Growth turbo for the heating transition: nuuEnergy raises €4.3 million to revolutionise the heat-pump market with craft expertise

Munich-based EnergyTech start-up nuuEnergy, which specialises in building regional heat-pump installation businesses, has secured €4.3 million in a seed funding round.

The round is led by amberra, the corporate venturing studio of the Cooperative Financial Network (Genossenschaftliche FinanzGruppe) Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken. Additional investors include EnjoyVenture as well as existing backers HTGF, Vireo Ventures, better ventures and Bynd Venture Capital.

Despite a market dip in 2024, the heat-pump market has been growing at double-digit annual rates since 2020. Around 229,000 units were sold last year alone, an increase of 55% year-on-year. According to the German Heat Pump Association (BWP), up to 500,000 heat pumps per year are expected to be installed by 2030. For existing single-family homes in Germany alone, this represents a market volume of more than €21 billion. The climate impact is substantial: switching to heat pumps can reduce building-related CO₂ emissions by up to 95%. However, a shortage of skilled labour and inefficient processes continue to constrain growth.

This is where nuuEnergy GmbH, founded at the end of 2023, comes in—representing a new generation of the heating transition in the building sector: locally rooted, digitally enabled and human-led. nuuEnergy generates revenue through the planning and installation of heat pumps as well as long-term maintenance contracts. Additional revenue potential arises from value-added services such as water-softening systems or energy consulting. The young company quintupled its revenue from 2024 to 2025 and plans to deliver projects in the high three-digit range in 2026. With the capital raised, nuuEnergy will accelerate the establishment and expansion of regional specialist craft businesses and further digitise the entire installation process.

In building regional craft businesses (“hubs”), sought-after skilled workers are attracted through modern software tools and attractive working conditions. nuuEnergy therefore positions itself between traditional craft enterprises and digital ‘neo-installers’. Currently, nuuEnergy’s master technicians and installers operate in the greater Munich, Hamburg and Cologne areas, within a radius of approximately 1.5 hours. In some regions, they also collaborate with long-standing, vetted partner companies. Fully digitised processes and specialised system planners on site ensure individualised technical planning for each building, maximising the efficiency of the new heating system.

“Our customers want a local partner who guides them through the entire process—with the highest quality in planning, installation and service. With the Cooperative Financial Network and EnjoyVenture, we now have additional strong partners on board who support the development of our business model with both capital and expertise. Cooperative banks can also provide our customers with tailored financing solutions and give further momentum to the local heating transition,” says Tobias Klug, co-founder of nuuEnergy. “This strengthens our regional, quality-focused approach. Ultimately, our craftspeople—the heart of our company—benefit as well,” adds Julia Rafschneider, co-founder of nuuEnergy.

With our investment in nuuEnergy, the Cooperative Financial Network is actively shaping the energy-efficient modernisation of residential buildings in Germany,” says Björn Schmuck, Managing Director of amberra. “The collaboration with the start-up enables the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken to combine regional value creation with digital financing processes. What particularly impressed us about nuuEnergy is its close cooperation with local skilled trades businesses – and, by extension, with the customers of our banks.”

“With many LPs deeply rooted in the SME sector themselves, we strongly believe in nuuEnergy’s mission and positioning to make genuine quality scalable,” says Gerrit Gnisa, Investment Manager at EnjoyVenture. “With nuuEnergy, I can say with a clear conscience: I would buy a heat pump from them myself. The team is not focused on digital sales alone, but on delivering real, long-term innovation in skilled trades and engineering.”

HTGF has deliberately decided to make a follow-on investment in the Munich-based company: “We see significant potential. The heat-pump market has clearly regained momentum—and nuuEnergy offers a compelling solution: working hand in hand with the craft sector, a scalable model is emerging that enables millions of households to switch to heat pumps while maintaining high quality,” says Johannes Weber, Principal at HTGF.

About nuuEnergy
Founded in 2023, nuuEnergy specialises in the planning and installation of heat pumps. With a unique business model, the company combines the advantages of digital processes with the quality and customer proximity of traditional craft businesses. Its goal is to make the transition to climate-friendly heating as simple, efficient and high-quality as possible.

For more information, please visit www.nuuenergy.com.

About amberra and the amberra fund
amberra is the corporate venturing studio of the Cooperative Financial Network Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken. Founded in 2023, amberra is building an ecosystem of bank-adjacent and non-bank services for cooperative banks—through investments and partnerships with start-ups as well as the development of its own ventures together with partners from the cooperative network. The company focuses on the life domains of housing, health, sustainability and regional economy.

The basis for amberra’s investment activities is the amberra fund, with a target volume of €100 million. Following investments in the real-estate platform Impleco/Wohnglück, the education start-up ubimaster, and the health start-ups Lillian Care and Gardia, the fund now expands its portfolio with nuuEnergy into the sustainability domain.

For more information, please visit www.amberra.de or follow us on LinkedIn.

About EnjoyVenture
EnjoyVenture is one of Germany’s oldest venture-capital funds, providing early-stage financing to technology and growth companies for 25 years.

For more information, please visit www.enjoyventure.vc.

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed around 800 startups and achieved 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros. Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family of-fices.

For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn.

About better ventures
better ventures is Europe’s leading alliance for impact entrepreneurs. The network has invested in more than 45 impact start-ups with over 80 entrepreneurial angels, focusing on scalable business models that combine impact and return.

For more information, please visit www.betterventures.io.

About Vireo Ventures
Vireo Ventures is a Berlin-based early-stage fund specialising in European start-ups in energy and electrification.

For more information, please visit www.vireo.vc.

About Bynd
Bynd is a leading Iberian Venture Capital firm with focus on investing in pre-seed and seed tech startups with 70+ investments realized across sectors and industries since 2010.

For more information, please visit www.bynd.vc.

INLEAP Photonics Secures Pre-Seed Funding to Develop Laser-Based Counter-Drone System for Defence and Critical Infrastructure

Tech company INLEAP Photonics is emerging from stealth mode following the completion of its pre-seed funding round in summer 2025.

The round was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with participation from Ventis Capital and additional private investors. The capital will be used to scale INLEAP® FASTLIGHT® SHIELD, a laser-based defence system that has already been successfully tested and reduces response times to asymmetric threats to mere fractions of a second. 

Laser-based response to a real security challenge 

Drones have become an operational risk: rapidly available, low-cost, versatile, and difficult to stop in many scenarios. Operators of critical infrastructure, authorities and armed forces require capabilities that act within seconds, remain precise, can be deployed repeatedly, and operate responsibly even in challenging environments. INLEAP Photonics addresses this gap with technology originating from high-speed industrial applications and adapted for defence applications.

Proven technology as the foundation for FASTLIGHT® SHIELD 

INLEAP® FASTLIGHT® – originally developed for high-speed laser processes such as Additive Manufacturing and battery cell production – enables ultra-fast and ultra-precise laser beam steering. 

INLEAP® FASTLIGHT® SHIELD builds on this industrially validated platform: 
a laser-based defence system that neutralises drones by applying highly targeted energy to identified weak points – within extremely short time windows, deployable in mobile setups and designed for repeated operations. 

INLEAP Photonics has successfully developed and tested the first system and is now expanding its operational and performance parameters for user deployment.

Dr.-Ing. Marius Lammers, CEO of INLEAP Photonics: 
“We counter the asymmetric drone threat with technological superiority. The current security situation leaves no room for slow solutions. Our system closes the temporal gap between detection and effect. With this funding, we have consistently advanced our prototype toward operational readiness and offer German industry and public-sector actors a sovereign defence capability against airborne threats.” 

Dr.-Ing. Felix Wellmann, CTO of INLEAP Photonics: 
“Our industrial expertise enables laser beam steering speeds that current systems cannot match. The prototype has demonstrated that we can intercept agile targets within milliseconds. We are now transferring this precision into a robust, scalable system that effectively protects critical infrastructure and military facilities.” 

