabling customer 3D data, any compositions, and its visualization at scale. By making data available and accessible in real-time on any device, at any time, it allows for the optimization of a multitude of digital processes all along the industrial value chain and a significant reduction in associated costs. Implementing instant3Dhub enables companies to save valuable time and resources, e.g. by eliminating waiting times, reducing license and infrastructure costs. Threedy allows its customers to establish a modern software architecture which reduces dependency on the monolithic and closed stacks of incumbent software vendors and opens the door to the agile development and scalable roll-out of a modern lightweight application layer. With a wide range of features for digital engineering, advanced collaboration, and seamless Mixed Reality, Threedy’ s software provides a strong foundation for industrial digital transformation.

Working with 3D data becomes as simple as sharing a link, simply by referencing it from arbitrary sources e.g., existing PDM/PLM solutions, and without any preparation or simplification efforts. Threedy’ s technology enables new, scalable applications over the entire product life cycle, from engineering to after sales – web-based and with zero-footprint on the client. By streamlining their 3D data utilization and communication, companies can also reduce their ecological footprint: business travel can be largely replaced by virtual exchanges, saving resources and time.

Rapidly growing number of partnerships and application scenarios

‍

Over the first three years, Threedy successfully transformed from a Fraunhofer department to an independent company. Since its foundation in late 2020, Threedy has experienced significant growth, almost tripling its staff to build up a team of more than 50 highly skilled

professionals from around the world. The company has not only maintained its strong customer relationships, but also experienced remarkable growth, especially in the Automotive and Manufacturing sectors. Threedy’ s cutting-edge technology is valued by numerous industry leaders, including the top-tier German car Manufacturers. Furthermore, Threedy has successfully broadened its network of partnerships, expanding beyond the initial focus areas of Automotive and the German market.

With a substantial $10.4M Series A investment, Threedy is now ready for the next step, backed by the new investors LBBW Venture Capital, TRUMPF VENTURE, Futury Capital, and EquityPitcher Ventures. Existing investors Matterwave Ventures, Fraunhofer and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) renewed their commitment by participating in the Series A investment.

Threedy will continue its commitment to the commercialization of its innovative spatial computing infrastructure, accelerating the adoption across industries and application scenarios. The investment will further enable Threedy to drive the evolution of its product portfolio. Threedy’s expansion plans include further internationalization, while remaining dedicated to excellence and innovation, and making a lasting impact in serving their partners’ digital transformation. Threedy is now actively looking for new people in different roles to join its team, individuals who want to shape the future of the industrial digital twin space.

Jens Ortgiese (Principal, TRUMPF VENTURE): “Threedy has successfully built a strong customer network of leading automotive and manufacturing companies for its revolutionar spatial computing technology, demonstrating the potential to become a market leader. As one of Threedy’ s most esteemed customers, TRUMPF builds on instant3Dhub to support Field Service workers with 3D visualization. We are more than excited to support Threedy’ s next growth step with our investment.”

Existing investors, Robert Gallenberger (Founding Partner at Matterwave Ventures), Gregor Haidl (Principal at High-Tech Gründerfonds) and Markus Weitzel (Investment Manager at Fraunhofer Venture) state: “We remain committed to supporting Threedy. Over the last three years since its foundation, Threedy showed a remarkable success story, transitioning from a start-up and Fraunhofer spin-off to an established company. With already more than 50 employees, a growing customer base, valuable partnerships, and increasing application scenarios, we are excited to contribute to Threedy’ s next growth step.”

We are happy to announce our third Matterwave Industrial Technologies II investment in the Austrian tech start-up Innerspace. Together with the existing investors, MAD Ventures, aws Gründerfonds and High-Tech Gründerfonds, a total of EUR 5.7 million were invested for continued growth.

Founded in 2017, the Innsbruck based start-up enables risk assessment of production processes and effective training of cleanroom personnel for leading pharmaceutical companies using software and Virtual Reality (VR). With the fresh capital, Innerspace will expand its international market presence and further develop its unique “Frame-by-Frame” technology.

Benedikt Kronberger, Partner at Matterwave Ventures: “Innerspace enables its customers to avoid quality problems and minimize production-related contamination risks. We were impressed by the team’s accumulated expertise in one of the most highly regulated industries. The technology allows for significant process improvements and, consequently, substantial customer benefits.”

Numerous renowned pharmaceutical companies worldwide already trust the company’s expertise. Most recently, Innerspace announced a long-term strategic partnership with the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA), for the development of PDA training courses targeting its over 10,500 members worldwide.

‍BigRep announced the acquisition of Austrian-based HAGE3D to further complement its portfolio with high-temperature systems. The acquisition will unlock new opportunities in the industrial 3D printing landscape. Together, the companies will offer a comprehensive portfolio of industrial 3D printers, featuring up to one cubic meter build volume and the capabilities of a wide range of high-performance, engineering-grade thermoplastic materials in low, mid, and high-temperature build chambers.

With more than 1,000 large-scale 3D printers already in operation across various industrial sectors, BigRep is a leader in large-scale fused filament fabrication (FFF). The high quality high temperature-machines from HAGE3D will be upgraded to BigRep’s full solution offering including intuitive software, qualified materials and value adding services and trainings.

We congratulate BigRep on this milestone and look forward to seeing the two companies joining forces.

You can read more details on the BigRep’s website here.

We are thrilled to announce our second Matterwave Industrial Technologies II investment in the Austrian proptech start-up Optimuse. Together with aws Gründungsfonds, a leading venture capital fund in Austria, a total of EUR 1.1 million will be invested to expand the sales team and further develop the product.

Founded in 2021, Optimuse has developed an innovative software that enables owners of real estate portfolios to obtain a quick and uncomplicated overview of the energy status of their buildings and to plan the necessary measures for energy refurbishment in a prioritized order. Proprietary technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Pareto Optimization (Multi-Objective Optimization) and Thermal Simulations are used in the platform’s backend. The founding team combines many years of experience in the fields of architecture and building software with sound IT expertise.

Faster processes and uncomplicated handling

With 35%, the building sector is the area that produces the most CO2 emissions in Europe. In contrast to the solutions available on the market to date, Optimuse’s software is based on just a few data points. This allows asset managers and portfolio owners to identify and implement the necessary measures to decarbonize their building portfolio much more quickly and easily.

“Bringing speed to the renovation of the building sector requires solutions that can be implemented quickly while delivering high-quality results. In this field, Optimuse is a frontrunner and we are happy to support such an attractive start-up,” said Ines Kolmsee, Partner at Matterwave Ventures.

