kiutra secures €13M to eliminate bottlenecks from quantum supply chains with helium-3-free cooling 

• The €13 million financing round is co-led by NovaCapital (Italy) and 55 North (Denmark), with participation from High-Tech Gründerfonds (Germany) and existing investors  
• Kiutra’s proprietary magnetic cooling technology eliminates dependence on scarce helium-3 resources, addressing critical quantum supply chain vulnerabilities identified by NATO and EU initiatives  
• With systems already deployed worldwide, supporting leading research institutions, quantum startups, and corporates, kiutra will utilize the financing to accelerate its global scale-up and deliver helium-3-free cooling systems that strengthen the resilience of quantum supply chains. 

Munich, Germany — 2 October 2025 — kiutra, the globally leading provider of magnetic cooling for quantum technologies, today announced the successful closing of a €13 million equity round to accelerate global scale-up and deliver helium-3-free cooling systems that strengthen quantum supply chain resilience. The round was co-led by new international investors NovaCapital and 55 North, alongside strong participation from High-Tech Gründerfonds and other existing backers. With this financing, kiutra has now raised more than €30 million in private and public funding to date, underlining the strong commitment of investors and institutions to its mission of building sustainable cryogenic infrastructure for quantum technologies. 

As Europe and its partners rapidly expand their quantum technology ecosystems, the availability of reliable, sustainable cryogenic infrastructure is emerging as a critical bottleneck [1,2,3]. Quantum computers and other cold quantum technologies are fundamentally dependent on ultra-low-temperature operation, creating a vulnerability through reliance on scarce and geopolitically sensitive helium-3 resources. This dependency has been identified as a critical supply chain risk by initiatives including the NATO Transatlantic Quantum Community [3] and Quantum Delta NL [4]. 

kiutra’s proprietary magnetic cooling technology addresses this challenge by enabling scalable refrigeration solutions. Their method does not rely on helium-3 at all: instead, solid-state materials are magnetized and demagnetized in a controlled way to reach ultra-low temperatures. The company’s systems are already deployed worldwide and validated in the market, supporting leading research institutions, quantum startups, and corporates in the development and quality assurance of quantum hardware. With its unique approach, kiutra currently offers the fastest cooling systems available, giving customers a decisive speed and usability advantage. 

Dr. Alexander Regnat, CEO & Co-Founder of kiutra, says: “This new investment will support kiutra in expanding our global presence and further advancing our portfolio of easy-to-use and scalable cooling solutions that are vital for the rapidly growing quantum ecosystem.” 

Building on this success, the company is now expanding its portfolio with highly modular and powerful platforms tailored for complex quantum chips and full-stack quantum computers. 

Dr. Michael Jobst, Investor at 55 North, the newly launched, world’s largest pure-play quantum fund, says: „kiutra is perfectly positioned to create value for one of the most critically required enablers in quantum computing: reliable, scalable and affordable access to cooling power. Their product suite is strongly differentiated from the mainstream market, and we are proud to support the team on their scaling journey. “ 

Carlo Germano Ravina, MD at Nova Capital, adds: “At NovaCapital, we back bold engineering that shapes the future. kiutra’s scalable magnetic cooling technology is not only foundational for quantum tech but also exemplifies the kind of deep tech leadership Europe needs. We’re proud to support their global scale-up.” 

Christian Ziach, Principal at HTGF, concludes: “kiutra’s financing round highlights the strategic relevance of cryogen-free cooling for scaling quantum technologies. The company addresses a rapidly expanding global market with solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also essential for enabling real-world quantum applications. As a critical enabler, kiutra lays the foundation for progress in research and industry—strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty.” 

In 2024, kiutra secured a €4 million EIC grant to advance this development [5] and will now accelerate its research further with fresh private capital. By making cryogenics simpler, safer, and more scalable, kiutra is democratizing access to ultra-low-temperature technology — enabling widespread adoption at industrial scale. 

This financing round marks a key milestone for kiutra as it accelerates from an R&D-driven startup to a global industrial scale-up addressing the critical need for reliable and sustainable cryogenic infrastructure in quantum technology and beyond.  

The company’s breakthrough technology strengthens the resilience and sovereignty of European and allied quantum supply chains and ensures that quantum technologies can be deployed without critical material constraints, supporting the broader quantum ecosystem’s transition from laboratory promise to enterprise deployment. 

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About kiutra 
kiutra is a Munich-based deep tech company developing next-generation cooling solutions for quantum technologies as well as cutting-edge research and industrial applications. With its proprietary, helium-3-free refrigeration systems based on magnetic cooling, kiutra enables simple, safe, and sustainable access to ultra-low temperatures. 

Media contact: 
info@kiutra.com 

About NovaCapital 
NovaCapital is an Italian holding company controlled by Merloni Holding. It invests in innovative B2B companies in Italy, Europe, and the USA, placing a strong emphasis on relationships with entrepreneurs, innovation, and business growth. In venture capital, NovaCapital specifically targets verticals like deep tech, energy transition, new materials, circular economy, industrial automation, and B2B SaaS. 

About 55 North  
55 North is a Copenhagen-based venture capital fund exclusively focused on the quantum technology stack and invests with a long-term investment horizon.  It invests in startups at all stages, developing quantum computing, quantum communications, sensing and other enabling technologies. The team combines deep technical expertise with a proven investment track record, partnering with world-class investors, scientists and entrepreneurs to advance breakthrough quantum solutions. Supporting companies worldwide and targeting real-world applications that deliver significant economic and societal value – 55 North is committed to establishing Europe as a global hub for quantum innovation. 

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 more than 790 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.  

viboo Closes €3.3 Million Financing Round with Leading PropTech Investor

• Realyze Ventures, Zürcher Kantonalbank, existing investors HTGF and Swisscom, and additional new investors back Swiss Climate and PropTech startup viboo with €3.3 million.
• viboo will use the capital to launch into the German market.
• viboo’s AI-based cloud platform evolves from an energy management tool into a holistic building management solution.

ZURICH, Switzerland – Building automation software company viboo has successfully closed its second financing round, raising €3.3 million. The round was led by Realyze Ventures, with participation from Zürcher Kantonalbank and a group of new and existing investors. The investment by leading PropTech VC Realyze Ventures underscores confidence in viboo’s potential to make buildings more energy efficient without major interventions, achieve significant energy savings, and accelerate the decarbonization of existing building stock.

Buildings account for more than 40% of global CO₂ emissions. The pressure to act is mounting: The EU requires the existing building stock to achieve net zero by 2050. By 2030, 5.38 million commercial buildings must improve their energy efficiency class to at least “E” or risk becoming stranded assets. Already today, low-efficiency buildings lose around 4% of their value annually. At the same time, automation systems are becoming mandatory for many building types.

viboo has developed a cloud-based building management system that can be retrofitted easily and wirelessly connects with common IoT devices such as smart thermostats in commercial buildings. Its AI learns heating behavior and controls it proactively – delivering savings without compromising comfort, with minimal investment and a rapid ROI. The solution is already deployed in more than 100 buildings, achieving an average 27% energy savings. Existing customers have multiplied their contract volumes by a factor of eight from winter 2023/24 to winter 2024/25.

viboo’s approach is designed for scalability: instead of proprietary hardware, the company leverages the products of leading building technology manufacturers and open software interfaces. Thanks to its installer app, deployment can be carried out quickly and easily by any installer. In addition to direct sales to municipalities and real estate companies, viboo also partners with installation and facility management service providers.

The fresh funding will be used to expand into the German market, where strong demand is being driven by the Building Energy Act (GEG). The platform will also be developed from a pure energy management solution into a comprehensive building management tool, including modules such as individual heating cost billing. With its strong LP network in the German real estate industry, Realyze Ventures is the ideal partner. First LPs have already contracted viboo for building implementations.

Felix Bünning, Co-Founder of viboo, is thrilled about the completion of the seed round: “We have built a strong foundation in Switzerland – with more than 40 satisfied customers, some already rolling out across portfolios, and significant energy savings in existing buildings. Our solution convinces because it is easy to implement, delivers fast results, and generates immediate savings. Now we are taking the next big step with our entry into our first EU market, where a combination of energy prices and regulation creates strong pull. Realyze Ventures was our preferred partner from the start thanks to their deep industry expertise and excellent network. With Zürcher Kantonalbank, we are also adding one of Switzerland’s most renowned early-stage investors.”

viboo is rooted in world-leading research at Empa and ETH Zurich, as well as at top building automation labs at RWTH Aachen and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. The company and its founders have won numerous prestigious awards, including a BRIDGE Fellowship, all Venture Kick stages, the Gebert Rüf Foundation’s Innobooster, the Swiss GreenTech Startup Battle, the Empa Innovation Award, and an ETH Medal.