Dr. Koen Geurts, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF: 
“INLEAP Photonics addresses a highly relevant future market at the intersection of deep tech and defence. Laser effectors for drone and air defence are a rapidly growing technology segment dominated by only a few players. INLEAP’s precision and performance are exceptional. The ambition is clear: INLEAP wants to become a global leader in laser-based C-UAS.” 

Following the successful demonstration of its core capability, INLEAP Photonics is now working on operational scaling. This includes expanding performance classes, validating the system in real deployment scenarios, and further developing system integration into existing security architectures.

About INLEAP Photonics 
INLEAP Photonics is a German high-tech company that develops, manufactures and sells ultra-fast and highly precise laser beam steering systems. The company builds and industrialises high-performance laser technology for two key applications: increasing efficiency and productivity in industrial manufacturing, and enabling safe and controlled drone defence to protect people and critical infrastructure. 

Based on the industrially proven INLEAP® FASTLIGHT® technology, INLEAP® FASTLIGHT® SHIELD has been developed as a laser-based solution for controlled and eye-safe drone defence. It enables deployment in sensitive and urban environments – reliably, precisely and without collateral damage. 

INLEAP Photonics was founded as a spin-off from Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V. and combines deep expertise in optics and laser systems engineering with industrial robustness. The company addresses industrial users, public-sector clients and security-relevant organisations across Europe. Further information is available at: www.inleap-photonics.com. 

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds  
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed around 800 startups and achieved 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros.  

Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.   
For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn.    

About Ventis Capital
Ventis Capital is a venture capital fund backed by an entrepreneurial family, investing in early-stage, technology-driven companies. The fund focuses on founding teams that leverage innovative technologies to address tangible industrial, societal, or economic challenges. Ventis Capital serves as a long-term partner to its portfolio companies, providing both capital and strategic expertise to support the development and scaling of sustainable business models. 

Media contact 
Charlene Schmeck 
Senior Communications Consultant, PIABO Communications 
Tel.: +49 172 5672096 
Email: INLEAP-Photonics@piabo.net 

HTGF management takes responsibility for DTCF

As part of the integration of DTCF announced in November, Romy Schnelle, Sebastian Borek and Dr. Achim Plum took over the management of Deep Tech and Climate Fonds Management GmbH on 1 February. The DTCF and HTGF teams are working closely together to build a powerful integrated public-private VC platform. Dr. Elisabeth Schrey and Tobias Faupel, the previous management team, are involved in this process in their new roles as venture partners.

Twogee Biotech Secures €2.2 Million Seed Funding to Industrialize Circular Biomass Value Creation

• Twogee Biotech secures more than €2 million in seed funding to commercialize its enzyme platform for the industrial utilization of biomass residual streams, transforming the chemical industry through circular economy principles and sustainable building blocks.
• Founded in 2024 in Munich, Twogee develops customized enzyme solutions and corresponding production strains from lab scale to industrial manufacturing. First MVPs are available, pilot projects with industry partners are underway, and in-house laboratories and bioreactors have been established.
• Benefit for industry partners: Fossil- and food-based raw materials can be replaced by locally produced, low-CO₂ alternatives such as second-generation (2G) sugars, enabling new circular value chains from previously underutilized biomass side streams.

Twogee Biotech, a Munich-based biotechnology startup specializing in tailor-made enzyme solutions for the industrial conversion of biomass into sustainable raw materials, has successfully closed a seed financing round of €2.16 million. Investors include High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Bayern Kapital, as well as strategic partners such as AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance and Heinz Entsorgung.

Twogee Biotech enables industrial partners to economically convert previously low-value biomass residues and by-products into sustainable second-generation (2G) raw materials (residue-based, in contrast to first-generation (1G), food-based), with a particular focus on sugars for bio- and synthetic biology applications. This is powered by a predictive development platform that integrates enzyme screening, strain engineering, and fermentation with an industrial mindset from the outset, shortening development cycles and reducing scale-up risks.

Founded in 2024 by Frank Wallrapp and Helge Jochens, each bringing more than ten years of shared industry experience in biotechnology, and supported by the Bio^M MAxL Incubator, the company is using the newly raised capital to accelerate the development and commercialization of its technology. Initial MVPs and paid pilot projects with industrial partners have already been completed. A licensing model that also enables local enzyme production at the customer site reduces costs and CO₂ emissions while supporting the creation of decentralized, circular value chains.

“Many industrial residual streams contain significant untapped commercial value,” says Frank Wallrapp, CEO of Twogee Biotech. “We help our partners unlock this potential with minimal integration effort and a clear economic value proposition.”

Helge Jochens, CTO and co-founder, adds: “A substantial portion of the funding will be invested in expanding our new laboratories at the IZB with predictive bioreactor systems, as well as strengthening our team with experienced process and scale-up experts. This ensures that our developments can be reliably and economically transferred to our customers’ production scale.”

With the successful completion of its seed financing, Twogee Biotech positions itself as a technology development partner for industrial companies seeking to transform existing facilities and material streams into circular, low-CO₂ value creation systems.

Tilmann Petersen, Investment Manager at HTGF, comments: “At HTGF, we are very proud to invest in Twogee Biotech. With its customer specific enzyme technology, Twogee is building a true enabler of the circular economy that allows many downstream industries to finally unlock long awaited growth potential. Second generation raw materials have the potential to become a real game changer when sustainability and higher profitability go hand in hand, as they do here.”

Monika Steger, Managing Director of Bayern Kapital, adds: “Twogee Biotech combines industrial biotechnology with a clear contribution to the circular economy by economically converting biological residues and by-products into high-value second-generation raw materials using customized enzyme solutions. This approach strengthens our life sciences and biotech portfolio in the field of white biotechnology by integrating resource efficiency, sustainability, and industrial scalability in a compelling way. We see significant potential and look forward to supporting the company on its growth journey.”

About Twogee Biotech
Twogee Biotech is a biotechnology company founded in 2024 and headquartered in Martinsried, Munich. Based on their innovative platform, the company develops customized enzyme and strain solutions for the industrial conversion of biogenic side and residual streams into sustainable second-generation raw materials. Twogee enables efficient utilization of biomass residues and supports the chemical industry in transitioning toward circular, low-CO₂ value creation—economically, scalably, and customer-focused.

For more information, visit twogee-biotech.com or follow Twogee Biotech on LinkedIn.

Media contact
Twogee Biotech GmbH
Frank Wallrapp, CEO
T.: +49 (0) 176 99389763
frank.wallrapp@twogee-biotech.com

About Bayern Kapital
Bayern Kapital is one of the most experienced and financially strong venture capital investors in the DACH region. With around €1.3 billion in assets under management, over 120 active portfolio companies, and ticket sizes of up to €50 million per company, Bayern Kapital is one of the few investors in the market that provides financing from pre-seed to global growth and scale-up rounds from a single source. As a public venture capital investor, Bayern Kapital invests in consortiums with leading national and international venture capital funds and supports tech startups and scaleups as a reliable anchor investor across multiple financing rounds.

Since 1995, Bayern Kapital has financed around 390 startups and scaleups with over €675 million of its own equity capital in areas such as deep tech, life sciences, AI, climate tech, SaaS, new space, and quantum technology. Among the numerous success stories from Bavaria are EGYM, plancq, Isar Aerospace, Tubulis, Marvel Fusion, and OroraTech.

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed around 800 startups and achieved 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros.

Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs  and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices. For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn.

Media contact
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121
t.jacob@htgf.de

About AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance
The AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance is an impact-driven strategic investment vehicle founded by BayWa AG, the Bindewald + Gutting Milling Group, and the MULTIVAC Group. We invest in innovative AgriFood startups across the entire food and agriculture value chain to advance sustainable “good food” solutions for a livable future. Through strategic partnerships and guided by United Nations sustainability goals, we aim to drive positive change in the food industry while delivering measurable returns for our stakeholders.