Today, Matterwave Ventures, together with German deep-tech fund Spacewalk VC and Dutch early-stage fund NP-Hard Ventures announce an investment in Roseman Labs.

Founded in 2020, Roseman Labs’ mission is to protect privacy and empower collaboration on sensitive data to tackle global challenges. Its flagship product is the “Virtual Data Lake”, which enables parties to link and analyze data without sharing sensitive source data. This gives parties unprecedented control and privacy guarantees. Privacy rules in Europe are very strict, while the need for data sharing is greater than ever. Roseman Labs’ technology offers a proven solution for this challenge.

An important characteristic of Roseman Labs’ technology is its practical applicability. For example, the company supports Dataspaces for health care organizations. These ground breaking Dataspaces allow participants to securely gather insights and learn more about the quality and effectiveness of care. The technology enables analysis of the patient journey without the need for disclosure of data.

Roseman Labs – already active in healthcare, the social domain, justice and security, financial services and the energy sector – will use the 4 million euro investment to grow the team and expand internationally. Munich-based Matterwave Ventures invests in European early-stage industrial hardware and software companies with technology differentiation. Spacewalk is also a deep-tech VC fund from Munich and part of Motius, a private R&D company that combines the expertise of over 800 experts to create the ‘tech products of the future’. NP-Hard is an early-stage Dutch tech fund founded by three experienced operators.

Roderick Rodenburg, CEO and co-founder of Roseman Labs: “This new investment allows us to take the next step. We have a strong team that combines PhD-level cryptography with software engineering, information security, business and product development experience with whom we have developed a groundbreaking privacy-preserving data science product. This investment provides the scope to grow and to take new steps in marketing our technology abroad.”

“We were impressed by the team’s expertise and experience in both, academic and in commercial contexts. In addition, Roseman Labs platform technology enables unprecedented performance in data collaboration projects, while maintaining absolute privacy”, says Benedikt Kronberger, General Partner at Matterwave Ventures. “We see many different use cases in the industrial sector, from semiconductors, to manufacturing to energy. We believe that connecting data across institutional and geographic boundaries will create tremendous value through transparency and analytics that did not exist before.”

“Roseman is incredibly strong both commercially and technically. The technology itself is already established in a scientific context, but the visionary team at Roseman has managed to make it performantly scalable. Thus, it also works with large amounts of data and can be used industrially,” explains Daniel Weiss, General Partner of Spacewalk and CFO at Motius. “Above all, the user-friendliness of the product convinced us. It was crucial for us that it can be integrated into continuous processes with the customer beyond individual projects. In addition, data protection is mathematically guaranteed. Roseman is therefore perfectly positioned to win new customers in the European and international markets with its product.”

About Roseman Labs
Roseman Labs was founded in 2020. Founded in 2020, Roseman Labs’ mission is to protect privacy and empower collaboration on sensitive data to tackle global challenges. The need for secure data sharing is greater than ever and the economic value of data collaboration is estimated in the trillions globally. Roseman Labs is regarded as a pioneer in this domain, serving clients in the private and public sector – in industries such as healthcare, the social domain, justice and security, financial services and the energy sector. Roseman Labs develops Multi-Party Computation (MPC) software that is both high-end as well as pragmatic and easy to implement. Roseman Labs’ secure collaboration software enables parties to link and analyze data sources without having access to each other’s underlying data. The company is growing rapidly and has a team of 25 people. www.rosemanlabs.com

ISS A/S, a global workplace experience and facility management company, is enhancing its leading technology position in the industry through a new global strategic partnership with our portfolio company ToolSense. By leveraging state-of-the-art Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that can be integrated into ISS’s management of the company’s global assets of movable machines, ISS aims to boost its operational efficiency.

Every day, more than 300,000 ISS on-site employees are taking care of over 500,000 movable machines, such as vacuum cleaners, kitchenware and healthcare equipment, in more than 30 countries worldwide. The tracking, maintenance and utilisation of these assets will now be optimised by the use of ToolSense’s innovative Asset Operations platform, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and QR codes.

Markus Sontheimer, CIDO of ISS A/S, is thrilled about the new global partnership: “As a cornerstone of our ambition to become the technology leader in our industry, we are firmly dedicated to building an ‘ecosystem’ of strategic partnerships and collaborations with innovative startups and suppliers who are pioneers in their respective fields.

ISS and ToolSense initiated their local collaboration in Austria two years ago, successfully piloting the integration of ToolSense’s solutions into ISS Austria’s asset management processes. This collaborative effort has now culminated in the global strategic partnership, enabling the scaling of these solutions and approaches to a global level.

More details available here.

Our portfolio company NVision Imaging, a developer of MRI polarizers and hyperpolarized imaging agents, announced that they have closed a $30M Series A round, with an additional $19.5M in funding from the German government. The company will use the funds to advance the development and deployment of the NVision Polarizer and usher in a new era of metabolic MRI capabilities and ultimately, adaptive cancer treatment. The round was led by Playground Global, with participation by existing investors and new participation from Pathena Investments, Entree Capital, Lauder Family, ES Kapital, and Sparkassenkapital Ulm, bringing their total funding to $35M, not including the government funds.

Unlike traditional polarizers that are slow, cumbersome to use, and complicated to operate in the MRI setting, NVision’s Polarizer is fast, robust, and easy-to-use. Based on a novel parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) technique, the NVision team is applying breakthroughs in quantum physics, chemistry, and engineering to revolutionize metabolic MRIs.

“The impact that this technology will have on medicine is monumental,” said Dr. Sella Brosh, CEO of NVision. “With more accessibility to this kind of technology and giving doctors more time to choose the right therapy for treatment, we can significantly improve a patient’s chance of recovery while not subjecting them to toxic treatments that hurt more than they help. Certainty will become the cornerstone of a new, life-altering era of adaptive cancer treatment that gives patients and their loved ones peace of mind.”

With a partnership already in place with Siemens Healthineers, a leading provider of MRI technology, plans to deploy systems at over 50 of the world’s top cancer centers by 2025, and a signed collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering, NVision is poised for market disruption.

Congratulations to the team on achieving this milestone. You can find more details about the funding round here.

HQS Quantum Simulations, Europe’s leading startup for complex quantum simulations, receives further capital injection and strengthens its management team.

The TRUMPF Group’s corporate venture capital unit, TRUMPF Venture, joins the company with a €1M investment as part of a second closing of the Series A financing round closed last year.

Leading manager Michael Bolle, most recently CTO and CDO of Robert Bosch GmbH, joins the Advisory Board of the quantum startup. He brings along years of experience as a technology expert and leading manager. He is primarily dedicated in his new role to the technological development of HQS Quantum Simulations’ software.