Marnix Roes, Investment Manager at Realyze Ventures, said: “With viboo we are investing in an innovative software solution that drives the decarbonization of existing buildings and addresses a huge market. The easy and fast implementation combined with rapid ROI leads to high satisfaction among customers and users. Through our broad Realyze Ventures ecosystem, we will actively accelerate viboo’s go-to-market in Germany.”

Nicola Leuenberger, Investment Manager at Zürcher Kantonalbank, added: “viboo clearly demonstrates how economic and ecological goals go hand in hand. With a plug-and-play solution delivering 20–40% energy savings annually, viboo should be on every real estate asset manager’s roadmap. We look forward to supporting viboo in the upcoming scaling phase.”

Further image material can be downloaded here: Image material

About viboo
viboo makes buildings more energy efficient with its cloud- and AI-based building management system. Based on extensive research at Empa and ETH Zurich, the system learns the thermal behavior of buildings and proactively controls heating systems in commercial properties, achieving typical savings of 20–40%. Through partnerships with leading hardware manufacturers (including Siemens, Danfoss) and installation/FM companies (including Hälg), viboo is ready to rapidly scale energy efficiency and sustainability across the existing building stock.
https://viboo.io/  

Media contact
Felix Bünning, Co-Founder & CEO at viboo
felix.buenning@viboo.io
+41 44 320 08 22

About Realyze Ventures
Realyze Ventures invests in European technology startups driving climate and process efficiency in the built world – as well as technology companies at the intersection of the real estate and energy sector. By leveraging the expertise of key players from the industry, Realyze Ventures accelerates the net-zero transformation, addressing process efficiency, decarbonization and the shortage of skilled craftsmen. The fund’s ecosystem provides valuable insights for investors, with a network of national and international industry leaders. The experienced management team aims to seize promising opportunities and deliver strong returns for investors.
https://realyzeventures.com

About ZKB
Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) is a leading universal bank in the Zurich economic area with national presence and international reach. With 40–50 financing rounds per year, ZKB is one of Switzerland’s most active early-stage investors. As an independent public-law institution of the Canton of Zurich, ZKB is rated AAA/Aaa by Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch. With more than 6,500 employees, ZKB offers its customers a comprehensive range of products and services. Its core businesses include financing, asset management, trading, capital markets, deposits, payments, and card services.
https://zkb.ch

About Swisscom Ventures
Swisscom Ventures is the venture capital arm of the Swisscom Group. Since 2007, Swisscom Ventures has invested in more than 80 technology companies, with offices in Switzerland (Zurich, Bern, Lausanne) and the US (Silicon Valley).
https://ventures.swisscom.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 deep tech, industrial tech, climate tech, digital tech, life sciences, and chemistry. With its experienced investment team, HTGF supports startups at every stage of their journey to becoming international market leaders. HTGF invests in the pre-seed and seed stages and can participate significantly in subsequent financing rounds. Since its founding in 2005, it has financed more than 790 startups and achieved 200 successful exits. The fund volume exceeds €2 billion. The fund’s public–private partnership investors include the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital, and 45 companies and family offices.
https://htgf.de

Factor2 Energy Raises US$9.1M to Unlock Scalable Geothermal Power from Geologically Stored CO₂

Factor2 Energy, a German (Duisburg) company with a novel approach to geothermal energy, today announced the successful completion of its seed funding round, raising US$9.1 million in venture capital.

The round was led by At One Ventures, with additional investments from High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Gründerfonds Ruhr, Verve Ventures and Siemens Energy Ventures.

Factor2 Energy will use the seed funding to advance the technological development of its CO₂-based geothermal power generation system and to develop a pilot power plant to demonstrate scalability.

Factor2 Energy is led by Michael Wechsung, Joerg Strohschein and Felix Boehmer who all worked together at Siemens Energy. There they invented a new, economically superior method to harness geothermal energy by utilizing CO₂ as the primary working fluid in the geothermal cycle, replacing water or brine.

Kendra Rauschenberger, General Partner at Siemens Energy Ventures, stated, “I am pleased to see this technology progressing toward commercialization, following its development within Siemens Energy Ventures. Geothermal energy is a reliable and renewable power source, and we will work with Factor2 Energy to tailor our turbines to meet the specific needs of this emerging market.”

How it Works: Clean Energy from Stored CO₂ – Safe, Scalable, and Sustainable

The technology can be deployed at either natural CO2 Reservoirs or at reservoirs designated for Carbon Capture and Storage. The (naturally occurring or captured) CO₂ is injected into deep, porous geological formations, where it is securely stored. As it absorbs geothermal heat from the surrounding rock, its density decreases, initiating a buoyancy-driven circulation known as the thermosiphon effect. As a result, the CO₂ rises naturally to the surface via production wells, eliminating the need for subsurface pumps and significantly reducing parasitic energy consumption and mechanical complexity.

At the surface, the heat is converted into electricity using a direct driven CO₂ turbine system. After expansion, the CO₂ is cooled, reinjected into the reservoir, creating a closed cycle that enables continuous power generation while maintaining long-term CO₂ storage.

Compared to conventional water-based geothermal systems, this approach can achieve up to twice the power output under similar geological conditions, while requiring lower capital expenditures (CAPEX).

“Our approach enables emission-free, efficient, and baseload-capable electricity production, which is ideal for traditional oil and gas companies looking to diversify their operating assets,” said CEO and co-founder Felix Boehmer. “And in fact, the entire system leverages proven technologies from the oil and gas sector, with its long history of drilling and geologic expertise.”

Siting Simplicity: More Location Options and Operational Ease

Besides delivering reliable, 24/7 green power, the use of CO₂ enables access to a broader range of geological sites, unlocking heat from locations unsuitable for conventional geothermal systems.

Using CO₂ allows Factor2 Energy to tap into shallower and cooler geothermal sites, reducing drilling costs and expanding the range of viable power plant locations. The system operates efficiently where conventional geothermal fails, offering competitive Levelized Cost of Electricity. It also eliminates the need for secondary fluids or complex binary systems, simplifying operations. And, by leveraging both geological formations designated for CO₂ storage (CCS) and natural CO₂ reservoirs, Factor2 Energy can transform these into active energy assets.

Helen Lin, Partner at At One Ventures comments: “As a cornerstone for enabling broader electrification, the need for cost-effective baseload power has never been more urgent. The fluid physics of CO₂ as a geothermal working fluid enables a 2x increase in power output while operating at the same depths/temperatures as conventional geothermal, translating to efficiencies in both capex and opex. These technoeconomics combine to form a favorable LCOE at sites that would previously have been economically unviable. We are excited to support Factor2 to bring this crucial technology to market to unlock the potential of geothermal as a more prevalent source of green baseload”

Timo Bertsch, Investment Manager at HTGF comments: “We invested in Factor2 Energy because their innovative technology dramatically expands global geothermal potential and uniquely enables the transformation of CCS sites into energy-generating power plants. Their successful proof of concept in a geologically complex environment demonstrates the robustness and scalability of their approach. We believe Factor2 Energy is well positioned to play a pivotal role in the global energy transition.”

About Factor2 Energy
Factor2 Energy is a German climate-tech company developing CO₂-based geothermal power systems. By using carbon dioxide as the working fluid, the technology accesses moderate-temperature geothermal resources. Compared to conventional systems, the technology can deliver up to twice the power output, without fracking, ultra-deep drilling, or water-intensive processes. Founded by a former Siemens Energy team after a successful proof of concept, the company is backed by leading climate investors, with its latest round led by At One Ventures. Factor2 Energy’s mission is to unlock scalable, clean, baseload geothermal power while supporting permanent carbon storage.

For more information, please contact:
Felix Boehmer
Felix.boehmer@factor2-energy.com
www.Factor2-Energy.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 more than 790 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   

Biotech company Mevaldi successfully closes funding round with HTGF and ICIG Ventures to scale up breakthrough technology for green chemistry

Dutch biotech company Mevaldi B.V. has closed a funding round with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and ICIG Ventures, the venture capital unit of International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG). This investment will enable Mevaldi to further scale up its breakthrough technology. This is a crucial step towards a circular European chemical sector.