About HEINZ Gruppe
The HEINZ Group is a family-run company based in Moosburg and has been active in the fields of waste disposal, recycling, transport, and logistics for over 90 years. As a service provider with strong regional roots in the circular economy, HEINZ combines many years of experience with a clear vision of the future. In addition to continuous investment in sustainable infrastructure and modern recycling solutions, the HEINZ Group is specifically involved in start-ups in order to gain early access to innovative technologies and new approaches in the field of recycling and resource efficiency. The aim is to actively contribute to the further development of sustainable solutions and to help shape the transformation of the circular economy in the long term.

Co-reactive secures €6.5 million in seed funding for CO₂-negative construction materials technology

• The climate-tech start-up Co-reactive closes a seed financing round totaling €6.5 million.
• The company’s technology continuously mineralizes CO₂ and converts emissions into high-performance, CO₂-negative supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs).
• The financing round is led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). Further investors: NRW.Bank, HBG Ventures, AFI Ventures (the early-stage impact arm of Ventech), Evercurious VC as well as climate tech business angels. In addition, the company receives seven-figure funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).
• Co-reactive is now scaling from prototype to a continuous 1,000-ton demonstration plant and preparing industrial pilot plants at the tens-of-thousands-of-tons scale.

Founded in 2024, climate-tech start-up Co-reactive from North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has completed a seed financing round totaling €6.5 million. The capital will be used to scale the company’s CO₂ mineralization technology – which makes use of CO₂ and binds it permanently in high-performance construction materials – from prototype to industrial application.

The round is led by HTGF. In addition, NRW.Bank, HBG Ventures, AFI Ventures (the early-stage impact arm of Ventech), Evercurious VC and a network of experienced climate tech business angels are investing. The company also receives further support through grants such as the Federal Funding for Industry and Climate (BIK) from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).

Co-reactive has developed a continuous process that converts CO₂ together with natural minerals such as olivine or metallurgical slags (EAF & BOF) into performance-enhancing, CO₂-negative supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). These materials enable a significant reduction of the clinker content in cement and construction materials – and thus a substantial reduction of their CO₂ footprint. At the same time, they increase compressive strength and durability. The solution is designed as a drop-in technology and can be integrated into existing production processes.

In doing so, Co-reactive addresses two key challenges of the industry:

• High emissions: Cement production accounts for around eight percent of global CO₂ emissions. With rising CO₂ pricing, production costs risk doubling over the next decade.
• Raw material scarcity: Conventional cement substitutes such as fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag are becoming increasingly scarce due to the coal phase-out and the transformation of the steel industry.

With the seed financing, Co-reactive will scale its current lab and pilot operations in Q2 2026 to a continuous demonstration plant with a capacity of around 1,000 tons per year. In parallel, the company is preparing, together with industrial partners, first-of-a-kind plants at the tens-of-thousands-of-tons scale that from 2027 onwards are intended to mineralize biogenic or process-related CO₂ streams directly on site at cement and steel plants.

Quotes on the financing

Dr.-Ing. Andreas Bremen, Co-Founder and CEO of Co-reactive: “Funding and scientific research form the foundation – but real transformation only happens through entrepreneurial action. With the right co-founders and an interdisciplinary team, we are taking CO₂ mineralization from the lab into continuous industrial operation. The support of our financing partners, with the HTGF as lead investor, gives us the strength to deliver proof of performance with a 1,000-ton demonstration plant and to prepare large-scale deployment together with industry. We are building a solution that is urgently needed today so that it can create impact at industrial scale tomorrow.”

Anna Stetter, Investment Manager, HTGF: “The construction industry is at a turning point: Conventional supplementary cementitious materials such as ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash are becoming scarce and expensive as decarbonization progresses – prices for fly ash have in some cases quadrupled over the past two years. Co-reactive offers a scalable alternative that is not only CO₂-negative, but can also be integrated into existing processes as a drop-in solution. With strong unit economics and an experienced team of mineralization and plant engineering experts, Co-reactive has the potential to transform the industry in a lasting way.”

About Co-reactive
Co-reactive GmbH is a climate-tech start-up founded in 2024, supported by the EXIST program of BMWE and headquartered in Düsseldorf. The company is developing a continuous CO₂ mineralization technology that uses captured CO₂ and magnesium-/calcium-containing silicate minerals such as olivine or metallurgical slags to produce novel, highly reactive supplementary cementitious materials (CO-SCMs). The CO-SCMs have a negative CO₂ footprint and enable a significant reduction of the clinker content in cement and construction materials without compromising performance. Co-reactive works along the entire value chain with CO₂ and raw material suppliers, cement and concrete producers as well as certification bodies to pave the way from pilot plants to large-scale industrial plants in the 100- to 300-kilotons range. The team combines expertise in CO₂ mineralization, plant engineering, commercialization, and brings experience in scaling sustainable technologies.

Contact
Co-reactive GmbH
Willi Peter, Co-founder & Chief Commercial Officer
willipeter@co-reactive.com

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing start-ups in the fields of deep tech, industrial tech, climate tech, digital tech, life sciences and chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all stages of their development on the way to becoming international market leaders. HTGF invests in the pre-seed and seed phase and can participate significantly in further financing rounds. Since its founding in 2005, it has financed around 800 start-ups and realized 200 successful exits. HTGF has over €2 billion in fund volume.
The fund investors in this public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.
Further information is available at HTGF.de or on LinkedIn.

Media contact
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH            
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager      
T: +49 228 – 82300 – 121
t.jacob@htgf.de

Altavo concludes Series A2 for the development of its Artificial Voice

Altavo, a medtech startup in AI-based voice rehabilitation, successfully closed a Series A2 financing round on January 12, 2026. A European consortium led by Novalis Biotech and Beteiligungsmanagement Thüringen is investing € 3m into the development of Altavo’s innovative Artificial Voice.

Altavo’s Artificial Voice is designed to help voiceless people, for example after laryngectomy or during mechanical ventilation, regain their own, natural sounding voice. The “silent speech” technology developed for this purpose in collaboration with researchers at Dresden University of Technology, is based on non-invasive radar sensing and the latest AI algorithms. 

In addition to the lead investors Novalis Biotech (Ghent, Belgium) and Beteiligungsmanagement Thüringen, participants in the current round include TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), TUDAG TU Dresden AG, Ostwerk GmbH and individual private investors.

The current Series A2 will finance company development, clinical work, as well as development of the commercial product. Altavo’s technology has the potential to improve the quality of life of voiceless people and opens fundamentally new possibilities in silent human-machine interaction.

“We are grateful for the strong backing of our existing European group of investors, and are glad to welcome new investors to the round. With the A2 round we are excellently positioned for the next steps on the path to an Artificial Voice for voiceless people.”  
Rudolf von Bünau, CEO and co-founder, Altavo 

“Altavo’s development and clinical progress and the experienced leadership convinced us to join the A2 round – co-leading the round together with bm-t, the Thuringia state investment agency.” 
Jaroslav Belotserkovsky, Investment Manager, Novalis Biotech  

“Altavo remains a prime example for the translation of academic research in a startup company and for successful public funding in the central German region, across state boundaries. We are glad to be able to accompany the Altavo team in realizing their ambitious vision.” 
Michael Thiele, Investment Manager, bm | t beteiligungsmanagement thüringen gmbh and Sören Schuster, CEO, TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen 

About Altavo 
Altavo GmbH is a Dresden based medical device startup founded in February 2021. Based on non-invasive radar sensing and artificial intelligence, Altavo is developing prosthetics to improve the rehabilitation of aphonic and severely voice impaired patients. At its Dresden and Jena locations, Altavo currently employs a team of 16 with many years of experience in the fields of AI / data science, speech technology, radio frequency engineering, medical devices, and speech therapy.  

Altavo is partnering with the Chair of Speech Technology and Cognitive Systems and the Chair of Radio Frequency Engineering at Dresden University of Technology. The collaboration is supported by a grant from the state of Saxony and co-financed by the European Union in the project “B3 / MUSIK” within the SEMECO Cluster for Future. 