TRUMPF Venture, the new investor, shares their conviction on the investment: “Quantum simulation will set completely new standards for industrial applications in the future and the HQS Quantum Simulations team is one of the few pioneers in this field. We are confident that HQS Quantum Simulations will become one of the key companies for the next generation of digitally networked industry,” says Dieter Kraft of Trumpf Venture II GmbH. “On the one hand, quantum simulations can be fully integrated into existing workflows using the HQS Quantum Simulations approach. More crucially, the software runs both on current high-performance computing systems, but can also be seamlessly applied to quantum systems”

You can read more details on the company’s website.

The Vienna-based software startup Visplore successfully raised two million euros in fresh funding at the end of March to bring more transparency to industrial and energy processes based on big sensor data. The rapidly growing customer base from segments such as paper, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automotive supply, mechanical engineering, and power generation convinced renowned investors, including Carsten Maschmeyer with seed + speed Ventures, Basinghall Partners, Matterwave Ventures, as well as the Austrian aws Gründerfonds.

Visplore solves the challenges of high energy prices and the shortage of digital skills by efficiently integrating subject-matter experts without data science background into digital value creation from data. With a team of currently 20 heads, the technology experts are pioneers in software tools to intuitively analyze and interactively visualize large sensor data, for example for process optimization and root-cause analysis of faults.

With the boost by the financing round, Visplore is expanding their solution towards opening and fusing “data silos” in industrial companies more easily than ever before. “As a practical hurdle in data projects, many industrial companies complain that essential information is spread across a wide variety of sources. Files, ERP systems, databases and external interfaces: very often, merging and preparing the data represents such a huge effort that projects are delayed or not even started”, reports CTO and co-founder Thomas Mühlbacher from his experience.

With Visplore, subject-matter experts such as process engineers can now combine and analyze measurement and planning data from files and databases within minutes without a single line of programming and without a costly data warehouse. These capabilities will be demonstrated for the first time at the Hannover Messe. “We are convinced from our experience with our industry network that the value of data grows exponentially when combined with other data”, says Konstantin von Braunschweig of Basinghall Partners, underlining the current strategy and looking forward to working with their new portfolio company.

Investor Carsten Maschmeyer explains, “With Visplore’s smart software solution, complex data sets can be analyzed quickly and without deep expertise. It’s amazing to see how, with just a few clicks and the right visualization, new insights are gained that would otherwise keep entire teams busy for weeks.”

“Together with our existing investor Matterwave Ventures, who was also involved in the round, we are very happy about the additional strategic input and the extended network of the new investors”, says CEO and founder Harald Piringer.

Finally, Markus Jandrinitsch from aws Gründerfonds adds “We see our investment in Visplore as a contribution to more energy efficiency in industrial processes. By relieving employees of tedious data preparation, it also leaves more time for gaining actual benefits from data, allowing companies to achieve more with their existing teams.”

Our portfolio company Tvarit has closed its funding round, led by Momenta and Futury Capital, to enable AI-powered, waste-free, and energy-efficient metal manufacturing.

Tvarit is on a journey to enable zero-waste manufacturing. The World Economic Forum estimates that industrial waste accounts for half of all waste generated globally. Manufacturing is the largest and fastest-growing contributor to this waste stream, with an estimated 20% of every dollar spent on manufacturing producing waste. Tvarit estimates that the metals industry loses €160 billion annually.

Focusing on the metal manufacturing processes such as casting, hot forming, welding etc, Tvarit offers a hybrid AI solution, first of its kind, that combines deep metal processing domain knowledge with data-driven AI to provide continuous, accurate prescriptions and actionable insights to help the machine operators achieve higher productivity.

Founded in 2019 by Suhas Patel and Rahul Prajapat, Tvarit Industrial AI can reduce manufacturing quality defects (scrap) by 50% and reduce energy costs by up to 30%. These savings are very significant for the metal industry as their profit margins are only 5–8%, so with Tvarit’s help profit margins can be significantly increased. Furthermore, since metal manufacturing processes are quite energy-intensive, customers are not only able to improve their profit margins but also significantly reduce their carbon footprint.

Suhas Patel, Founder and CEO at Tvarit:
“Metal manufacturing shop floors are very complex.” In state-of-the-art machines, there are 2.4 trillion possible combinations to optimise process parameters — no human can be sure of finding the optimum. “AI is the only way to eliminate waste on the shop floor.”

Ken Foster, Executive Director at lead investor Momenta:
“Manufacturers in Europe are dealing with the dual challenges of the energy transition and carbon neutral goals.” Tvarit’s AI tools enable them to do both, driving precision manufacturing techniques to help maintain their global competitive advantage. Momenta is proud to lead the investment round in a company that is driving such “Industry 5.0” outcomes.

According to Tvarit’s founders, Momenta’s strategic network, value creation expertise, and deep experience gained over three decades of investing in rapidly growing digital industry companies will accelerate Tvarit’s journey to make metal manufacturing zero-waste and more sustainable.

Benjamin Krahmer, Managing Partner at Futury Capital:
“We have been fortunate enough to invest with our early-stage fund in Tvarit`s early days. With Tvarit´s recent significant growth, its superior AI, and its deep industry know-how, we are excited to further invest with our Growth Fund, enabling Tvarit to accelerate even stronger.”

Robert Gallenberger, Partner at Matterwave Ventures:
“We are excited to welcome sector specialist Momenta and the growth fund of Futury Capital to the shareholder group. Our strong follow-on investment demonstrates our commitment to support Tvarit on its journey to build the future of metal manufacturing.”

This investment will accelerate Tvarit’s technology development and global presence.

On the race to net zero, industrial heat is seeing a surge in interest. And for good reason: it has the potential to be a key lever for decarbonising vast swaths of the industry.

Our team has done a comprehensive analysis in this space and we have just published our findings in a long-form blog post – you can read it here.

To give you a summary:

• industrial heat has been overlooked in the mainstream, but amounts to 20% of global carbon emissions
• Some of the technical solutions that will go a long ways towards decarbonizing industrial heat are well known but have yet to be scaled: electrification (heat pumps and Thermal Energy Storage), non-combustion-based heat generation and the application of alternative fuels paired with substantial efficiency improvements
• The higher the process temperature requirements, the more individual the approaches to replacing fossil fuels — in the highest temperature range even fundamental processes changes are required

There is much more in the full post and we highly recommend reading it. We hope we could convey how excited we are about the opportunities in this space. If you are building a company in this space, we are all ears!