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 its founding in 2020, Mevaldi has been working on the development of 3MPD: an innovative, bio-based building block for high-performance applications in coatings, adhesives and elastomers, among others. Unlike fossil variants, 3MPD at Mevaldi is produced from renewable raw materials via a patented hybrid bio-thermocatalytic process. For example, they use sugar to make soles of sneakers and sawdust as the basis for insulation material for housing.

The result: high-quality material properties, a lower environmental impact and a competitive price – a unique combination. In addition, the production chain takes place entirely within Europe, leveraging ICIG’s existing flexible plant capacities, without dependence on supply from other parts of the world.

Towards a fossil-free alternative at scale

This funding round follows the recent award of the EU grant from the prestigious Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) programme, and marks the beginning of the next phase of growth for Mevaldi. With this investment, consisting of equity and a working capital facility, Mevaldi can take the step from pilot to demonstration scale. Mevaldi will also focus on the commercialization of its flagship product Pentonext®: an innovative building block for sustainable polyesters and polyurethanes in textiles and elastomers, among other things.

“We are delighted to welcome HTGF and ICIG Ventures as strategic investors,” said Roger Ottenheym, CEO of Mevaldi. “Their deep expertise in scaling up and focus on sustainability make them ideal partners in our next step to market – on sugar soles.”

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)

HTGF is one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe. With a fund volume exceeding €2 billion euros, HTGF has backed more than 780 startups to date. The fund focuses on early stage investments in Industrial Tech, Life Sciences & Chemistry and Digital Tech, supporting startups in all phases of their development into international market leaders.

 “Mevaldi’s technology presents a promising approach for the production of sustainable materials,” said Dr. Lena-Sophie Schütter, Investment Manager at HTGF. “With successful scaling, their platform could contribute meaningfully to the advancement of bio-based chemistry. We are proud and happy to be able to contribute to this promising development at this early stage.”

International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) and ICIG Ventures

ICIG is an industrial group of companies with a strong focus on specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals. With more than €4 billion in sales and more than 7,150 employees worldwide, ICIG has a broad portfolio of companies in Europe and North America. ICIG Ventures, the venture capital arm of ICIG, focuses on market-oriented innovations in industrial biotechnology, chemistry and materials.

“We see great potential in Mevaldi’s technology to shape the future of sustainable chemistry,” said Dr Pelin Yilmaz, investment director at ICIG Ventures. “Their approach to bio-based chemical building blocks fits perfectly with our long-term vision: investing in promising and impactful innovations that contribute to a circular economy.”

Towards European independence and green chemistry

Mevaldi is poised to become the world’s first commercial supplier of bio-based 3MPD that is not only sustainable, but also financially competitive with fossil alternatives. In this way, Mevaldi makes a direct contribution to the EU’s strategic autonomy and to the broader ambitions in the field of circularity and climate neutrality.

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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 pre-seed and seed phases and can participate significantly in later-stage financing rounds.

Since its inception in 2005, HTGF has financed more than 780 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.   

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 Mevaldi
Mevaldi is a biochemical 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.

Pactos secures €2.7M: agentic AI for compliant management of external staff

• Pactos closes a €2.7 million pre-seed round led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF).
• Companies often operate in legal grey areas when deploying external staff. Pactos’ AI-powered software provides digital structure and legal certainty.
• The Munich-based start-up plans to use the capital to develop its agentic AI platform further and expand the team.

Munich, 10 September 2025 – Pactos has closed a €2.7 million pre-seed round led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and joined by various industry and start-up leaders. Pactos has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that adds structure, transparency, and legal certainty to companies’ external workforce management.

A billion-euro market still running on analogue structures

Valued at over €230 billion, the market for contingent workforce management is a key driver of economic growth in Europe. Nevertheless, the organization of external workers is often still carried out using a patchwork of Excel spreadsheets and emails—a slow process that carries avoidable legal risks.

Pactos responds to these challenges with an AI-powered software solution that helps companies manage their external workforce. It allows them to review contracts automatically, manage assignments in real time, and securely document all relevant data. Based on this information, teams in procurement, HR, legal, and finance receive in-depth analyses and recommendations for action. In addition, the solution integrates seamlessly into existing IT systems such as zvoove. Pactos already manages several thousand external workers for clients including Swissport, Knuth, and Unique Personal. The software is certified according to internationally recognized standards and is fully GDPR-compliant.

“Managing  external  workforce  is  a  major  challenge  for  companies:  complex, time-consuming, and full of compliance risks. Pactos digitises the end-to-end process and has the potential to become the leading system in a billion-dollar market,” explains Björn Sykora, Principal at HTGF.

Backed by industry leaders and start-up experts

Alongside HTGF, Pactos has also gained the support of various experienced industry leaders: Dr. Sebastian Dettmers, CEO of StepStone; Jens Bender, initiator of the HR Angels Club; and Alexander Schwörer, owner of the PERI Group, will support the Munich start-up with capital and strategic expertise. Investors from the digital tech and startup scene, including Robin Haak, Managing Partner at Robin Capital, and Franzi Majer, Founding Partner of Superangels, provide additional momentum:

„We are excited to support Pactos on its journey. Their AI-powered operating system brings transparency, control, and efficiency to an often-neglected area and has the potential to shape a new category in the B2B SaaS sector.”

Fresh capital for product, team, and B2B growth

With the pre-seed funding, Pactos aims to expand its AI functionalities, strengthen its development team in the DACH region, and accelerate its B2B growth.

Antonio Zill, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Pactos, explains: “We aim to build a real European powerhouse for external workforce management, enabling companies to respond quickly and efficiently to fluctuating demand. This funding allows us to refine our software end to end and better deliver on our promise: to make the use of external resources as simple and efficient as possible.”

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About Pactos
Founded in 2023 by Antonio Zill and Philipp Eckert, Pactos offers an AI-powered platform that enables companies to manage external workforces digitally and in full legal compliance – from procurement and planning to invoicing. Operating in the entire DACH region, Pactos brings structure and transparency to a previously analogue domain.

Press Contact
getpress GmbH
Natalie Oliveira, PR-Manager
natalie@get-press.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 more than 790 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.   

Proxima Fusion Extends Series A to €200M Total Funding As It Accelerates Into Hardware Execution

Proxima Fusion today announced an extension to its Series A round with new funding from CDP Venture Capital (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group), Italy’s largest venture capital operator, the European Innovation Council Fund (EICF), and Brevan Howard, one of the world’s leading asset managers known for investing in global economic shifts.

The €15 million Series A extension brings the company’s total funding to €200 million ($230M) and strengthens Proxima’s position as Europe’s flagship fusion pioneer, underpinning investors’ understanding that Europe needs to build its own sovereign fusion company.

CDP, an entity backed by the Italian state, invested through both its Large Ventures and its Corporate Partners I Energy Tech funds, the latter being a vehicle for investments in companies that develop advanced technologies for the energy transition.

The EICF equity investment is the latest European public fund to back Proxima, following earlier investments from the DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF) and High–Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) – both backed by the German Ministry of Economics and Energy – as well as Bayern Kapital, owned by LfA Förderbank Bayern, and the non-profit Max Planck Foundation, which exclusively supports research across the institutes of the Max Planck Society. The new investment from the EICF follows a €2.5 million grant previously awarded to Proxima.

The CDP investment reflects a growing recognition across Europe that fusion energy is a strategic technology for European energy independence and industrial leadership, marking a significant step forward in uniting Europe’s major economies behind Proxima’s mission.

“CDP Venture Capital believes firmly that Europe’s deep tech ecosystem has a key role to play in developing future energy solutions” said Alessandro Scortecci, Chief Investment Officer, Direct Investments at CDP Venture Capital. “Fusion can contribute to technological independence, drive industrial competitiveness, and accelerate carbon-neutral economic growth. We are confident that Proxima will deliver and transform the global energy landscape.”

“Proxima is bringing together public and private partners, developing as a truly European company, uniting expertise, talent, and capital from across the continent.” said Proxima Co-Founder and CEO Francesco Sciortino. “While our roots are in Germany, building on the record-breaking Wendelstein 7-X stellarator experiment at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, we are building a pan-European team and investor base. This collaborative ambition, combined with the Max Planck Institute’s incredible legacy, is giving us a powerful European foundation to lead the global race to fusion.”

