Hamburg-based vilisto, a startup that offers digital heat management for non-residential buildings, announced on Sunday, July 9, that it has secured €5M in a Series A round of funding.
The investment came from Amsterdam’s SET Ventures, Hamburg’s E.R. Capital Holding and existing investors.
David Falcone Schlüter, Head of Business Development & Controlling, E.R. Capital, says, “We are looking for solutions that deliver immediate CO2 reductions, and vilisto clearly falls in this category. vilisto’s product will play an integral part in helping the real estate sector meet its ambitious reduction targets and we are thrilled to support the team on this journey.”
vilisto: Everything you need to know
Founded in 2016 by Christoph Berger, Christian Brase and Lasse Stehnken, vilisto is a climate protection business that focuses on creating intelligent heating systems.
With the help of the company’s technology, buildings can be heated effectively, addressing a major source of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the EU.
vilisto’s thermostat has built-in sensors that monitor sound, light, and motion. These sensors efficiently heat a room only when it is occupied with the help of self-learning algorithms.
As a result, businesses and municipalities can reduce their energy and CO2 emissions by up to 32 per cent. This is because each room needs less energy.
According to vilisto, its technology stands out in the sector because of its combination of “simplicity and efficiency”. The company’s solution can be implemented within minutes, during operations and without construction or IT-integration measures.
Vilisto claims to have established product-market fit in the German market and is prepared to grow further with over 200 clients, who collectively represent almost 35,000 properties.
According to the company, it is in high demand because more than 1,000,000 non-residential buildings in Europe, owned by building owners and the public sector, are looking for sustainable energy efficiency solutions.
Capital utilisation
Co-founder Christoph Berger says, “We’re primed for exponential growth.”
“Through this funding and collaboration with knowledgeable and experienced investors like SET Ventures and E.R. Capital Holding, we are prepared for the next chapter.”
“Our technology has proven its effectiveness and saving potential many times over. We strive to use our leading position in the market to further improve the energy efficiency of the building sector in Germany and the EU,” adds Berger.
In order to meet the expanding demands of its consumers, vilisto says it will provide more service features in the future.
Dr Till Stenzel, lead Partner from SET Ventures, says, “After looking at several approaches to this problem, the ease of vilisto’s solution is what made them so appealing to SET Ventures.”
“Their technology is easy to implement, it can truly be labelled ‘plug and play’ – a building owner simply installs a vilisto device in each room, and they immediately begin saving on their heating bills. It’s a total quick-win solution.”
About SET Ventures and E.R. Capital Holding
Since 2007, SET Ventures claims to have supported innovative entrepreneurs with capital, connections, and knowledge to invest in digital technologies towards a carbon-free energy system.
The firm backs businesses that have sustainable solutions and a “strong digital DNA” that are driving systemic change in the ways that energy is produced, distributed, stored, and consumed in industries like distributed infrastructure, energy retail, buildings, mobility, and industry as well as enabling technologies.
E.R. Capital Holding is a private investment and asset management company that works in the real estate, green energy, shipping, and equity investing industries. It backs cleantech firms inside the ecosystems of the mentioned industries to promote this change in real estate, renewable energy, and shipping.
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