Media Contact: 
Rudolf von Bünau
rudolf.vonbuenau@altavo.eu 

About Novalis Biotech 
Novalis Biotech (Ghent, Belgium) is an early-stage venture capital investor in technologies that revolutionize healthcare. The company’s core competence lies in digitalization in the life sciences with a focus on bioinformatics, genomics and diagnostics. Novalis strongly believes in applying innovative enabling technology to advance the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a disease.  

For more information, please visit  www.noval.is 

About bm | t beteiligungsmanagement thüringen  
bm | t, based in Erfurt, is a subsidiary of Thüringer Aufbaubank and the leading address for investments in Thuringia. bm | t currently manages twelve funds with a total volume of around EUR 445 million, which are to be invested in innovative companies in almost all sectors and in all phases of corporate development – both in the start-up and growth phases or in company succession situations. 

Further information can be found at www.bm-t.com 

Media Contact:  
Michael Thiele
michael.thiele@bm-t.com 

About TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen 
TGFS is an equity investor for knowledge-based, technology-oriented start-ups in the federal state of Saxony. It is the leading start-up investor in Saxony and provides teams in the seed and start-up phases with venture capital and management support. Moreover, an investment by TGFS opens up access to further international investors from the fund’s network. 

The fund was first launched in 2008 by Saxony’s Government (including ERDF funding) and Saxon financial institutions and has since supported over 100 start-ups in what is now the third fund generation.  

Media Contact:  
Sören Schuster
ph. +49 172 2001097
soeren.schuster@cfh.de 

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds 
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed around 800 startups and achieved 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros. 

Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.

Media Contact:  
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager
ph. +49 228 82300 121
t.jacob@htgf.de 

About Ostwerk 
Ostwerk GmbH is a Berlin-based investment company founded in 2024 and a wholly owned subsidiary of Sparda-Bank Berlin eG. As a partnership-driven investor, Ostwerk supports early-stage companies that are committed to creating sustainable regional impact in Eastern Germany. The firm combines financial investment with strategic support and a strong values and network-based approach to foster long-term economic and social development With operations across all six eastern German states, Ostwerk targets purpose-driven startups seeking capital to grow and to scale. 

Media Contact:  
Johannes Ulrich and Franz Neumann (Managing Directors)
hallo@ost-werk.de
www.ost-werk.de 

Cancilico Raises €2.5M to Scale AI-Powered Bone Marrow Diagnostics  

Cancilico, an AI diagnostics startup specializing in blood cancer, announced today the successful closing of its €2.5 million Seed financing round. The investment was led by a strong consortium including High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), TGFS – Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, GEDAD GmbH (investment vehicle of Ehninger family), and ROI Verwaltungsgesellschaft (Roland Oetker).

The funding will accelerate Cancilico’s mission to establish its AI-based diagnostic software MyeloAID as a routine tool to improve the standard of care for blood cancer patients worldwide and to accelerate digital biomarker development in hematological malignancies.

MyeloAID aims to become the game-changer in the diagnosis of hematological malignancies by using advanced artificial intelligence to analyze bone marrow samples with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The underlying data model of Cancilico’s AI-diagnosis is based on a large validated data set of various malignancies as well as data from healthy individuals. Partnerships with hematopathology centers further enhance the data model and cooperation with pharma partners show initial results for accelerated development of biomarkers and therapeutic options for hematological malignancies.

Especially in times when we face a shortage of trained hematologists, such supporting technologies are urgently needed to ensure clinical availability and precision medicine. A unique feature of MyeloAID is the design as a platform-independent solution. The technology can be implemented on any standard imaging microscope or scanner, allowing laboratories to upgrade their current diagnostic capabilities without replacing existing hardware infrastructure. Further, the AI-diagnosis is already available and used as a RUO variant via Smart In Media’s PathoZoom® Scan & LiveView Suite.

“We are convinced to invest in a winning team and a superior technology that has already gained commercial traction with its ‘Research Use Only’ data models,” said Dr. Jörg Traub, Principal at HTGF. “The team combines entrepreneurial spirit with deep technical and clinical knowledge. Cancilico has established a convincing AI model using training data that includes not only diseased patient samples but also healthy datasets, allowing for better and faster classification.”

The experienced and multidisciplinary team including CEO Markus Badstübner, CMO Dr. Moritz Middeke, Tim Schmittmann, Sebastian Riechert, Dr. Jan Eckardt, Dr. Karsten Wendt, and Angel Investor Prof. Gerhard Ehninger, operates at the intersection of data science and clinical hematology.

“We are facing a global shortage of hematologists, yet the complexity of diagnostic cases is rising,” said Markus Badstübner, CEO and Co-Founder of Cancilico. “Our goal is to democratize access to expert-level diagnostics. This investment allows us to navigate the FDA and CE-IVDR regulatory landscapes and bring a tool to market that integrates seamlessly with existing lab hardware to improve patient outcomes without heavy capital expenditure.”

“Bone marrow analysis is one of the most complex and time-intensive disciplines in hematology,” added Dr. Moritz Middeke, CMO and Co-Founder. “By training our AI on a diverse range of healthy and pathological datasets, we developed a tool that acts as a highly skilled ‘digital colleague’. This funding is a crucial step toward bringing this technology to the labs, where it will help to make faster, more accurate diagnoses for blood cancer patients.”

About Cancilico 
Cancilico is a Dresden-based health-tech startup founded in 2023 as a spin-off of the EKFZ for Digital Health at TUD Dresden University of Technology and University Hospital Dresden. The company develops AI-driven diagnostic solutions for hematology, aimed at automating and improving the accuracy of blood and bone marrow analysis. Its mission is to bring cutting-edge AI technology into routine hematology labs, improving the state of care for blood cancer patients around the world and the development of digital biomarkers in hematology. The founding team includes Markus Badstübner, Dr. Moritz Middeke, Tim Schmittmann, Sebastian Riechert, Dr. Jan Eckardt, Dr. Karsten Wendt, and Angel Investor Prof. Gerhard Ehninger.

Cancilico is deeply embedded in the Saxon life science ecosystem, engaging with the regional biotech network Biosaxony, and strongly contributing to the SaxoCell and SEMECO Clusters4Future initiatives. Within these clusters, startups such as Cancilico can further develop their strong founding dynamics and combine them with rapid translational pathways.

About High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) 
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed around 800 startups and achieved 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros.
Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.
For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn.

About TGFS – Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen 
TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen provides technology-oriented founders with equity capital for the seed and start-up phases. The fund was first launched in 2008 by the Free State of Saxony (including ERDF funds) and Saxon financial institutions and has since supported over 100 start-ups. In 2023, TGFS launched its third fund generation. TGFS focuses on young, innovative, technology-oriented companies in the ICT, semiconductor and microsystems technology, medical technology, life sciences, environmental and energy technology, and new media sectors that are based or have operations in Saxony.

For more information, please visit TGFS.de or follow us on LinkedIn.

About ROI Verwaltungsgesellschaft 
Holding Gesellschaft of Roland Oetker.  

About GEDAD GmbH 
The investment vehicle of Ehninger family. 

Media contact 
Cancilico GmbH 
Markus Badstübner, CEO & Dr. Moritz Middeke, CMO 
contact@cancilico.com 

High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH 
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager 
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121 
t.jacob@htgf.de 

 
CoolSem Technologies Secures Pre-Seed Funding to Advance Wafer-Level Thermal Innovation

CoolSem Technologies, a pioneer in semiconductor thermal management, today announced the closing of its pre-seed financing round.

The investment round is led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with participation from KBC Focus Fund NV, Brabant Development Agency (BOM), and TTT Green Tech B.V. (SHIFT Invest). Backed by this strong European syndicate of four renowned international investors, the pre-seed round ensures a solid runway.  

The investment will be used to advance CoolSem Technologies’ wafer-level thermal management technology (WaLTIS®) from concept to engineering samples, validated by top-tier customers in RF, power and photonics, supporting qualification activities and real-world performance evidence. 

Chips are now a critical resource, with rising pressure on raw materials and significant inefficiencies in heat management. CoolSem helps to make the semiconductor industry greener by reducing energy waste, extending hardware life, and enabling the reuse of rare materials, three critical levers for a low-carbon, circular economy. 