Just three months after announcing Europe’s largest-ever fusion round, Proxima has already grown by another 20% to 100 employees and is rapidly converting its new capital into industrial action to anchor its long-term roadmap. With the new capital in the bag, Proxima placed large-scale purchase orders for:

• High-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape to secure long-term supply for the mission-critical HTS magnet program;
• The manufacturing of structural support plates for its first HTS non-planar magnet, the Stellarator Model Coil (SMC);
• Its own in-house cable manufacturing line to accelerate R&D capabilities and produce its first long length SMC cables;
• Full size and weight dummy coils and prototype vacuum vessel sections to demonstrate hardware design, manufacturing capability and development of assembly processes for stellarators.

This latest funding will accelerate the company’s engineering progress toward the SMC, which will de-risk major elements of HTS magnet technology for stellarators. Proxima’s ambitious target: bring SMC to life in 2027. In addition, the team is simultaneously finalizing the design of its net energy gain demo stellarator, Alpha, while evaluating potential building sites across Europe.

About Proxima Fusion

Proxima Fusion spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in 2023 to build the first generation of fusion power plants using QI-HTS stellarators. Proxima has since assembled a world-class team of scientists and engineers from leading companies and institutions including the IPP, MIT, Harvard, SpaceX, Tesla, and McLaren. By taking a simulation-driven approach to engineering that leverages advanced computing and high-temperature superconductors to build on the groundbreaking results of the IPP’s W7-X experiment, Proxima is leading Europe into a new era of clean energy, for good.

€1.6 Million Pre-Seed Financing for TrustNXT: Deep Tech to Combat AI Manipulation of Images and Videos 

Hamburg, 4 September 2025 – Computer vision and cybersecurity start-up TrustNXT, a spin-off of leading image processing specialist Basler AG, secures €1.6 million in pre-seed financing.

The renowned early-stage funds D11Z. Ventures and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) are participating. The capital will be used to scale a deep tech solution that reliably protects images and videos in security-critical B2B applications from AI-based manipulation and cyberattacks, a fast-growing market with enormous relevance for industry, insurers and public safety. 

Protecting visual data in B2B processes 

TrustNXT is developing a software platform for comprehensive manipulation protection for visual data. It combines cryptography, computer vision and patented trust technology to ensure the authenticity of image and video data. This prevents manupilation effectively provides for reliability at every step. The solution guarantees the integrity of visual data in critical business processes. 

Ariane Scheer-Danielsson, co-founder and managing director at TrustNXT: “In a world where AI can generate deceptively real images in seconds, trust and data integrity are crucial. Without them, digital business models are threatened. Our mission is to secure this integrity for companies.” 

Strong market response in the insurance sector 

TrustNXT’s insurance solution addresses manipulated damage photos and enables the complete automation of claims and underwriting processes – without any human review. Insurers can effectively prevent image fraud, shorten processing times and make their processes cost-efficient and scalable. 

Patrick Schmitt, Principal at D11Z. Ventures: “We are excited about the cryptography technology used by TrustNXT. It generates a technically unique fingerprint of the sensor data at the point of origin of a medium. This is irrevocably linked to the medium – a physical, tamper-proof evidence. This prevents manipulation and proves the origin of digital content beyond doubt. In the current race between AI-manipulated media and AI that recognises such manipulation, TrustNXT renders this duel obsolete. TrustNXT’s technology will restore trust in digital media for the long term.” 

Tizian Hoppen, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF: “Trust is the foundation of a functioning economy. Today, important decisions are based on digital media such as photos and videos. TrustNXT has impressed us with its digital trust technology, which is based on years of deep tech research.” 

Future: Real-time protection for industrial use cases 

TrustNXT plans to use the capital to expand its technology, particularly for tamper-proof real-time protection of video data in industrial applications. The first pilot projects in industry are planned for 2026. 

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About TrustNXT 
TrustNXT, a corporate spin-off of computer vision expert Basler AG, was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 2024. The founding team combines technical expertise in visual data processing with skills in technology, business and marketing. The company develops solutions that secure digital business processes and create trust in complex environments. The company offers a specialised fraud prevention solution for the insurance sector. In the medium term, the company plans to tap into additional vertical markets. 

Press contact 
Ariane Scheer-Danielsson 
Co-Founder & Managing Director 
TrustNXT GmbH 
press@trustnxt.com 
+49 (0)40 57308010 
www.trustnxt.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 more than 780 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.  

About D11Z. Ventures 
D11Z. Ventures is a leading European Venture Capital family office based in Heilbronn and Munich, focused on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in software and deep tech. With deep industry expertise, operational agility, and a clear founder-first focus, D11Z. Ventures empowers digital pioneers to transform industries. The firm targets key verticals including Cybersecurity, AI Infrastructure, Energy and Enterprise Software. D11Z. Ventures maintains strong ties to Germany’s hidden champions and global market leaders. Beyond capital, the firm provides pro bono cloud infrastructure, strategic guidance, and expert-led workshops to actively support the growth and success of its portfolio companies.

For more information, visit d11z.com or LinkedIn. 

Tangany Raises €10 Million in Series A with Leading European Institutions Joining as Shareholders 

• €10 Million Series A – led by Baader Bank, Elevator Ventures / Raiffeisen Bank International, and Heliad Crypto Partners, with continued support from HTGF and Nauta Capital. 
• Strong Growth – assets under custody rose from €400 million in 2022 to over €3 billion, now serving 700,000+ accounts across 60+ institutional clients. 
• Established Market Presence – trusted by leading institutions including FlatexDEGIRO, eToro, and Bitvavo. 
• Regulatory Leadership – building on BaFin regulation, Tangany is positioned to be among the first fully MiCA-licensed custodians in Europe. 

Tangany, a BaFin-regulated digital asset custodian preparing for EU-wide expansion under MiCA, has successfully closed a €10 million Series A funding round. This latest round marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey, reflecting its evolution from a high-growth startup into a recognized component of Europe’s regulated financial infrastructure. With ties to brands such as FlatexDEGIRO, eToro, Bitvavo, and Finanzen.net ZERO, Tangany is increasingly positioned among the most recognized names in Europe’s digital asset ecosystem. 

The round was led by a distinguished group of financial institutions: Baader Bank (Germany), Elevator Ventures, the venture capital arm of Raiffeisen Bank International (Austria), and Heliad Crypto Partners (Germany), the digital assets investment arm of Heliad AG. Several existing shareholders, including HTGF and Nauta Capital, reaffirmed their long-term support by participating in this round. These new shareholders reflect Tangany’s growing integration with Europe’s financial ecosystem, further enhancing the company’s governance and institutional profile. 

“This Series A round represents more than just capital; it’s a strong signal of institutional trust in Tangany’s vision and infrastructure. We’re proud to welcome well-established European institutions as shareholders, further strengthening our position within the financial sector.  

Their involvement reflects our shared commitment to secure, regulated digital asset infrastructure. At the same time, Tangany remains fully independent. Our shareholder structure now mirrors our ambition: becoming an integrated part of Europe’s financial system. ” 
Martin Kreitmair, CEO and Co-Founder of Tangany 

Rapid Growth & Institutional Demand 

Since its €7 million Seed Round led by Nauta Capital in 2022, Tangany has demonstrated remarkable growth. Today, the company securely holds over €3 billion in digital assets under custody, serving a wide range of financial institutions and digital asset platforms. With over 700,000 customer accounts now active on its infrastructure, Tangany is firmly positioned as one of Europe’s premier crypto custody providers. 

Between 2022 and 2024, Tangany doubled its revenue, culminating in a 2024 performance that laid the foundation for long-term scalability. The team has grown significantly, establishing a robust organization to support increasing demand and regulatory complexity. 

This momentum has positioned Tangany to align seamlessly with MiCA, further strengthening its leadership in Europe’s regulated digital asset ecosystem. 

Tangany’s Expansion into Banking Partnerships 

Tangany has deepened its role in the financial sector, strengthening its long-standing partnership with Baader Bank and collaborating with Elevator Ventures / Raiffeisen Bank. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in our growth, one where we work alongside carefully chosen institutions that align with our long-term vision. Each partnership strengthens our position as a trusted infrastructure provider for regulated institutions across Europe. 

Looking ahead, we will selectively add a small number of like-minded banking partners who share our values and ambitions. We are building an ecosystem where the right institutions will naturally want to join us on this journey. 