Matterwave Ventures, one of Europe’s leading VC investors in Industrial Deep Tech, has launched the new Matterwave Industrial Technologies II fund with a successful first closing. With this second-generation fund, the Matterwave team invests in early-stage companies across Europe with strong innovations and applications in all industrial sectors.

The fund’s investor structure includes major institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund (from the ERP-EIF Facility), LfA Bayern, NRW Bank, as well as industrial companies, foundations, and family offices. Well-known technology-oriented partners from the industry such as ZF Ventures, ZEISS Ventures and the Montan-Stiftung-Saar foundation also came on board. The team was able to build on its strong network and obtain additional capital commitments from experienced industrial managers and entrepreneurs. A large part of the capital commitments of more than €75 million comes from existing investors, with whom Matterwave has been working successfully for many years. The goal is to reach the targeted total fund volume of €130 million through further fundraising as soon as possible.

Christian Reitberger, one of Matterwave Ventures’ partners, comments: “Europe’s industrial base is facing existential challenges: energy dependency, raw material dependency, global supply chains out of sync, export restrictions for core technologies, subsidy races – and the incessant climate change. At the same time, however, Europe has most of the building blocks for solving these problems in its own hands: world-class research facilities, a large domestic market, regulatory tailwinds, and a growing number of entrepreneurs committed to solving these technological challenges. This presents interesting investment opportunities for Matterwave in technologies made in Europe.”

The Matterwave Ventures team has been an established financing partner for European industrial deep tech startups for many years. The focus is on automation, digitalization and improving the resource efficiency of the entire industrial value chain: from the automation of research, development, and design to logistics chain transparency, production optimization, and after-sales support of products in customer use – for all these topics there are fantastic examples of European innovations from automotive to semiconductors, from energy to mechanical engineering, from quantum technologies to space applications, from photonics to recycling, from additive manufacturing to robotics.

Robert Gallenberger, Partner at Matterwave Ventures says: “We are pleased about the strong trust of our long-term oriented investors and look forward to starting the investment phase. For the next step, we particularly address family offices, European corporates, and financial investors who are concerned about the future viability of the European industrial base.”

First investments in the first half of 2023 – strong focus on sustainability

The available capital is to be invested in 20 to 25 companies across Europe over the next few years. Matterwave Ventures will focus on the early stages of company development with initial investments of between €1-4 million – with up to €10 million in further investment rounds – per portfolio company and support these companies with strategic advice during their expansion and further development.

In doing so, Matterwave Ventures will once again invest more in the topics of sustainability, resource efficiency, and climate tech, thereby expanding the existing sustainability portfolio. For this purpose, the sustainability approach was further developed in 2022 and the corresponding management expertise was strengthened. Partner Ines Kolmsee says: “The Matterwave team has a long and successful experience with investments in climate technologies going back to 2004. Our goal is to live up to our own social responsibility and, above all, to incorporate the sustainability of industrial processes and products as an important criterion in our investment decisions. Thus, the strategic engagement of portfolio companies with their long-term impact on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has a very high priority.”

The Matterwave Industrial Technologies II Fund complies with the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) under Article 8, which requires companies in the financial services sector to transparently disclose how sustainable their products are.

Extensive track record in investing in industry-defining technologies.

Matterwave Ventures was formed in early 2022 as a rebranding from the btov Industrial Technologies team founded in 2016. The team has more than 50 years of cumulative venture capital expertise and has successfully invested in over 60 technology companies in the industrial sector. Benedikt Kronberger, the fourth Partner in the team, comments: “We focus on highly interdisciplinary topics and are very proud of the diverse team we have assembled over the years. With academic backgrounds in mechanical engineering, process and power engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, physics, and economics, we cover a broad spectrum. Our colleagues hail from five nations and have experience as entrepreneurs, senior executives, consultants, bankers, researchers, and developers. This deep technology foundation and global ambition help in analyzing and supporting companies.”

For more information on the Matterwave Industrial Technologies II Fund, please contact the company via the contact info here

Our portfolio company EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of highly integrated optical solutions, has secured an additional $40 million in funding from a group of investors led by Invest-NL and Innovation Industries, along with other existing investors.

The new investment enables the company to accelerate product development and fuel go-to-market initiatives, specifically those related to its integrated coherent optical product portfolio and solutions that meet the industry need for disaggregation of the key components for the growing needs of coherent optical interfaces.

“We’re thankful to Invest-NL, Innovation Industries, and our other existing investors for their continued support and confidence in EFFECT Photonics mission and products,” said Roberto Marcoccia, CEO of EFFECT Photonics. “This investment positions us well to advance our portfolio of integrated optic solutions that will reshape the future of communications and positively disrupt the status quo.”

In addition, Credo, a NASDAQ-listed provider of high-speed connectivity solutions, and EFFECT Photonics announced plans to collaborate on the development of coherent Digital Signal Processor (DSP) merchant ICs featuring industry-leading power dissipation and performance. The DSPs are expected to deliver the capacity and reach needed to meet the explosive demands for connectivity and bandwidth and enable cost-effective network upgrades over existing physical fiber infrastructure. These merchant silicon offerings have the added benefit of giving customers the flexibility to choose from a variety of transceiver suppliers.

The two companies will work together to develop new coherent DSP products featuring EFFECT Photonics’ coherent DSP technology and Forward Error Correction (FEC), combined with Credo’s high-speed SerDes, I/Os, Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs), and Digital to Analog Converters (DACs). Credo will manufacture and manage the sales and supply channels of the co-developed merchant ICs, and provide complete design services and customer support.

The joint solutions will offer numerous benefits, including high performance, small size, excellent energy efficiency and cost-efficient production.

“Our field-proven coherent technology and Credo’s high-performance, power-efficient connectivity solutions and semiconductor manufacturing expertise provide a potent combination that we believe could truly revolutionize the network edge and access interconnect market,” said Harald Graber, Chief Commercial Officer at EFFECT Photonics. “The clear market need for this technology presents a truly exciting opportunity for both of our companies.”

Today we are thrilled to announce the promotion of our colleagues Silviu Apostu to Principal and Victor Szabo to Associate. Both have proven instrumental in carrying out our recent investments and making sure that our operations work smoothly and continuously evolve. They are trusted partners to many of our portfolio companies and embody the core values and mindset that Matterwave Ventures is based on: intellectual curiosity, affinity for fundamental technological innovations, and relentless focus on finding the next European deep tech champions and making them successful.