“Heat is becoming a fundamental limiting factor in semiconductor performance,” said André van Geelen, CEO of CoolSem Technologies. “In RF, photonics, and power, conventional materials and packaging are approaching their physical limits. The pre-seed round enables us to demonstrate our wafer-level technology with early customers and advance towards industry adoption. With HTGF leading the investment and strong partners alongside, we can focus on the next phase of execution.” 

Olaf Joeressen, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF said: “When I first got in touch with CoolSem Technologies I was immediately intrigued by the simplicity and elegance of the approach driven by an outstanding team. I believe the technology has the potential to become an indispensable ingredient to the future thermal design of chips, an area that is more critical to the performance of semiconductor devices than ever before!” 

Rudi Severijns, Investment Director, KBC Focus Fund said: “We were attracted to CoolSem Technologies’ proposition because of its pragmatic and highly compatible approach. The technology integrates seamlessly into existing semiconductor and photonics value chains, enabling rapid experimentation and adoption with minor redesigns at lower cost. Their solution is turning thermal management from a limiting constraint into a scalable design advantage.” 

Ivana Sersic, Senior Investment Manager at the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) said: “We are proud to participate in this pre-seed round backed by an international consortium to enable CoolSem Technologies to validate their unique technology further. CoolSem Technologies is offering a solution to tackle thermal bottlenecks in the semiconductor industry that has the potential to unlock new and more powerful electronic chips having higher system performance, better energy efficiency and extended device lifespans. The team builds on the profound knowledge and expertise in semiconductor chip development concentrated between the regions of Eindhoven, Leuven and Aachen.” 

Julie van den Brink, Investment Associate at SHIFT Invest said: “With its strong impact potential and highly capable and driven team, CoolSem Technologies is well positioned for the road ahead, and we are excited to support them on this journey.” 

About CoolSem Technologies 
Based in Eindhoven (NL) and founded in 2025, CoolSem Technologies develops wafer-level thermal management technology to reduce thermal resistance and mechanical stress in advanced semiconductor and photonic devices. With its WaLTIS multilayer stack, CoolSem Technologies replaces conventional substrates with an engineered stack designed to enhance heat flow, mechanical stability, and reliability, enabling higher performance and longer lifetime for next-generation devices.
coolsemtechnologies.com 

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds  
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed around 800 startups and achieved 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros.  

Fund investors  in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as  45 companies  and family offices.   

About KBC Focus Fund NV
The KBC Focus Fund is a €50 million venture capital fund dedicated to investing in advanced technology (“Deeptech”) companies with international ambitions. Our primary goal is to accelerate emerging sectors such as nanotechnology, microelectronics, and the Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT). We do this not only by providing capital, but also by leveraging our extensive experience in venture investing and our strong industry network. The fund primarily targets opportunities in Belgium and neighboring countries, home to renowned centers of expertise in these technological domains.  The KBC Focus Fund leverages on the network and expertise of KBC Group and is managed by KBC Securities. KBC Securities has a solid knowledge of the tech ecosystem in Belgium and beyond with experienced teams in the M&A, Corporate Finance and Research & Sales departments. As part of KBC Group, the KBC Focus Fund aims to be long-term partners for entrepreneurs. 
kbcsecurities.com  

 
About Brabant Development Agency
Entrepreneurship is the driver of innovation – from sustainable food sources to a healthy future, climate-neutral energy, and developing promising key technologies. The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) ensures that startups playing a role in these fields receive the right support and funding to get off to a flying start and grow into scaleups, and that companies that aspire to go global can actually do so. Every year BOM works with dozens of companies to create this impact. BOM is an executive body of the Province of Brabant and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. 
bom.nl  

About TTT Green Tech B.V., managed by SHIFT Invest
SHIFT Invest is a leading Dutch impact venture capital fund founded in 2009 and currently investing from its fourth fund. It backs early- and growth-stage companies in food & agriculture, green industries, the energy transition and sustainable mobility & logistics in North-West Europe. Investments (seed, Series A, and growth) focus on bringing meaningful sustainability innovations to market and supporting their commercial success, delivering both environmental and financial returns. Beyond capital, SHIFT supports entrepreneurs with deep expertise, access to an extensive partner-network and strategic guidance. 

SHIFT invests in CoolSem Technologies from the Thematic Technology Transfer GreenTech fund (TTT), a collaboration with TNO, RVO and the Dutch universities of Wageningen (WUR), Eindhoven (TU/e), Twente (UT), Delft (TUD), Groningen (RUG), Nijmegen (RU), and Utrecht (UU). The TTT fund focusses on supporting early-stage companies that bring to market disruptive technologies with a strong impact potential. The aim of the fund is to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economy. 
shiftinvest.com 

Playlist and HTGF Portfolio company EGYM Announce Agreement to Merge and $785 Million in New Equity Investments, Bringing Together Global Leaders in Fitness and Wellness Technology

With an aggregate enterprise value of $7.5 billion, the combined company will unite software, connected hardware, consumer platforms, and corporate wellness solutions to create a global destination for wellbeing.

NEW YORK/MUNICH/BONN, January 15, 2026—Playlist, the newly launched parent brand of Mindbody, Booker, and ClassPass, and EGYM, a global innovation leader in smart fitness technology, AI-enabled workout programming, and corporate wellness solutions, today announced a definitive agreement to merge. The transaction includes $785 million in new equity investments and values the combined enterprise at $7.5 billion. The new investment is led by Affinity Partners, with participation from a consortium of existing investors including Vista Equity Partners, Temasek, and L Catterton. This makes the round the largest in the portfolio of HTGF, one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe.

EGYM has been part of the HTGF portfolio since 2011. From the earliest stage, HTGF provided capital, hands-on sparring and network access, supporting EGYM’s evolution from a strong product to a data-driven platform that combines AI-enabled equipment with the Wellpass corporate wellness network. EGYM is one of HTGF’s standout portfolio successes, underscored by its unicorn status in 2024.  

Upon the closing of this deal, Playlist’s suite of brands will operate as they do today, while EGYM will continue its operations as a subsidiary within the Playlist portfolio.  Playlist CEO and ClassPass Founding Chairman Fritz Lanman and EGYM Co-Founder and CEO Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer will be named and serve as Co-Founders of the new Playlist organization. As part of the transaction, Roesch-Schlanderer will also join Monti Saroya, Co-Head of Vista Equity Partners’ Flagship Fund, as Co-Chairman of Playlist.

Playlist powers in-person wellness experiences through AI-driven software and consumer booking platforms, while EGYM transforms healthcare from repair to prevention through smart equipment, hyper-personalized AI training plans, and EGYM Wellpass, an extensive corporate fitness platform which partners with more than 20,000 employers and tens of thousands of fitness locations worldwide. The two complementary organizations, each a leader in their respective regions and categories, will combine their expertise to form an integrated wellness technology platform that gives people the tools they need to take charge of their health and wellbeing.

Together, Playlist and EGYM plan to create new opportunities to advance in-person wellness on a global scale by combining complementary visions, products, geographies, and audiences. In 2025, Playlist and EGYM generated more than $800 million in net revenue while maintaining high-growth momentum and strong profitability. The new equity funding will support increased investment in artificial intelligence to help fitness studios, gyms, and wellness operators run more efficiently and deepen member engagement. The investment will also enable EGYM to further expand its fitness technology and corporate wellness offerings into Playlist’s core geographies, including North America and Asia, where they currently have a limited presence. In parallel, the funding will allow Playlist to further grow its limited to-date presence in Europe through EGYM’s established footprint.

Closing of this transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Executive Commentary

Fritz Lanman, CEO of Playlist:
“This merger represents a pivotal moment for both our companies as we continue to build the infrastructure behind the world’s most meaningful in-person wellness experiences. We’re inspired by what EGYM is doing to accelerate that vision with technology and corporate wellness solutions that power wellbeing at scale. By combining our geographies and complementary product portfolios, we’re uniting multiple layers of wellness—software, connected hardware, consumer booking, and workplace wellbeing—into one global platform.”

Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer, CEO of EGYM:
“Bringing EGYM together with the newly created Playlist under one roof represents a profound opportunity to impact lives through preventative health. We are uniting smart training equipment, club and studio access, management software, corporate wellness, and personalized AI training into one connected ecosystem that will finally prove and scale the true value the fitness industry delivers. Together, we can reduce chronic disease, lower healthcare costs, and make people healthier and happier by shifting the world from repair to prevention.”

HTGF Perspective: From Seed to Global Platform 

Markus Kreßmann, Partner at HTGF, who has supported HTGF’s investment in EGYM since 2014, said: “With this outstanding merger, EGYM’s management is purposefully continuing its longstanding M&A strategy. The result is a global player in fitness & wellness technology—exactly the ambition CEO Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer set out when we invested at seed in 2011. We need more of this entrepreneurial spirit in Germany and Europe.”  

Dr. Ulrich Schmitt, Partner at HTGF, added: “By joining forces Playlist and EGYM are poised for even greater impact in wellness and preventative health. We are very much looking forward to continuing to support the management team with everything that lies ahead.”  

Sebastian Borek, Managing Director at HTGF, commented: “This is exactly why HTGF exists: empowering founders from day one and staying close as they scale globally. EGYM is a standout example, transforming training into data-driven, engaging experiences and connecting millions of employees through corporate wellness. We are proud to have played a part in this success story and look forward to supporting the next chapter.”  

About Playlist 
Playlist is the parent brand that brings together Mindbody, Booker, and ClassPass—fitness and wellness platforms that power experience-driven businesses across fitness, wellness, lifestyle, and beyond. Through a growing suite of AI-driven SaaS and consumer offerings, Playlist helps people discover and book experiences that bring joy, movement, and meaning to everyday life. Learn more at playlist.com. 

About EGYM 
Since 2010, EGYM has been a global innovation leader in the fitness and health industry with the vision of transforming healthcare “from repair to prevention.” EGYM Wellpass partners with companies to improve employee health by providing access to fitness and health facilities. And EGYM Technology equips those facilities with smart strength equipment and digital training solutions to offer an AI-driven workout experience for exercisers of all skill levels. Corporate customers benefit from reduced healthcare costs and increased productivity, and clubs from a growing membership base that stays engaged. Learn more at egym.com/int 

About Affinity Partners  
Affinity Partners is a Miami-based investment firm founded in 2021 by Jared Kushner. With over $5.7B under management and a team of 30+ professionals, Affinity focuses on growth equity, financial services, and technology investments at scale, with a flexible mandate across industries and geographies.

About Vista Equity Partners 
Vista is a global technology investor that specializes in enterprise software. Vista’s private market strategies seek to deliver differentiated returns through a proprietary and systematic approach to value creation developed and refined over the course of 25 years and 600+ transactions. Today, Vista manages a diversified portfolio of software companies that provide mission-critical solutions to millions of customers around the world. As of June 30, 2025, Vista had more than $100 billion in assets under management. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on X, @Vista_Equity. 

About Temasek  
Temasek is a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, with a net portfolio value of S$434 billion (US$324 billion) as of 31 March 2025. Its Purpose “So Every Generation Prospers” guides it to make a difference for today’s and future generations. Temasek seeks to build a resilient and forward-looking portfolio that will deliver sustainable returns over the long term. It has 13 offices in 9 countries around the world: Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore in Asia; and Brussels, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. outside Asia. For more information on Temasek, please visit www.temasek.com.sg.  

About L Catterton  
L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $39 billion of equity capital across three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate. The firm’s funds have the ability to invest between $5 million and $5 billion, across the capital structure, in well-positioned consumer businesses. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, L Catterton’s team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 18 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio. Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 300 investments in some of the world’s most iconic consumer brands. For more information about L Catterton, please visit www.lcatterton.com.  

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds  
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed  around 800 startups and  achieved  200  successful exits.  HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros.  
Fund investors  in the public-private partnership include the  Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as  45 companies  and family offices.   
For more information, please visit  HTGF.de  or follow us on  LinkedIn.    

Media contact  
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH  
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager   
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121  
t.jacob@htgf.de    

lytra completes pre-seed financing led by HTGF – AI operating system for manufacturing service 

• lytra successfully completes pre-seed financing round led by HTGF 
• The start-up is developing the AI operating system for manufacturing service, which helps manufacturing companies transform their service business into a real revenue driver 
• With the capital, lytra will expand its customer base among medium-sized manufacturing companies in 2026 after successful pilot projects 

The Munich-based startup lytra is off to a highly successful start in 2026: Led by HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds) and with the participation of other investors, the startup is completing its pre-seed financing round. With the fresh capital, lytra is continuing to turn its vision of transforming the service business of manufacturing companies into an automated, scalable revenue driver into reality. 

The service business in manufacturing  – a high-growth lever with enormous potential 

The service business offers manufacturing companies a major strategic opportunity: it can contribute up to 50% of revenue and is also characterised by significantly higher margins than new business. At the same time, service is becoming increasingly important in view of the growing complexity of machines and rising customer expectations. To tap this potential in the long term, scalable processes and the effective use of existing product and process knowledge are crucial. The shortage of skilled workers makes this challenge even more difficult. 

This is exactly where lytra comes in with its AI operating system for manufacturing service: various AI agents enable the automation of service processes such as ordering spare parts, planning on-site visits by service technicians or answering technical questions. The AI agents are integrated end-to-end into the customer’s IT systems and are based on existing expert knowledge, so they are fully operational from day one. As a result, service employees can focus on the truly complex cases, and processing times for customers are significantly reduced. 

Becoming a leading partner for the German Mittelstand 

Etienne Fieg, co-founder and CEO of lytra, explains: “The successful completion of the pre-seed financing round marks an important milestone for us. The fresh capital will enable us to become the partner of choice for German SMEs in the manufacturing sector when it comes to providing continued service and after-sales business in engineering in 2026.” 

Timo Bertsch, Investment Manager at HTGF, comments: “The after-sales service business is one of the largest, yet untapped value levers in manufacturing. lytra addresses this structural problem with a clear focus on automation, scalability and securing expert knowledge through AI. The team combines deep industry knowledge with technological excellence and has already demonstrated the potential of its approach in pilot projects. We are very excited to accompany lytra on its journey to transform the manufacturing service industry in a sustainable way.” 

About lytra 
lytra is an industrial tech company based in Munich that helps mechanical engineering companies transform their after-sales service business into a real revenue driver. With an industry-specific AI operating system for mechanical engineering services, lytra offers its customers a fully integrated platform on which service requests are processed automatically and scalable by AI agents. 

For more information, visit www.lytra.ai or LinkedIn 

Media contact 
lytra GmbH 
Etienne Fieg, Co-Founder & CEO 
etienne@lytra.ai 

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds 
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing start-ups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports start-ups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Across its funds, HTGF has over 2 billion euros under management. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed more than 770 start-ups and achieved almost 200 successful exits.  

Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.  For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn. 

Medienkontakt 
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH 
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager 
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121 
t.jacob@htgf.de 

ICOS Capital invests in Mevaldi B.V., a producer of cost-effective, bio-based chemical building blocks, to support its further industrial scale up and commercial roll-out

Dutch biotech company Mevaldi B.V. announces an investment by ICOS Capital, alongside High-Tech Gründerfonds and ICIG Ventures.

Mevaldi is a biotech company and pioneer in the field of building blocks for sustainable polymers and polyurethanes made from natural biological raw materials. Since 2020, the company has been developing 3MPD: an innovative product derived from sugars and wood residues, produced through a patented bio-thermochemical process. Mevaldi makes materials with high performance, low environmental impact, and a competitive price – with the entire production chain located within Europe. In this way, Mevaldi contributes competitively to the EU’s strategic autonomy, circular economy, and climate objectives.