Investors also highlighted Tangany’s role in shaping Europe’s financial infrastructure: 

“Digital assets will play a critical role in the future of financial markets, and regulated infrastructure is key to enabling that transformation. Tangany has shown both the regulatory maturity and the technological depth needed to serve financial institutions at scale. We’re proud to support a company that’s helping shape the future of custody in Europe.” 
Oliver Riedel, Deputy CEO, Baader Bank

“Tangany is uniquely positioned at the intersection of digital innovation and institutional-grade compliance. Their technology stack and regulatory-first mindset align with what banks need to safely enter the digital asset space. We’re excited to join them on this next chapter of European expansion.” 
Thomas Muchar, Managing Director, Elevator Ventures

“Tangany’s digital assets under custody have grown 7.5x from €400m to €3bn since we led the company’s Seed round in 2022. That success has established the provider’s significance in the European financial ecosystem and has attracted some of the largest institutions around to join the mission as shareholders. This is a testament to the team, the product, and the traction to date. We’re delighted to see Tangany close such a strong Series A round, and we cannot wait to see what’s next for the company.” 
Carles Ferrer, General Partner, Nauta Capital

“We’ve believed in Tangany’s vision from the beginning,  and it’s been remarkable to watch them grow into a regulated, pan-European infrastructure provider. Their ability to execute with precision, maintain trust with institutions, and adapt to new regulations makes them a standout in the space. We’re pleased to continue supporting them in this next phase.” 
Tobias Schulz, Principal, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)

“Tangany is a transformative force at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology, providing regulated, secure, and highly flexible digital asset custody solutions that enable institutions to expand into digital asset markets with confidence — unlocking full growth potential amid rising market demand. We look forward to supporting them on their mission to become the go-to custody backbone of digital finance.”   
Christopher Garlich, Managing Director, Heliad Crypto Partners

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About Tangany 
Tangany is an innovative, BaFin-regulated Fintech company based in Munich. Tangany offers a market-leading B2B solution for the custody of digital assets on the blockchain (e.g., cryptocurrencies, tokenized securities, NFTs). Our solution is already used by more than 60 institutional clients, including banks, trading platforms, corporations, and fintechs. 

We enable our clients to easily and reliably deploy blockchain technology via the integration of our modern API into their systems. This white-label solution saves significant cost and time for in-house development, enabling faster time-to-market and a greater focus on their own products and services. Tangany’s crypto custody licence also covers regulatory requirements if needed. 

With the continuous development of our solution, we support the financial industry on its way to making digital assets accessible to everyone. More information at https://tangany.com or on LinkedIn. 

About Baader Bank 
Baader Bank is one of the leading European partners for investment and banking services. Trading and banking are combined using a single powerful platform that offers a unique setup and optimum access to the capital market using a secure, automated, and scalable approach. As a family-run full-service bank with its headquarters in Unterschleissheim near Munich, Baader Bank AG employs around 650 staff members and operates in Market Making, Capital Markets, Brokerage, Fund Services, Account Services, and Research Services. 

About Elevator Ventures  
Elevator Ventures is the venture capital fund backed by Raiffeisen Bank International, Raiffeisen-Holding Niederösterreich-Wien, and Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark, and manages funds of more than 100m€ to elevate the growth of technology companies in Fintech and Beyond Banking. The team invests in Series A and B growth equity rounds in DACH and CEE and uses the deep expertise and intel of its corporate investors to support their portfolio companies. To date, Elevator Ventures has deployed over €50 million, with investments into 20 companies – resulting in five exits – and into two additional funds. 

About Heliad Crypto Partners 
Heliad Crypto Partners is the blockchain and digital assets investment arm of Heliad AG, a publicly listed venture capital house focused on supporting market-leading companies across various verticals and regions to power their next phase of growth pre, at, and post IPO, acting as a gateway to public equity capital markets. Heliad Crypto invests across multiple segments within the crypto, blockchain, and digital assets spaces, with investment mandates ranging from direct venture and fund-of-fund investing to discretionary as well as programmatic liquid crypto and DeFi strategies. Find us at www.crypto.heliad.com or follow us on LinkedIn. 

About Nauta Capital  
Nauta is a pan-European venture capital firm investing in early-stage B2B software companies with offices in London and Barcelona. With over half a billion assets under management, almost 20 years of investing, and a team of 24 people, Nauta is one of Europe’s largest B2B focused VCs. As a sector-agnostic investor, Nauta’s main areas of interest include B2B SaaS solutions with strong network effects, vertically focused enterprise tech transforming large industries, as well as those leveraging deep-tech applications to solve challenges faced by large enterprises. Nauta has led investments in more than 90 companies. Find out more at www.nautacapital.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 more than 780 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.    

RedMimicry secures million-dollar seed funding to advance realistic cyberattack testing

• RedMimicry secures seven-figure seed funding from High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Capital Square (Hamburg), and superangels (Munich). 
• First platform to realistically and automatically simulate complex, multi-stage cyberattacks. 
• Organizations use RedMimicry to emulate threat actors like LockBit and Black Basta, validate their defenses, and boost cyber resilience. 

RedMimicry, a provider of a platform for the realistic emulation of complex cyber-attacks, has announced the successful completion of a seed financing round. The round was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) with participation from Capital Square from Hamburg, superangels from Munich, and several well-known business angels. This investment will allow RedMimicry to develop its technology further and increase its sales activities. 

Preparing for real attacks 

Many companies only test their defences selectively and under unrealistic conditions. This means that vulnerabilities in processes, technology, and collaboration can remain undetected. However, regulatory requirements such as DORA and NIS-2 stipulate that companies must comprehensively and regularly test their security measures against current attack chains. RedMimicry provides repeatable emulations that enable companies to thoroughly validate their cyber defences against threat scenarios, such as malware or targeted attacks. This enables customers to increase their security sustainably while reducing costs and effort. 

As well as working directly with customers, RedMimicry collaborates with a growing network of partners to help companies of all sizes enhance their security processes. 

Focusing on specific attack targets 

The fresh financing will enable RedMimicry to further develop its product platform, paying particular attention to specific threat scenarios, such as attacks on critical infrastructure (operational technology, OT) or financial service providers. RedMimicry is also investing in its sales team and expanding its partner network. 

Alexander Rausch, founder and CEO of RedMimicry, said: “Our vision is to enable companies to protect themselves independently and effectively against increasingly complex cyber-attacks. With the support of experienced investors, we can advance our technology significantly and expand our market position.” 

Constantin Schlachetzki, Director of Cyber Defence at the German Cyber Security Organisation (DCSO), said: “DCSO’s customers rely on first-class security services. RedMimicry supports our assessments with advanced attack simulations, helping us to deliver accurate and effective evaluations.” 

Björn Sykora, Principal at HTGF, said: “Alex and Stefan combine technical excellence with entrepreneurial vision. With RedMimicry, they are addressing one of the greatest risks companies are currently facing: protection against cyber-attacks. They provide a European security solution that benefits both medium-sized and large companies.” 

Martin Ostermayer, Co-Founder Capital Square: “We’re excited to back RedMimicry as they revolutionize how companies prepare for and defend against sophisticated cyberattacks. Their bold vision and outstanding team embody exactly the kind of ambition and expertise we look for in founders – and we’re confident they’ll set new standards in cybersecurity.”  

Franzi Majer, Founding Partner at superangels, said: “We’re excited to back RedMimicry, whose realistic cyberattack simulations help companies uncover vulnerabilities before attackers do. Their technical excellence, market relevance, and visionary team make them exactly the kind of startup we love to support.” 

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About RedMimicry GmbH  
RedMimicry GmbH was founded in 2023 by Alexander Rausch and Stefan Steinberg. Both founders have many years of experience in the cybersecurity industry, gained through their work at Proofpoint and the German Cyber Security Organisation (DCSO). RedMimicry’s innovative platform is already in use by medium-sized and large companies, as well as by managed security service providers and consulting firms. 

Media contact  
Stefan Steinberg  
COO RedMimicry GmbH  
E-Mail: stefan.steinberg@redmimicry.com  

About Capital Square 
Capital Square is a co-working space exclusively for investors in Hamburg. Bringing together independent venture capitalists, business angels, and family offices, it fosters a close-knit community that actively exchanges deal flow, insights, and support on portfolio challenges. This unique setup combines the flexibility of independent investing with the strength of collective experience. 