Having joined the team in 2020, Victor focuses on areas such as industrial AI, space tech, med tech, and more. He has strongly supported many of our investments and our work with portfolio companies Tvarit, LiveEO, Soter Analytics, LynxCare, RetinAI, and Cybus. Victor has previous experience in Consulting and Automotive and a Masters degree in Industrial Management from the Technical Universities of Madrid, Milan and Munich.

Silviu joined Matterwave in 2022 and has a focus on technologies around IoT, communication technologies, enterprise software, quantum, future mobility, and more. He works closely with portfolio companies Sensolus, HQS Quantum Simulations, Codasip, and Semalytix. Silviu has gathered previous experience in management consulting, as a co-founder and Chief Product Officer for a digital learning software company, and in the telco sector. He holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich.

The success of any organization is a reflection of the quality of its team. We are proud that all our investment team members – irrespective of their title – work  closely with the companies we back and have a strong involvement in our investments. With talented, driven, and supportive investors like Victor and Silviu, we are confident that Matterwave Ventures has a bright future ahead.

Please join us in congratulating them on their well-earned promotions.

Our portfolio company fruitcore robotics, a pioneer of intelligent robotics and automation solutions and creator of HORST digital robots, has raised €23 million to enable companies of all sizes – from medium-sized businesses to global corporations – to introduce robotics- and automation solutions into their manufacturing. Three years after its market launch, fruitcore robotics is already automating several hundred different applications in 29 different industries in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. The 60+ partner network in the DACH region and Italy is being continuously expanded.

Internationally renowned venture capital firms Capricorn Partners and KOMPAS, and the high and deep tech investor XAI technologies are investing in fruitcore robotics for the first time. Existing investors are also confident: UVC Partners, Matterwave Ventures, CNB Capital, the family business Pecon and the btov Private Investor Network are participating in the financing round. The capital is intended to accelerate product innovation, sales and marketing and international expansion.

At the heart of fruitcore robotics’ success are the intelligent robotics solutions based around the HORST (Highly Optimized Robotic Systems Technology) “digital robot”, which provides companies of all sizes with access to industrial-grade, highly productive robotics. Even small and medium-sized companies without prior experience can easily and quickly get started with automation and digitization. The barriers to entry are low – low investment costs, fast implementation, intuitive programming and high performance all come together to fulfill the claim. Hardware, software, connectivity and services are offered in an easy-to-use end-to-end solution. HORST can be used for loading and unloading machines, for stacking, sorting and packaging products, for handling turned, milled and stamped parts, but also for pick and place applications for small parts.

Jens Riegger, Managing Director (CEO) and co-founder of fruitcore robotics said: “With the closing of our Series B financing, we are again a big step closer to our goal of making robotics and automation solutions accessible to the masses. We see that the demand for high-quality and easy-to-use robots in the market is steadily increasing. Therefore, we will use the new capital primarily to serve the demand for our robotics and automation solutions as well as digital products in the European market. By the end of 2023, fruitcore robotics aims to open up a large part of the European market.”

Patrick Heimburger, Managing Director (Chief Revenue Officer) and co-founder of fruitcore robotics said: “We are still at the beginning of the robots’ growth trajectory, especially in medium-sized businesses, and we are convinced that with our ‘digital robot’ HORST we are one of the game changers and thus a driving force for the broad use of robots in the manufacturing industry. We would like to thank our investors for the trust they have placed in us.”

Josef Mardijan Member of the Executive Board (CFO) of fruitcore robotics adds: “In times of political and economic uncertainty, the current financing round with a significant volume of 23 million euros once again confirms the attractiveness of our business model and not least the trust placed in our team, of which we are very proud.” The company now employs more than 100 people and will create attractive jobs at its Constance and Villingen sites through further growth.”

Our very own Partner colleague Robert Gallenberger is excited to continue supporting the team on its growth journey: “The fruitcore robotics team continues to impress with their ability to turn a strong fundamental invention into a complete product offering that generates ROI for its customers. From the patented kinematics which yield a structural cost advantage to the holistic software approach that solves the entire automation problem, the team constantly innovates and further improves the customer value proposition by executing on their R&D roadmap.”

‍

‍

Our portfolio company ToolSense is the leading mobile-first Asset Operations Platform for maintenance, repair, and operations teams in asset-intensive industries such as construction and facility management. Today, the company is pleased to announce its €8m Series A round led by PwC IIoT, with participation from Matterwave Ventures and aws Gründerfonds, alongside angel investors including PlanRadar’s founders and Co-CEOs Sander Van de Rijdt and Ibrahim Imam.

Today, asset-intensive companies in industries such as construction or facility management still rely on Excel, WhatsApp, and Pen and Paper when it comes to managing their assets. This results in wasted time, complex safety challenges, and wasted resources such as fuel or consumables.

ToolSense’s vision is to support maintenance, repair, and operations teams by digitizing asset processes, enabling automation and empowering smarter decisions. Through unifying assets, people, and processes in ToolSense, the lives of frontline workers become easier and asset-intensive industries become more efficient.

Customers are reporting a 20% increase in productivity, and a 60% reduction in unplanned downtime, combined with 20% annual savings in asset and maintenance costs after switching to ToolSense.

The company’s SaaS and IoT solution provides an advanced suite of functionalities designed to free teams in maintenance, repair, and operations from Excel, Pen and Paper, and WhatsApp—with digital tools that streamline workflows, create transparency, and boost productivity. With ToolSense, frontline workers can report issues, keep track of preventive maintenance schedules, digitize their fleet with IoT devices, and control daily business operations, like safety or quality inspections.

The results are streamlined processes, better decision-making, and more efficient inspections with less wasted time and human error, improved safety, and complete visibility into the asset operations across the entire organization.

In the last 12 months revenues more than tripled, while managed Assets on ToolSense grew by 600%. Today ToolSense serves customers globally in industries such as construction, facility management, heavy industry, municipal maintenance, hospitality, and manufacturing. The ToolSense SaaS platform is trusted by more than 700 companies across more than 30 countries, such as TYROLIT, Leonhard Weiss, WISAG, Compass Group or STIHL, and was able to win renowned industry awards, such as the Construction Equipment Forum Startup Award, the Futurezone IoT Award, or the Interclean Innovation Award.

The company will use the new capital to push that growth, by adding to its 25-person staff, increasing sales and marketing activities, and expanding its platform to additional use cases and industries. Thus, ToolSense continues on its path to becoming the global market leader in the emerging €56bn Asset Operations Software Industry.