The financing by ICOS Capital provides Mevaldi with additional resources to accelerate its industrial scale-up and commercial roll-out activities, aimed at providing the market with affordable chemical building blocks for a wide range of sustainable chemicals and applications. Mevaldi fits ICOS Capital’s strategy as it is ready to scale-up in a capital-efficient manner, and accelerates sustainability with breakthrough solutions that are cost-efficient, have clear market traction and proven scalability. ICOS Capital joins Mevaldi with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and ICIG Ventures (ICIG), both from Germany.

HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe. Fund investors include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital, and 45 companies and family offices. HTGF provides capital, expertise and strong networks to support founders in turning innovative ideas into international market leaders. The fund strengthens the technological backbone of Germany and Europe.

ICIG Ventures is the venture capital arm of International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), investing in early-stage ventures in industrial biotechnology, chemistry, materials, energy, and food/agriculture to drive strategic innovation for the larger group’s chemical platforms, focusing on bio-based solutions, advanced materials, and process efficiency.

Peter van Gelderen, General Partner of ICOS, quotes: “We are very pleased to invest in Mevaldi given it’s attractive, CAPEX light scale-up trajectory and relatively straightforward road to multiple markets. With the current consortium of strong industrial partners with existing chemical production facilities where Mevaldi’s green chemical building blocks can be produced at an attractive cost price, already at relatively low scale.”

Roger Ottenheym, CEO Mevaldi, adds: “Next to HTGF and ICIG Ventures, we are proud to bring another strong investor with industrial mindset, and backing from the chemical and bio-based industries, to our shareholder base. We are working to rapidly scale and bring to market several bio-based building blocks that can be applied in existing, as well as new applications. We believe that our sustainable competitive edge and contribution to CO2 emissions reduction, at cost parity with fossil alternatives, will allow us to build a strong market position. We look forward to working with ICOS, providing us with financing, strategic insight, hands-on support and access to their industry network.”

About Mevaldi
Mevaldi is a biotech company and a pioneer in the field of bio-based building blocks for sustainable polymers, polyesters, and polyurethanes. Since 2020, the company has been developing 3MPD: an innovative building block derived from sugars and wood residues, produced through a patented bio-thermochemical process. This results in high-performance materials with low environmental impact and competitive pricing – with the entire production chain located within Europe. In this way, Mevaldi contributes competitively to the EU’s strategic autonomy, circular economy, and climate goals.

For more information, please visit mevaldi.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About ICOS
Capital ICOS Capital is a climate tech venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies with breakthrough technologies for food systems, chemicals, materials, and industrial digitization, aiming to accelerate sustainability and decarbonization. Over almost 20 years, ICOS has built a strong collaborative model, partnering with large corporations to provide hands-on support, access to networks, as well as capital for innovative startups focused on large-scale impact and circularity, targeting significant CO₂ reductions. ICOS supports growth with financing, engineering and production expertise, infrastructure and market access. Learn more by visiting www.icoscapital.com.

About ICIG – International Chemical Investors Group
International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) is a privately owned industrial group with a total turnover of more than €4.6 billion. ICIG focuses on several main platforms: Fine Chemicals under the WeylChem brand, Care Chemicals (Catexel), Chlorovinyls (Vynova), Compounds (Benvic), Hydrocarbons & Solvents (HCS Group), Superabsorbents (Stockhausen Superabsorber) and Enterprises with specialized businesses in industrial drying services, fermentation products, viscose filaments, activated carbon and wood protection chemicals.

Today, the ICIG companies employ more than 7,150 people and operate more than 50 production sites in Europe, the U.S and India.

For more information, please visit ic-investors.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds.

Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed more than 800 startups and achieved almost 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros. Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.

For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn.

TECregen Raises CHF 10 Million in Seed Financing and Appoints Dr. Bo Rode Hansen as Chairman

• Groundbreaking thymus-rejuvenating biologics are designed to restore immune function and promote lasting immune health throughout all stages of life

TECregen, a biotechnology company pioneering thymus regeneration, today announced the successful completion of a CHF 10 million (∼EUR 10.7 million / USD 12.6 million) seed financing round. The financing was led by the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF), with participation from LifeSpan Vision Ventures, Carma Fund, EOS BioInnovation, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), the JFG Life Sciences Foundation of the University of Basel, and Zurich Cantonal Bank. The investment will accelerate development of TECregen’s groundbreaking thymopoietic biologics, designed to rejuvenate thymic epithelial cells (TECs), restore immune function, and strengthen overall immune resilience.

In addition to announcing its successful seed financing, TECregen has appointed Dr. Bo Rode Hansen, Ph.D., MBA, as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Hansen is a seasoned biotech executive with over two decades of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. He previously served as the CEO of Scandion Oncology A/S and was the founding President of Genevant Sciences, in addition to holding senior leadership roles at Roche and Santaris Pharma. In his role as Chairman, Dr. Hansen will help guide TECregen’s strategic growth and advance its thymus rejuvenation programs.

“I am honored to join TECregen’s Board at such a pivotal time for the company,” said Dr. Bo Rode Hansen, Chairman of TECregen. “The team’s pioneering work in thymus regeneration has the potential to redefine treatment approaches for immune ageing and related disease. I look forward to working with the management team and our investors to accelerate the development and delivery of these transformative therapies to patients who need them most.”

“We welcome Bo as our new Chairman,” commented Filippo Oliveri, co-founder and Board Director of TECregen. “His wealth of industry expertise and proven leadership will be invaluable as we pursue our mission. Backed with the strong investor support, TECregen is well positioned to accelerate its thymus regeneration initiative and deliver innovative immune rejuvenation therapies to patients.”

“TECregen’s innovative approach to thymus regeneration firmly positions the company at the forefront of targeted biologics designed to restore immune function, with a clear trajectory toward the clinic. The ability to modulate and restore thymic function paves the way for new therapeutic opportunities across immunology, oncology, and rare diseases. We are enthusiastic to support TECregen as it advances toward clinical development,” remarked Dr. Philipp Müller, Investment Manager at BIVF.

TECregen’s groundbreaking approach places the company at the forefront of targeted biologics for immune restoration, with significant potential across multiple indications. Backed by strong investor support and the leadership of Dr. Bo Rode Hansen as Chairman, TECregen is well positioned to accelerate the development of its thymus rejuvenation programs and deliver innovative immune therapies to patients in need.

About TECregen
TECregen is pioneering thymus rejuvenation to address conditions driven by impaired T-cell responses. The company’s innovative approach focuses on revitalizing and expanding thymic epithelial cells (TECs) to replenish T cells and achieve durable improvements in immune function. By developing a pipeline of differentiated thymopoietic biologics, TECregen aims to strengthen immune recovery following transplantation or cytotoxic therapy, promote immune health, and enhance immune surveillance against cancer, ushering in a new era of immunotherapy.

Gregor Haidl and Dr. Nik Raupp Appointed Partners at HTGF

HTGF, one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, has appointed Gregor Haidl and Dr. Nik Raupp as Partners, effective January 1, 2026. With these appointments, HTGF strategically strengthens its investment expertise in two core areas: Industrial & Deep Tech as well as Life Sciences & Chemistry.

Over the past years, both investment professionals have significantly driven deal flow in their respective sectors, closely supported portfolio companies, and advanced key strategic initiatives. Their promotion to Partner underscores HTGF’s ambition to support founding teams not only with capital, but as hands-on sparring partners with deep technical expertise, entrepreneurial understanding, and access to a strong industrial network. The goal is to help build tomorrow’s market leaders shaping Europe’s industrial and technological future.

Gregor Haidl: Driving Industrial Software and AI as Catalysts for Transformation

Gregor Haidl has been with HTGF since 2017 and is responsible for investments in Industrial, Climate, and Deep Tech. His focus is on complex B2B software and AI solutions for R&D, automation, and energy. Trained as a mechanical engineer at TU Munich and a graduate of the UnternehmerTUM “Manage & More” program, Gregor brings extensive international experience, including time at BMW Brilliance Automotive in China.