Media Contact 
Martin Ostermayer, Capital Square 
mo@solanus.vc 

About superangels 
Superangels, founded by former entrepreneurs Franzi Majer, Alexander Brand, and Florian Gottschaller, is a Business Angel Matching Fund that partners with 20 selected superangels and matches their investments in leading early-stage tech startups across deep tech, AI, SaaS, climate tech, and more. The fund combines rapid, founder-friendly capital with the expertise and networks of proven entrepreneurs – making it one of Europe‘s most active early-stage funds, with 91 investments since start in May 2023.  

For more information, please visit super-angels.eu or follow us on LinkedIn.    

Media contact  
Superangels Management GmbH 
Franzi Majer, Founding Partner  
franzi@super-angels.eu  

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 780 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.    

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

Genow Secures €1.65M to End Fragmented Company Knowledge with Its AI Platform

• Genow raises €1.65 million in seed funding, led by HTGF, with participation from BMH and experienced angel investors. 
• AI platform Wingman already in use by major enterprise clients. Fresh capital will drive market expansion and technological advancement. 
• Wingman revolutionises knowledge management by enabling companies to build scalable, custom AI solutions that can navigate complex information landscapes with ease. 

The deep-tech startup Genow, based in Darmstadt, has successfully closed its seed funding round, raising €1.65 million. The High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) led the investment, alongside BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen mbH and experienced angel investors and founders Markus Becker, Sebastian Mönnich and Dr Mario Lenz. Founded in 2023 as a spin-off from TU Darmstadt, Genow plans to use the new funding to further develop its AI-powered Knowledge Operations Platform, ‘Wingman’. This platform facilitates efficient and highly precise interaction with internal company knowledge from various data sources. 

Knowledge management remains an unsolved core challenge. 

Despite ongoing digitalisation, many organisations still struggle with inefficient access to internal knowledge. Even documented information can be difficult to retrieve as it is often scattered across multiple systems. At the same time, the retirement of experienced specialists puts valuable expertise at risk of being lost. What is needed are solutions capable of handling the complex, heterogeneous information landscapes of modern organisations and making knowledge accessible and usable across departments. 

‘Knowledge management remains one of the biggest hurdles to successful processes and decisions,’ says Sara Jourdan, CEO and co-founder of Genow. ‘Many employees spend 20 to 30 per cent of their day searching for information in unstructured data sets.’ 

AI-driven knowledge processes for every business context 

The Genow founding team spent several years conducting in-depth research at TU Darmstadt on the use of generative AI in enterprise environments. They found that traditional AI solutions often fail in everyday business settings due to a lack of context. Genow’s “Wingman” directly addresses this challenge by providing a scalable Knowledge Operations Platform which intelligently consolidates fragmented knowledge from systems such as SharePoint, Confluence, Jira and DMS solutions. This makes the knowledge accessible and usable in context. 

Wingman is already being used by leading international enterprises, helping thousands of employees to quickly access and apply internal knowledge productively. 

The platform doesn’t just understand content semantically — it also incorporates company-specific metadata, terminology and relationships, enabling highly accurate and reliable responses, even to complex queries. At the same time, it helps to identify knowledge gaps across the organisation. Companies can configure custom AI applications tailored to specific functions, such as HR, sales, compliance, customer service or engineering. The goal is to rethink knowledge management fundamentally and provide a future-proof solution for building, preserving and leveraging internal knowledge. 

The platform can be fully deployed in the customer’s own cloud environment, meeting the highest standards for data security, scalability, and control. 

‘With Genow, we are investing in a team that has developed an excellent research-based, scalable solution to one of the central problems of knowledge work,’ says Sebastian Schnell from BMH. ‘Wingman impresses with its technological depth, practical relevance, and significant market potential.’ 

Felix Assion, Investment Manager at HTGF, comments: ‘We are seeing a lot of start-up activity in this promising market, but few teams understand the needs of large corporations as well as this one. After an impressive bootstrapping phase, we are excited to see what they will achieve with these new financial opportunities.’ 

Markus Becker and Sebastian Mönnich, Business Angels: ‘The Genow founding team impressed us with their blend of technological expertise and strategic vision. With Wingman, Genow is setting new standards in corporate knowledge management, and we see great potential here for the future. We are delighted to be part of this journey.’  

The seed funding will be used to further develop the technology, particularly with regard to agent-based knowledge processes, and to support market expansion. 

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About Genow 
Genow is a deep-tech startup based in Darmstadt (Germany), empowering companies to efficiently and precisely interact with their unstructured, fragmented enterprise knowledge through its Wingman platform. The Knowledge Operations AI platform enables organisations to easily and securely scale specialised AI applications, making knowledge processes more efficient and effective by preserving and generating new knowledge. Genow was founded in 2023 by Dr. Timo Koppe, Adrian Glauben, Dr. Sara Jourdan, and Prof. Peter Buxmann. 

For more information, visit: https://www.genow.ai  

Media contact 
Genow GmbH 
Grafenstraße 19, 64283 Darmstadt 
Dr. Sara Jourdan 
media@genow.ai   

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 780 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.    

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

About BMH 
BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen mbH is a medium-sized investment and venture capital company based in Wiesbaden. Founded in 2001, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale (Helaba). BMH currently manages six investment funds totalling over 200 million euros. Technologiefonds Hessen IV (TF H IV) primarily invests in seed and Series A financing rounds, focusing on highly scalable technological business models. Since its inception, BMH has invested in over 500 companies. The company’s investment focus includes the software/analytics, fintech/insuretech, life sciences, deep tech, IoT/industrial tech and cleantech sectors. 

For more information about BMH and its funds, please visit www.bmh-hessen.de.  

Media contact BMH  
IWK Communication Partner 
Barbara Popp 
Ohmstraße 1 / D-80802 München 
Telefon: +49 89 200030-30  
E-Mail: bmh@iwk-cp.com  
www.iwk-cp.com 

€38 Million for plancraft – Series B to lead AI Transformation in European Construction

• plancraft, a platform that helps tradespeople digitize their workflows, has closed a €38 million Series B funding round.
• Headline joins as the new lead investor, alongside continued support from Creandum, HTGF, and xdeck.
• The fresh capital will be used primarily to build an AI first product and expand the team across Europe.
• More than 20,000 customers in 11 countries already use the software to streamline their operations.

The Hamburg-based SaaS company plancraft has secured a €38 million Series B funding round, led by Headline, one of the leading global venture capital firms. Existing investors Creandum, HTGF and xdeck also participated in the round, bringing the company’s total funding to over €50 million.

As Europe faces a critical construction workforce shortage driven by demographic shifts, skills gaps, and accelerating climate retrofit mandates, the funding comes at a pivotal moment for the industry. The new funding will be used primarily to build AI-first tools to handle routine tasks more efficiently for tradespeople and to further grow the team across different countries.

CEO and Co-Founder Julian Wiedenhaus underlines the strategic importance of addressing market pressures: “Europe’s construction workforce is under unprecedented pressure – aging demographics, skills shortages, and the urgent need for climate retrofits demand dramatic efficiency gains. We don’t just want to digitalize skilled trades – we want to fundamentally change how they operate, so businesses don’t drown in administrative work while the real building suffers.”

The challenges Europe’s Construction sector is facing are significant: 95% of businesses have fewer than twenty employees. At the same time, they face growing bureaucracy, a shortage of skilled labor, and a generational transition. Combined with Europe’s responsibility for 40% of global construction CO₂ emissions, the sector faces unprecedented pressure to transform. Structural crises like the housing shortage and climate change are adding additional pressure.

Rapid growth in a tough market
Since its Series A in June 2024, plancraft has more than doubled its team from 40 to over 100 employees. The company has already built teams in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Italy. To support its expansion, plancraft is looking to hire more product and AI specialists.

“At plancraft, we’re not just seeing a strong product with incredible customer love – we are very impressed by the team with a clear, determined and ambitious mindset,” says Trevor Neff from Headline. “The clarity of vision, and the ambition to transform a traditional industry truly stand out. The market tailwinds paired with the impact of AI specific to this end market, can have a dramatic change to the industry across Europe.”