“We are tackling a global challenge with a lot of impact, and it’s getting even more relevant now, through upcoming ESG regulations and increasing cost pressure through inflation. This is why we are excited to partner with PWC IIoT on bringing ToolSense to even more customers, industries, and use cases through our Series A funding round.” —
Alexander Manafi, CEO & Co-Founder of ToolSense

In our latest blog post, we cover one of the often forgotten industries: waste

Venture Capitalists are known to focus on industries with a lot of change potential, but despite the huge impact that the industry has on our daily lives and economic powerhouse industries, the waste industry has gotten minimal exposure to the Climate Tech investment upswing of the past few years. Research shows that as the number of total investments grew 5x in the past five years, capital deployed to waste management technology and circular/recycled/efficient materials grew unsteadily, making up of around 2. 5% of total deployed capital between H1 2021 and H1 2022. The problem and change drivers are clear, but the use-cases and target technologies lack innovativeness or they face challenges in scaling.

One thing is clear: the waste industry is subjugated to a huge push towards change. Decreased supply of oil will push the price of virgin plastics closer towards that of the premium price of recyclates. Today, the recyclate market cannot support the increased demand, which is already outstripping supply by various industrial accounts. A first major change in the industry occured, when mixed waste export to Asian companies was dramatically reduced by their national governments around 2010, forcing European companies to become more efficient in their waste systems, and increase their capacities.

In Germany, this means that the waste industry had to consolidate, with a smaller number of players in the value-chain becoming more efficient. By merging waste streams from a larger geographical area economies and efficiencies of scale set in. In Germany, the 63% decrease in the number of waste centers (MRFs) since 2000 allowed for 1 million more tons of waste to be processed as their average annual capacity grew from 40kt to 120kt. Europe’s response to the first wave is nowadays leading the way globally in terms of recycling targets and achieved quotas.

But so far the EU has been reluctant to set any waste recycling or pre-preparation targets close to 100% and the highest goal related to recycling is the EU Circular Economy Action Plan goal to recycle 55% of packaging generated waste by 2030. The general reluctance to set high goals indicates a resistance towards restructuring the waste industry and how materials are processed. Its flagship Single-Use Plastics Directive, introduced in 2021, focused on a framework for recycling 10 consumer waste items and labelling pictographs for consumer packaging for proper disposal. Increasing product lifespan, optimizing material usage in terms of weight and shape, and making sure of product quality and durability are certainly important to a circular economy, but they are unlikely to lead us towards recycling quotas of 100% and an absence of virgin materials…

If you are interested in learning more about why venture capitalists should look more into this area, what market dynamics evolve and what exciting opportunities there are in the space, feel free to read more in our Medium blog post.

IoT asset tracking for the transport and logistics industry is now jointly offered by the Belgian scale up Sensolus together with Deutsche Telekom.
All across Europe more than 175,000 of Sensolus’ trackers are already used and connected to their management platform. The trackers communicate even in harsh environments and deliver information about motion and tilt. If needed, temperatures or filling levels can be monitored as well. The communication is wireless, encrypted and uses the energy-saving Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), allowing their batteries to last for at least five years.
Now tackling the German market, Sensolus can combine their product offering with the network of the German telecommunications incumbent Deutsche Telekom.

Read more about the partnership here and sign up for our newsletter for more updates.

‍

Our portfolio company and leading provider of satellite analytics, LiveEO, has secured €19 million in funding in what is one of the largest investments to date in Earth Observation in Europe. The round was led by MMC Ventures and includes €17M of venture capital, as well as further funds from the European Commission and Investitionsbank Berlin. All existing shareholders continue to back the company and have participated in the round, including Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures (DvH Ventures), Helen Ventures, motu ventures, and ourselves at Matterwave Ventures as manager of the btov Industrial Technologies Fund. Segenia Capital and Hannover Digital Investments (HDInv) have joined the round as new investors alongside MMC.

LiveEO’s core product is an infrastructure monitoring suite powered by satellite imagery. The company uses artificial intelligence to analyse Earth Observation data, and gives operators of railways, power lines and pipelines actionable information on the risk posed by vegetation, ground deformations, or third parties. The software enables customers to optimise the maintenance programmes of core infrastructure assets, making them increasingly resilient to climate change. In turn, this reduces travel disruptions, power outages and supply chain delays.

“We are kicking off the third big wave of commercialisation of the space industry. After huge investments in rockets and satellites in the past years, it is time for companies like us to
develop highly automated applications which translate data from hundreds of Earth Observation satellites into real value for end-users,” said co-founder and co-CEO of LiveEO, Daniel Seidel.

“It is exciting to see that our vision, as well as our execution so far, has attracted interest and investment from both top-tier venture capital firms as well as the public sector. We want to bring insights derived from space imagery to every global value chain, and continue to focus on human-centred applications. This financing round brings us a significant step closer to that goal”, said Sven Przywarra, co-founder and co-CEO of LiveEO.

Since its €5.25 million Series A round in 2021, LiveEO has more than doubled its headcount, tripled its revenue, signed new customers across five continents, and strengthened its market-leading position in infrastructure monitoring. In the past four years since inception, LiveEO’s products have empowered its clients to streamline their maintenance operations, making them safer and more efficient, and saving thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions in the process.

Deep tech investor MMC has shown great interest in the NewSpace ecosystem, and identified Earth Observation as a fast-growing market. The investment round is a testament to this assessment. “We are excited to lead this round for LiveEO and it reflects MMC’s continued focus on emerging datasets and companies that develop AI analytics to power core business decisions. LiveEO offers a critical tool that paves the way for sustainable industry automation, and we wholeheartedly support the company’s vision of leveraging satellite technologies, big data, and the latest developments in artificial intelligence to help companies adapt to the challenges posed by climate change,” said Andrei Dvornic, Principal at MMC Ventures.

The new funds will accelerate LiveEO’s global market expansion for its infrastructure monitoring products and fund entry into new markets such as insurance. New investor HDInv under leadership of Ulrich Wallin, will support product development and go-to-market for the insurance sector, where LiveEO can contribute to better-informed decision making. “LiveEO’s technology offers companies and institutions an efficient and smart way to monitor fixed assets. This enables potential damaging events to be detected and prevented at an early stage,” says Ulrich Wallin, HDInv managing director and former CEO of Hannover Re, the world’s third largest reinsurance company.

