Start-ups Investment Report

The entrepreneurial ecosystem at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is the talk of the town—and the high number of investments it has seen in the second quarter of this year are not the only reason. Two companies founded by WHU alumni—Enpal and Entrix—have come together to create Flexa, Europe’s largest virtual power plant based wholly on renewable solar energy. Another clear sign that sustainability is a crucial focus area for WHU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Founded by Steffen Schülzchen (BSc 2014), Entrix is a company centered on AI, and it will now use its technology to smartly link the solar panels that Enpal provides. Notably, Entrix has found support in AENU, a venture capital fund set up by WHU alumnus Ferry Heilemen (BSc 2009) that targets start-ups focused on environmental technology.

Enpal has found major success since Mario Kohle (BSc 2008), Viktor Wingert (MSc 2010), and Jochen Ziervogel (MSc 2015) founded the firm in 2017. The company can boast an extensive network of energy storage systems, heat pumps, and wallboxes. And over the past several years, the company has managed to install 70,000 solar panels for residential clients in Germany. By the end of 2025, that number could swell to as high as 200,000.

By aligning with Entrix, the company aims to accelerate the energy transition in the European Union. Their joint efforts will help consolidate, smartly control, and trade on the energy market the output of around 100,000 decentralized solar plants for years to come. This venture is projected to consistently produce several gigawatts of power—far more than conventional nuclear plants can. 

April

- Luis Felipe Carvalho (MSc 2004) secured US$11.7M in a venture capital funding round for NG.CASH, a digital bank targeting Generation Z and helping them make sound financial decisions.

- creditshelf, co-founded by WHU alumnus Tim Thabe (EMBA 2014), specializes in corporate financing and risk management. The firm was recently purchased by Swiss competitor Teylor.

- Flink, a grocery delivery service active in large cities, secured €100M in a venture capital funding round. The company was founded by Julian Dames (MSc 2013) and Christoph Cordes (Diplom 2003).

- eleQtron, co-founded by Jan Henrik Leisse (MBA 2006), is Germany’s first developer of quantum computers. The company aims to make these high-performance machines accessible to a variety of industries and has recently received a subvention worth €21M.

- kalialab, co-founded by Max Renneberg (Diplom 2008), secured €3.9M in a seed funding round. The company offers holistic skin and aesthetic treatments.

May

- trawa, which offers comprehensive energy solutions using green commercial and industrial electricity, recently secured €10M in a seed funding round. The company was co-founded by David Budde (BSc 2016).

- Receiving payments, selling online, fulfilling orders, and managing the books—that is what Sum Up allows its customers to do easily. Started by Dr. Jan Deepen (Promotion 2006) and Daniel Klein (Diplom 2002), the company recently received a loan of €1.5M.

- After its gains in April, Luis Felipe Carvalho’s NG.CASH secured a further US$12.6M in a series A funding round.

- Riskine, a company founded by Dr. Ralf Widtmann (Promotion 2013), was bought out this month. The company offers digital consulting solutions for banks and insurance agencies.

June

-CUREosity raised €3.8M in a seed funding round. The company was founded by Caesar van Heyningen (MBA 2021) and develops virtual-reality-based methods for occupational and cognitive therapy.

- DeepSkill is using its innovative platform and comprehensive approach to help improve one’s self-development in a digital way. The company was co-founded by Miriam Mertens (EMBA 2010) and Peter Goeke (PT-MBA 2017) and has now secured €1.5M in a seed funding round.

- Dr. Tim Breker is the co-founder of Vytal, which offers a redemption system for packaging used in the gastronomical industry. The company recently secured €6.3M in venture capital funding.

-Fjorden offers specialized technological equipment, such as high-performance cameras and other smartphone components. The company was co-founded by Victor Henning (MBA 2004) and was sold this month.

- hellgrün, founded by Roman Steigertahl (MLB 2014), offers sustainable energy solutions for commercial properties. The company recently secured a substantial, yet undisclosed, sum during a funding round.

-Crafthunt is Europe’s largest job market platform for the construction industry. It brings companies and expert workers to one place and offers additional features, such as anonymous job searches, machine translation, and user community. The company was co-founded by Dr. Anna Hocker (BSc 2013) and has recently secured €3M in funding.

- Narratic Labs has made it its goal to make B2B teams more efficient by connecting millions of data points and using advanced natural language AI to identify a company’s optimal business partner. The company was founded by Arne Wolfewicz (MSc 2017) and has recently secured €750,000 in a pre-seed funding round.