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About plancraft
plancraft digitizes workflows for trades businesses – from creating quotes and tracking work hours to documenting job sites. More than 20,000 customers in 11 countries across Europe already use the software. Founded in 2020 by Julian Wiedenhaus, Alexander Noll, and Richard Keil, the company now employs over 100 people. With their mission to create space for people in the trades, the team wants to build the backbone of European Construction. More information: www.plancraft.com

Press contact
Malin Zeuchner
malin.z@get-press.de
Tel: +49 17615417841

About Headline:
Headline is a global venture capital firm, with offices in Berlin, Paris, São Paulo, San Francisco, and Tokyo. The firm focuses on technology-driven startups with international growth potential. Notable investments include companies such as Gopuff, Bumble, Fetch Rewards, Mistral AI, Housecall Pro and many others. More information: www.headline.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 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 more than 780 startups and successfully sold shares in almost 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.

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

HTGF completes new management team: Sebastian Borek to lead Digital Tech Division

Sebastian Borek is to become new Managing Director of High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) on 13 October 2025, taking responsibility for the Digital Tech investment team. Alongside Romy Schnelle and Dr Achim Plum, he will manage one of the leading and most active early-stage investors in Germany and Europe.

A visionary entrepreneur, Sebastian Borek has over 25 years’ experience building digital business models, technology-driven start-ups, and venture capital structures internationally. He has extensive leadership experience as a CEO, having built and managed several organisations. As a serial founder, he has started several successful tech ventures in New York and Europe. He also launched the Founders Foundation and the Hinterland of Things conference, playing a key role in shaping Germany’s B2B start-up ecosystem. As a business angel and advisory board member, he focuses particularly on artificial intelligence, blockchain and B2B SaaS. He holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University and an MBA from the University of St. Gallen.

Following Dr Alex von Frankenberg’s departure on 12 October 2025 after 20 years, Sebastian Borek’s start completes the HTGF management team in a new sector-oriented structure. Each Managing Director will take responsibility for one of the three core investment areas – Life Sciences & Chemistry (Dr Achim Plum), Industrial Tech (Romy Schnelle) and Digital Tech (Sebastian Borek). Together, they will represent HTGF towards start-ups, industry, and policymakers, and will shape the fund’s future strategic direction.

Reflecting on his new role, Sebastian Borek says: “I am delighted to join the HTGF team, a driving force for innovation and entrepreneurship in Germany. Coming from a traditional family business background, I see my strength in bridging established industry and young tech start-ups. With a focus on founders and a passion for helping people and companies grow, my goal is to leverage the potential of digital technologies and help shape the European tech champions of tomorrow.”

Dr Armgard Wippler, Chair of the HTGF Investor Advisory Board and a Deputy Director-General at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, states: “With Sebastian Borek, HTGF gains a managing director with an excellent national and international network, as well as a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented by digital technologies and business models. We are very much looking forward to working with him and are convinced he will provide important impetus for the continued success of the fund and strengthen Germany’s position as a hub for innovation.”

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 780 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.   

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

From classroom overload to insight: Teaching, redefined by AI

Developed by 22-year-olds for the classroom of the future – €1 million in funding for paddy 

• Just six months after launch: paddy secures €1 million in pre-seed funding, with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) as lead investor. 
• The startup has developed a unique AI platform that supports teachers in preparing, conducting, and following up on their lessons. 
• Teachers can once again meet the needs of their students: Already 12,000 active users. 

The startup paddy has developed a unique AI platform that saves teachers time throughout their day, enabling them to provide personalized support students once again. The platform assists with lesson planning, creates tailored teaching materials in various formats, offers digital tools for lesson delivery, and analyzes class performance. 

Founded in Eastern Westphalia by three “teacher kids”, Matty Frommann, Lukas Portmann, and Tobias Schröder, who only recently finished school themselves. 

“paddy shows how we can reduce stress for teachers while helping students develop AI skills at an early stage. Beyond the impressive product, it’s the team that won me over: Despite their young age, the founders already demonstrate remarkable entrepreneurial intuition – and I’m excited to see where the journey takes them!” says Felix Assion, Investment Manager at HTGF. 

A massive market with urgent needs 

paddy: Born at the breakfast table, developed in the classroom 

“I saw firsthand as a student how overwhelmed many teachers were – no time for individual support, even though the intention was there. That’s what sparked the idea for paddy,” says Matty Frommann, co-founder and CEO of paddy. 

The frustrations of teaching were part of daily life for the paddy founders: conversations at the breakfast table about overcrowded classes, endless grading, and the feeling of never being able to meet every student’s needs. Teachers constantly juggle between admin work, curriculum pressure, and classroom management, often without the ability to respond to individual students. 

During the pandemic, the future paddy founders organized local teacher trainings and saw firsthand how schools struggled with digital and structural challenges. In 2024, they founded DigitalErleben GmbH and launched the paddy AI platform in January 2025 – a solution that truly simplifies daily teaching routines. 

The solution: More time for what matters most 

paddy handles the tasks that fill up teachers’ calendars with no extra workload or training required. The platform identifies topic, target group, and learning objectives. It suggests matching tasks, methods, and materials, generates differentiated content, and analyzes student progress to support next steps. Teachers quickly gain insight into where their class stands and who may need extra support. 

Instead of jumping between tools, binders, and to-do lists, teachers have time again for what really matters in the classroom: personalized support, meaningful feedback, and genuine connection with their students. 

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About paddy 
paddy is an AI platform developed by DigitalErleben GmbH, based in Bielefeld, supporting teachers across the entire teaching cycle. Founded in 2024 by Matty Frommann, Lukas Portmann, and Tobias Schröder – all children of teachers – and joined later that year by CTO Lukas Kaufmann, the company developed a solution to help teachers manage their overloaded school routines. 

paddy eases the workload in planning, conducting, and reviewing lessons and supports educators in giving personalized attention to their students. With over 12,000 active users (teachers) just six months post-launch, paddy is well on its way to transforming education in the DACH region through AI. 

More information: https://paddy.app/ 

Media Contact 
The Trailblazers GmbH 
Katarina Jörg, PR Manager 
T: +49 173 4120544 
katarina@thetrailblazers.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 more than 780 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.    

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

Stackgini emerges from stealth mode – with DAX 40 clients and the goal of revolutionizing IT decision-making.

After a year of building product and traction in stealth, Stackgini today announces the closing of its pre-seed funding round in April 2024, backed by leading early-stage investors High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and xdeck Ventures, along with prominent business angels from the SaaS industry including Julius Göllner (ARRtist), Dr. Niklas Hellemann (SoSafe), Frank Piotraschke (SoSafe) und Lukas Gottschick (Pliant).

As part of its public debut, Stackgini also reports strong demand, from both DAX 40 companies and several renowned enterprise clients such as Endress+Hauser, Grünenthal, Badenova, or Louis Motorrad, all of whom are already using the solution.

IT departments manage large IT portfolios (often over 1,000 solutions), while business units submit new requirements on a daily basis. Manually coordinating these demands across departments, systems, and siloed data not only slows down decision-making but also quickly leads to unnecessary licensing costs and increased complexity in the IT landscape. Stackgini offers an alternative: a data-driven platform that helps companies efficiently assess, select, and optimize their IT landscape.

“We founded Stackgini to solve a problem every organization faces: fragmented, manual, slow IT decision-making,” says Johannes Bock, CEO and co-founder of Stackgini. “Our platform learns from existing IT stacks, contextualizes new IT demands, and proactively promotes the reuse of existing IT solutions — with the speed a modern IT requires.”

The Intelligent Co-Worker for IT Departments

Stackgini is on a mission to fundamentally modernize IT demand management. Since closing its pre-seed round in April 2024, Stackgini has been developing its SaaS platform in close collaboration with its customers. The product leverages proprietary AI to analyze internal portfolio data, IT requirements, and market data – delivering actionable IT solutions in real time. Stackgini acts as a co-worker across IT governance, enterprise architecture and IT procurement teams.

Our product has already gained the trust of leading enterprises.

Steven Waegenaer, Head of IT Governance and Strategy at Grünenthal Group, adds: “For us, Stackgini is a real game changer in demand management: we are able to work together with the business units at an early stage and in a data-driven manner and make well-founded decisions – thus preventing unnecessary costs and shadow IT.”

Backed by Europe’s Leading Early-Stage Investors and experienced Business Angels

The pre-seed round was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and xdeck Ventures, with participation from experienced angels including Julius Göllner, Dr. Niklas Hellemann, Frank Piotraschke, and Lukas Gottschick.

“We backed Stackgini because the team is taking a fresh, scalable approach to a universal enterprise pain point,” says Maurice Kügler, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF. “With rising IT complexity and talent shortages in IT architecture and procurement, fueling IT decision-making with AI is a huge opportunity.”