‍

‍

• Kolmsee has 25 years of C-level responsibility in energy and process industries and will oversee primarily the topics of energy, resource efficiency and Climate Tech at Matterwave
• Fundraising launched for the new Matterwave Industrial Technologies II Fund with well over 100 million Euro for new investments in Deep Tech technology companies and industrial applications

Matterwave Ventures, a Munich-based company that specialises in early-stage venture capital investments in industrial deep tech technologies has strengthened its top management with the addition of Ines Kolmsee. The 52-year-old “Diplom-Ingenieurin” (Graduate Engineer) with a degree in energy- and process engineering and INSEAD graduate brings more than 25 years of experience as executive in industrial companies with a focus on energy and process industries to her new role as partner. Most recently, she was a member of the executive board of the Luxembourg-based stainless steel producer Aperam SA for almost four years; in this position she was responsible for the digital transformation in sales and the supply chain as well as the automation of manufacturing (“Smart Factory”). Prior to that, as Chief Technology Officer, she managed, for example, the integration of renewable energies into the electrical grid at one of Germany’s largest energy suppliers, EWE AG. In her capacity as CEO, she also led the specialty chemicals company SKW Stahl Metallurgie from a restructuring case to a successful stock exchange listing and managed the technological development and international expansion of the group for around ten years. She currently holds several supervisory board mandates at industrial and technology companies in Europe and Canada.

“We are very pleased that Ines Kolmsee has decided to join Matterwave Ventures. She contributes extremely valuable operational and strategic expertise from the executive level of large industrial companies and at the same time, she has strong expertise in the fields of process and energy technology, which are of great relevance to our investment strategy. This will help us to leverage the great potential that we are now offering our investors with the new Matterwave Industrial Technologies II Fund that has just been launched and for which the fundraising is currently underway”, comments Benedikt Kronberger, Partner at Matterwave Ventures.

Extensive expertise in early-stage, future-oriented technologies

Matterwave Ventures emerged at the beginning of 2022 as a rebranding of the btov Industrial Technologies team founded in 2016, which operated for the first few years on the platform of the VC company btov Partners. The team at Matterwave has more than 50 years of accumulated venture capital expertise and has already made successful investments in more than 60 technology companies in the industrial sector. With investments of between one and 10 million Euro, the venture capital firm focuses on companies in the early stages of their development and also provides them with strategic advice for their expansion and further development. In the past four years alone, Matterwave has made investments in 21 companies through the 100 million Euro btov Industrial Technologies Fund and is still actively managing those investments. The focus lies on portfolio companies that use software or hardware innovation to enable industry-defining products and services to shape the future of industrial value creation in Europe. Portfolio companies are located throughout Europe, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK and of course the DACH region. Most recently, for instance, Matterwave has made investments in LiveEO, an expert in satellite-based infrastructure monitoring, Tvarit, a company that massively reduces energy and material consumption in production processes with AI algorithms, or Codasip, a provider of software tools for chip development.

New technology fund with a strong focus on sustainability

In consideration of a variety of promising investment options with large growth potential, Matterwave has now started with the fundraising for the Matterwave Industrial Technologies II Fund. The fund volume is planned to be significantly above 100 million Euro. The capital will be invested in about 20 to 25 companies over the next few years. As before, the technological focus is on the one hand on Deep Tech with industrial use cases, e.g. new production technologies such as robotics, 3D printing or the optimisation of the supply chain, on automation topics, sensor technology or enabling technologies such as the use of quantum systems, or new semiconductor and photonics topics. On the other hand, Matterwave Ventures will invest even more in sustainability, resource efficiency, and Climate Tech than it has over the past ten years. In this context, the company has also further developed its sustainability approach. The company’s goal is not only to meet its own ESG responsibility with respect to these issues, but also to incorporate the topic of sustainability as an important criterion in investment decisions and to closely accompany its portfolio companies to understand and manage their respective impact on the world along the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Matterwave Industrial Technologies II Fund was designed to meet the SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation) requirements of Article 8 of the European Union. This regulation requires companies in the financial services sector to disclose transparently how sustainable their products are.

‍

Our portfolio company LynxCare, a Belgian AI-powered clinical data platform has received €20 million in funding to accelerate the international rollout of its technology. The Series A round was led by Swiss healthtech investor MTIP and backed by Elaia and, besides Matterwave Ventures, our co-investors Heran Partners, and PMV.

Hospitals generate an enormous amount of data. This data can be used to improve patient care and accelerate scientific research. However, an estimated 90% of this data is not used, as it is locked away in scattered and unstructured data sources. LynxCare enables hospitals to unlock their vast amounts of siloed, legacy data using AI and NLP, to gain insights into the Real-World performance of treatments and fuel clinical insights for doctors and researchers to improve patient outcomes. Launched in 2015 by Georges De Feu (Pharm D.) and Dries Hens (M.D.), LynxCare’s clinical data platform is accelerating research at the leading Health Systems across Europe and North America.

Unlocking previously unavailable insights for scientific research

The investment round follows major breakthroughs for LynxCare. In 2021, the company announced its collaboration EHDEN, the program supported by the European Commission to promote access to health data for scientific research. Together with EHDEN, LynxCare supports the ethical use of data based on an open source data model, allowing research within a strict ethical framework and without privacy violation. In this context, LynxCare announced several research collaborations with Life Sciences companies i.e. AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer.

Matterwave Ventures had already invested in LynxCare together with Heran Partners in 2020, contributing to the expansion of data-driven patient care and scientific research. By raising now €20 million– the largest capital round ever in digital health in Belgium – the company can accelerate the international rollout of its platform.

Strategic partnership to boost internationalization

Coincidentally with this financing round, LynxCare is forming a strategic partnership with PSIH. The French market-leader in clinical business intelligence will enable the roll-out of the LynxCare platform within their client base of over a thousand hospitals. “Our partnership with LynxCare will accelerate setup of hospital clinical data warehouses providing unmatched data for medical research, quality of care, patients pathway monitoring, and analytics to improve treatments”, says Jean-Baptiste Angeloglou, General Director of PSIH group. “PSIH group will bring its deep expertise on structured data treatment and business intelligence, combined with LynxCare’s state of the art capabilities to structure electronic medical records with innovative NLP algorithms.”

We would like to congratulate the whole LynxCare Team on achieving this great milestone!

‍

A quick refresher, or background for those new here: we started together as a team back in 2016, when we formed the dedicated and stand-alone Industrial Technologies team on the btov Partners platform. Prior to that, our founding partners had already been active Deep Tech VC investors for many years and had co-invested together in other roles. Since 2016, we have grown to 13 highly experienced and dedicated team members with a cumulative VC experience of over 60 years and 40+ past and current advisory board positions.

Earlier this year, we decided to continue our investment activity under a new name, Matterwave Ventures. But really, apart from the name, nothing has changed! Our team, our investment strategy, our deep curiosity for technology as well as reporting and fund administration processes remain just as they were (and just the way we like it). We continue to support early-stage European start-ups with strong technological software or hardware differentiation that focus on the industrial value chain. We are backing the future of European industry — because it’s a huge and lucrative investment opportunity and because it’s needed more than ever!