In 2023, he co-founded HTGF’s Munich office and has since closely integrated it into the regional startup and innovation ecosystem. Since 2025, Gregor has served as Head of HTGF Munich. His portfolio includes startups such as Neural Concept (AI-driven product design and engineering), SimScale (cloud-native simulation software), and viboo (intelligent building automation).

“What motivates me is the question of how complex technologies turn into commercially successful products and scalable companies. Especially at the early stage, there is no playbook. This makes strong product management practices and close support on the path to first product–market fit all the more critical. As a Partner, I want to continue to help founders turn strong technical ideas into globally competitive champions.”
Gregor Haidl, Partner at HTGF

“Gregor combines deep technical expertise with a genuine founder mindset. He has positioned our Munich office exceptionally well and is a key driver of the fund’s strategic development.”
Romy Schnelle, Managing Director at HTGF

Dr. Nik Raupp: Chemistry Expertise for Sustainable Innovation

Dr. Nik Raupp leads the expansion of HTGF’s activities in Chemistry and Industrial Biotechnology, with a focus on sustainable innovations, advanced materials, and circular economy solutions. He began his career in consulting and earned a PhD on venture capital financing of biotech companies in Japan. Before joining HTGF in 2021, he worked for BASF in Hong Kong, among other roles.

Nik is also a key contact for fund investors from the chemical industry and is closely involved in HTGF’s fundraising activities. His investments include EEDEN (chemical textile recycling), COLIPI (biotechnology-based oil alternatives), and Nebula Biocides (novel disinfection technologies). He has played a central role in sharpening HTGF’s profile as a leading investor in chemistry.

“Chemistry technologies often require a long runway before they are ready for industrial deployment. That is exactly what excites me. Working with founders to bridge the gap between lab, industrial application, and capital markets creates real and sustainable impact.”
Dr. Nik Raupp, Partner at HTGF

“Nik joined us as an experienced industry expert and quickly built a strong, forward-looking portfolio. He is our face in the chemical industry, a trusted partner for our investors, and a true team player.”
Dr. Achim Plum, Managing Director at HTGF

About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds 
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed around 800 startups and achieved 200 successful exits. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros. 
Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital as well as 45 companies and family offices.  
For more information, please visit HTGF.de or follow us on LinkedIn.   

Media contact 
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH 
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager  
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121 
t.jacob@htgf.de   

HTGF Portfolio Company Neural Concept Closes $100M Funding Round Led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives to Scale AI-Native Engineering

• New capital accelerates Neural Concept’s ability to deliver transformative technologies and enterprise-wide AI impact across advanced industrial workflows.
• Platform delivers CAD-native, physics-aware AI and deep reasoning for engineering, saving customers $50 million annually, reducing late-stage redesigns by 30-50% and accelerating time to market by up to two years.
• The company has generated a fourfold increase in enterprise revenue over the past 18 months.
• More than 50 global companies are actively relying on the platform, including General Motors, General Electric Vernova, Leonardo Aerospace, Eaton, Safran, Renault Group and multiple Formula 1 teams.
• HTGF has supported Neural Concept from the seed stage as one of the first institutional investors, participating in every financing round and now significantly in Series C.

Lausanne, Switzerland – December 18, 2025 – Neural Concept, a global AI platform and leader in Engineering Intelligence powering next-generation product development, today announced it raised a $100 million Series C funding round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with existing investors Forestay Capital, Alven, D.E. Shaw Ventures, Aster Capital and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), which has backed Neural Concept since its seed stage and invested in every round to date.

Neural Concept is redefining engineering workflows with CAD-native enterprise AI that understands geometry, constraints and design intent. By helping its customers build and deploy physics-aware design copilots, the platform enables teams to explore millions of design options earlier and avoid costly late-stage changes, accelerating the entire product development cycle, helping companies bring better products to market faster.

Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ investment underscores the surging demand for enterprise AI that drives real-world impact. As engineering teams move from AI experimentation to full-scale deployment, Neural Concept has emerged as the leader in AI-native engineering, combining cutting-edge technology with an enterprise-focused approach, fueling fast, sustained growth across major industries, including automotive, aerospace and defense, energy, semiconductors and consumer electronics.

 “Neural Concept’s technology represents a rare leap forward in enterprise engineering AI,” said Lambert Diacono, Executive Director Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. “As demand accelerates for AI that drives real impact in complex industrial workflows, Neural Concept is emerging as one of the leading companies in the market”, affirmed Christian Resch, Partner, Head of EMEA Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

The team will use the funding to accelerate product development, including unveiling a breakthrough generative CAD capability in early 2026, expand global GTM teams and strengthen its position as the intelligence layer across engineering systems, deepening partnerships with industry leaders such as Nvidia, Siemens, Ansys, Microsoft and AWS.

“We founded Neural Concept with the ambition to enable complete AI-driven design of advanced systems like tomorrow’s cars and spacecrafts,” said Dr. Pierre Baqué, CEO and founder of Neural Concept. “Advances in AI are transforming engineering from a process of trial and error into a data-driven workflow where tradeoffs and constraints can be understood and optimized from the start. This investment enables us to fast-track our progress toward establishing the intelligence layer powering every engineering team, worldwide.”

Neural Concept’s Series C marks the company’s latest funding milestone following its $27 million Series B in 2024.

Early Belief, Ongoing Support: HTGF’s Journey with Neural Concept

Together with Constantia New Business (CNB), HTGF became Neural Concept’s first institutional investor during the seed stage and has supported the company’s evolution from an EPFL spin-off to a global leader in AI-native engineering. With significant participation in the Series C round, HTGF reaffirms its long-term commitment to the founders and their team.

Gregor Haidl, Partner at HTGF, said: “Our investment approach is about backing visionary founders early and stay committed as they scale globally. Neural Concept embodies this perfectly: from seed to Series C, we’ve seen Dr. Pierre Baqué and his team redefine engineering workflows with Artificial Intelligence and deliver real enterprise impact. We look forward to continuing this journey together.”

“Neural Concept’s journey is a prime example of how deep tech and AI can transform entire industries,” said Romy Schnelle, Managing Director at HTGF. “We believed in the team from the very beginning and are proud to have supported them through every stage of growth. Gregor Haidl’s simulation background and product development expertise played a crucial role in recognizing the disruptive potential early. This successful Series C round highlights the strength of their product and the scalability of their business model.”

About Neural Concept
Founded in 2019, Neural Concept provides the leading AI-first engineering platform for product development. By embedding AI natively into design and simulation workflows, Neural Concept empowers engineering teams to compress development cycles from months to days, improve product performance across efficiency, safety, and sustainability, and scale AI adoption without costly, years-long integration. 

The company drives product development across major industries, including automotive, aerospace, energy, consumer electronics, semiconductors and defense, working with the world’s leading global OEMs and component suppliers. Neural Concept was spun out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and is backed by global investors, including Forestay Capital and D. E. Shaw Group. Visit https://www.neuralconcept.com

About Goldman Sachs Alternatives
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the leading investors in alternatives globally, with over $500 billion in assets and more than 30 years of experience. The business invests in the full spectrum of alternatives including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, sustainability, and hedge funds. Clients access these solutions through direct strategies, customized partnerships, and open-architecture programs.

The business is driven by a focus on partnership and shared success with its clients, seeking to deliver long-term investment performance drawing on its global network and deep expertise across industries and markets.

The alternative investments platform is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which delivers investment and advisory services across public and private markets for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals. Goldman Sachs has approximately $3.5 trillion in assets under supervision globally as of September 30, 2025.

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About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds 
HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe, financing startups in the fields of Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences and Chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders. HTGF invests in the pre-seed and seed phase and can participate significantly in further financing rounds, since 2024 with the HTGF Opportunity growth fund. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros. Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed around 800 startups and successfully sold shares in 200 companies.  

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital and numerous companies are invested in the HTGF seed funds. Investors in the HTGF Opportunity growth fund include the ERP Special Fund and KfW with the resources of the Zukunftsfonds (“Future Fund”). Further information can be found at HTGF.de or on LinkedIn and on the Zukunftsfonds page.