Markus Gick, Managing Partner at xdeck Ventures, adds: “Stackgini has the vision, the team, and now the traction to redefine how enterprise IT decisions are made. We’re proud to support them on this journey.”

The Road Ahead

With growing enterprise adoption, Stackgini is now focused on expanding its engineering, customer success, and go-to-market teams. The company is further deepening integrations with existing governance, procurement, and enterprise architecture systems—working toward a world where IT decisions can happen in days, not months.

“Our goal is simple: to become the AI-powered backbone of enterprise IT decision-making.” says Johannes.

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About Stackgini
Stackgini is the AI-powered co-worker for IT decision-making and demand management in medium-sized and large enterprises. Our SaaS solution reduces the workload for IT teams, promotes the reuse of existing solutions, and automates compliance checks. It brings together all teams and tools – from IT service management and enterprise architecture to compliance and procurement. The platform enhances the internal IT knowledge of its customers with millions of market data points. With the help of our proprietary AI, companies gain deep insights into their IT portfolio for intelligent, data-driven IT decisions.

Contact: Johannes Bock
E-Mail: press@stackgini.de

www.stackgini.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 more than 780 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.    

About xdeck Ventures
xdeck ventures is an early-stage venture capital investor focusing on tech companies with superior solutions in process automation, applied big data / AI, and sustainability tech. xdeck ventures invests in inspiring teams with deep domain expertise and a distinctive understanding of the problem they are trying to solve. Moreover, they are looking for differentiated products or services that solve a real pain point for customers and teams who are building something significant with the spirit to walk the extra mile. As investor on eye level, xdeck ventures empower founders to constantly challenge their status quo by being their biggest critic and close sparring partner at the same time.

www.xdeck.vc

Certivity raises €13.3M in Series A to shape the future of technical compliance 

Certivity has raised €13.3 million in Series A funding.

The Munich-based RegTech company is developing the first structured, AI-powered platform for managing technical compliance. The round was led by Almaz Capital and UVC Partners, with participation from existing investors Earlybird X, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), and Plug and Play. The fresh capital will be used to accelerate the go-to-market strategy, drive product development, and expand into new industries and international markets. 

Founded in 2021 by Nico Waegerle, Bogdan Bereczki, Jörg Ulmer, and Sami Vaaraniemi, Certivity is tackling one of the most overlooked but critical problems in modern engineering: regulatory compliance. Engineers often spend 30–50 percent of their time navigating fragmented legal and regulatory documents to ensure products meet legal and regulatory standards. Mistakes lead to product recalls, safety failures, and billions in fines. Certivity is on a mission to change that.  

The company offers a structured, AI-native SaaS platform that transforms complex regulatory documents into structured, machine-readable compliance intelligence, automating everything from requirement extraction to regulatory updates and the native integration into the engineering process. Certivity enables companies to build products faster while increasing the security to ensure compliance with all mandatory regulations. 

“With this funding, we’re scaling our platform to become the category leader in technical compliance – starting in automotive and expanding into heavy machinery, consumer goods, defense, aerospace, and beyond,” says Nico Waegerle, CEO and Co-Founder of Certivity. “We’re broadening regulation coverage, enhancing AI, and deepening tool integrations. Thus, we are turning compliance from a mandatory requirement into a competitive advantage for our customers.” 

 “Certivity has fundamentally changed how we handle regulatory compliance. Our internal development processes have become significantly more efficient, eliminating substantial amounts of manual effort.” says Nicolas Maurin, Regulations & Standards Manager, Aptiv. 

How the platform works: Turning regulatory complexity into structured knowledge 

Certivity’s platform digitizes and structures regulatory content from over 50 jurisdictions using a proprietary ingestion pipeline and regulatory knowledge graph. This provides engineering and compliance teams with full traceability and real-time visibility into legal changes. 

AI-driven modules consolidate amendments across different regulatory versions with high precision and classify, extract, generate, and test technical and regulatory requirements from unstructured legal texts. 

Instead of managing compliance in disconnected documents or spreadsheets, teams can now organize interpretations, approvals, and legal references into product-specific compliance projects. With deep integrations into requirements management tools like Jama, Polarion, DOORS, and others, Certivity enables compliance to flow seamlessly into engineering workflows, creating a connected, auditable, and scalable process. 

Laying the groundwork for industry-scale compliance 

“Certivity is setting a new standard for how compliance is integrated into product development,” says Amanda Birkenholz, Principal at UVC Partners. “They solve a large and tedious problem for any company with regulatory requirements. Compliance challenges are no longer the exception – they are the norm. Instead of asking which products are subject to regulation, it’s nowadays more accurate to ask: which products aren’t?” 

“With some of the largest and most innovative OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers as customers, Certivity has established itself as the leader in the automotive industry for regulatory compliance. With this funding the goal is to expand in two dimensions – 1) in addition to regulatory compliance, Certivity also wants to cover technical specifications and industry standards; and 2) enlarge footprint to a diverse set of industries such as heavy machinery, aerospace and defense and eventually medtech. We are very excited about this growth prospect” says Aniruddha Nazre, General Partner at Almaz Capital.  

To support its customers at scale, the company is also investing in onboarding, training, and customer success while growing its team across engineering, product, and go-to-market functions. 

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About Certivity 
Certivity is a RegTech company that transforms regulatory complexity into clarity and speed. By converting regulatory documents into structured, machine-readable compliance intelligence, we empower engineering and compliance teams to work more efficiently and seamlessly. Our platform uses large language models (LLMs) and domain-specific AI to generate “law as data” from global sources, enabling fully digital workflows. Certivity helps customers digitize and streamline their compliance processes, reduce costs, mitigate risks, improve collaboration, and accelerate product development. 
More information on: https://www.certivity.io/  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certivity  

About Almaz Capital 
Almaz Capital is a leading early-stage VC fund headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices also in Berlin. Almaz is investing out of its third fund and is backed by major institutional investors including the EIF, EBRD and Cisco. Almaz invests in enterprise software companies at seed and series A stages. Almaz has over 50 active portfolio companies and has had over 10 successful exits over the last 17 years. 

Find out more at https://www.almazcapital.com 

About UVC Partners 
UVC Partners is a leading venture capital firm that invests in European B2B tech startups and has offices in Munich and Berlin. With more than €600 million in assets under management, the VC typically invests between €1 to €10 million initially and up to €30 million per startup in the areas of DeepTech, ClimateTech, Mobility, and Software/AI. As an independent partner of UnternehmerTUM, Europe’s leading startup hub, UVC Partners has unique access to proprietary deal flow, more than 1,000 corporates and SMEs, as well as to talents from the Technical University of Munich, which belongs to the best European technical universities. UVC Partners’ investment portfolio includes Flix, Isar Aerospace, planqc, Proxima Fusion, Reverion, Tacto, TWAICE, DeepDrive, STABL, and many more. All portfolio companies and founders benefit from the team’s extensive investment and exit experience, their ability to build sustainable category leaders, and the network of UnternehmerTUM enabling them to speed up market entry. 

Learn more at www.uvcpartners.com. 

About Earlybird 
Founded in 1997, Earlybird identifies and backs exceptional early-stage companies on a pan-European basis – supporting them through their growth and development phases and providing financial resources, strategic support, plus access to an international network and capital markets. Through two separate strategies, Earlybird focuses on tech-enabled businesses in fintech/ insurtech, enterprise software, and deep tech (energy, food, and space) while Earlybird Health focuses on improving patient outcomes. Earlybird additionally has a Growth Opportunity Fund for follow-on investments, and a pro-bono impact initiative, Vision Lab. With EUR 2.5 billion under management across fund streams and a history of 9 IPOs and 35 trade sales, Earlybird is among Europe’s most established and active venture capital firms. 

More information on www.earlybird.com, LinkedIn, and X.  

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 780 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. 

About Plug and Play Tech Center 
Plug and Play Tech Center is a leading innovation platform and one of the most active early-stage VC firms globally with multiple success stories and 30+ unicorns in the portfolio, including PayPal, Honey, N26 and Einride. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play invests across more than 20 industries. Their German offices are located in Stuttgart, Munich, and Hamburg, each focusing on collaboration between industry partners and startups in their respective fields — Mobility in Stuttgart, InsurTech, Brand & Retail in Munich, and Supply Chain & Logistics in Hamburg. 

For more information, visit: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/venture-capital