The world around us has changed radically and quickly in the last five years. We have seen markets being redrawn, experienced new ways of working, witnessed impressive resilience of companies and teams. There are imperatives but also new opportunities to re-organize industrial activity. They have compelled us to orient ourselves around what we see as the great opportunities of our time: the two megatrends resource efficiency and industrial digitization.

Read the rest of our post here and sign up for our newsletter for more updates.

‍

We are thrilled to announce our latest investment in Tvarit, experts in the application of artificial intelligence for process optimisation in foundries, together with their existing investors Futury Capital from Frankfurt am Main and BM H from Wiesbaden.

TVARIT has developed one of the most advanced Industrial AI technologies for sustainable and zero-waste manufacturing. With the Deep Tech products and prescriptive AI, manufacturing companies not only receive preemptive signals, but also recommended actions to optimise production processes. This leads to a significant reduction in direct costs such as scrap and indirect costs such as resource-wastage and CO2 emissions.

TVARIT’s unique prescriptive engine has patented “Hybrid AI” technology, which combines shopfloor physics with state-of-the-art Deep Learning technology. Hybrid AI significantly reduces implementation time to 4 weeks with almost 100% prediction accuracy.

In recent months, the team has constantly achieved great results in reducing scrap and energy for its manufacturing clients, which has further fueled TVARIT’s organic revenue growth. Among others, the company succeeded in winning Maxion, one of the largest automotive wheel manufacturers in the world, as a customer and became its sole AI partner for their world-wide implementation, due to its outstanding performance in reducing production scrap and optimising energy.

In addition to expanding the technology, the €2.8 million will primarily be used to expand the technical and sales team to meet the high customer demand and further scale the company. Apart from metal processing, other process industries such as the food industry are to be developed in the future.

You can read more about why we invested in Tvarit in our Medium post and feel free to check out their website.

‍

Our portfolio company Ninox Software, the leading low-code platform provider, continues its strong growth path. Serving 6,500+ customers worldwide, the company closed a financing round for another €8 million. Leading the round is Hi Inov and VI Partners, while existing investors around Matterwave Ventures, IBB Ventures, as well as founders, remain as shareholders.

The experts of the US market research institute Gartner describe “low-code” as one of the most important technology trends worldwide. In particular, SMEs with limited IT resources benefit from the new possibilities to develop individual solutions for digitalising their business processes in the shortest possible time without programming skills.

Ninox has specialised in this target group with its low-code platform of the same name and is registering steadily growing demand from almost all sectors. Construction, trades and manufacturing are particularly well represented, with the focus on CRM, HR and project management in the application areas. Where in the past people improvised with various tools and Excel spreadsheets on a departmental and task-related basis, with Ninox they now use lean, cost-effective software solutions that are precisely tailored to the individual requirements of the companies.

Low-code also for business-critical processes

For example, the leading prefabricated house manufacturer KAMPA now organises essential core processes, including the coordination of its construction projects, completely with Ninox. KNAUER, a hidden champion in scientific measuring instruments, also controls its worldwide sales activities with a Ninox solution. In both cases, the solution was largely developed in-house. Employees from the relevant departments were actively involved in the development process.

This is exactly the kind of scenario IT specialist Frank Böhmer had in mind when he founded Ninox in 2013: “Companies are faced with the choice of either using inflexible standard software or investing in expensive, lengthy in-house developments with uncertain results. I wanted to change that with Ninox and create a system that is so easy to learn that end users in the company can use it to develop their own solutions – without programming knowledge and long training periods.”

Implement digitalisation projects in SMEs even faster

And Ninox wants to make it even easier for companies to implement their own digitalisation projects in the future. The Ninox Industry Kits are currently being developed: industry and task-specific templates that companies can easily adapt to their processes in order to achieve their individual solution even faster. In addition, the existing network of partners is to be expanded, which will support customers with qualified services in the initialisation or implementation of their Ninox projects.

Against the background of the high catch-up demand for the digitalisation of medium sized companies in the DACH region, this strategy has also convinced investors. With Hi Inov and VI Partners, two renowned VC investors were brought on board to finance the growth course together with the existing investors to the amount of €8 million. We will continue to remain involved, together with existing investors such as IBB Ventures, as well as the founders.

“Ninox is already an excellent product with high customer value. The focus on the needs of medium-sized companies and the dedicated verticalization will give the development of the business a further boost,” says Wolfgang Krause from Hi Inov, explaining the commitment. And Joe Neale from VI Partners adds: “The market for low-code platforms is growing rapidly. We are convinced that Ninox can not only hold its own, but also expand its good position internationally.”

Matterwave Ventures had already invested in Ninox in 2019 and IBB Ventures in 2020, contributing to the expansion of the low-code platform into a successful solution for SMEs. With the new investment, Ninox can now take the next big step, further optimise its product and significantly increase its market share in the DACH region, and later also in Western Europe and North America.

We would like to congratulate Daniel Kronberger, Frank Böhmer and the whole Ninox Team on achieving this great milestone!

‍

We are excited to announce our latest investment in Soter Analytics, an AI-powered ergonomic technology platform to prevent workplace injuries. Also participating in the funding round are AV8 Ventures, OTB Ventures and Verve Ventures.

Soter Analytics is an ergonomic safety start-up based in the UK that uses wearables and AI-driven technology to reduce work-related muscoskeletal disorders. They track both hazardous and safe back and shoulder movements to provide easily accessible and understandable insights. These insights allow multiple stakeholders — the manual workers themselves, health and safety managers, physical therapists, and hiring managers — to make smarter and more informed decisions to minimise and prevent workplace injuries. In an industry where workers’ bodies are often treated as expendable capital, Soter Analytics’ product intends to personalise and humanise them.

Currently, Soter Analytics is used by clients such as Coca-Cola (US), Merck (UK), and Woolworths (Australia). Many new clients are already in the pipeline, with the focus on large employers, and insurance companies to catch mid-sized companies.

We are impressed by what the Soter Analytics team has achieved so far. Matthew and Aleksei are engineers by training, but definitely not only interested in machines. From Soter Analytics’ value proposition to every meeting we had with them, their motivation and passion for people was clear. We look forward to working with them on their growth journey.

The $12 million Series-A round will allow the team to invest in research and development and work alongside organisations to help them improve workplace safety, decrease employee turnover, and enable injured workers return to work faster.

You can read more details in our Medium post about why we invested in Soter. And check out their website.

‍