vilisto, a German startup which provides digital heat management for non-residential buildings, has successfully closed a Series A funding round totalling €5 million from SET Ventures, E.R. Capital Holding and existing investors.
Founded in 2016, vilisto’s patented technology enables efficient heating of buildings, addressing a key source of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the EU. The Hamburg-based company has digitized the heat management of non-residential buildings. Its solution is centred around an intelligent radiator thermostat that automatically manages the individual room temperature.
Sensors integrated within the thermostat detect motion, light as well as sound levels and with the help of self-learning algorithms efficiently heat a room only when it is being used. This means that every room uses less energy, resulting in energy and CO2 reductions for companies and municipalities of up to 32 percent.
“We’re primed for exponential growth”, stated vilisto’s Co-Founder and CEO Christoph Berger. “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.”
What makes vilisto’s technology stand out in a sector with many solutions on offer, is its combination of simplicity and efficiency. vilisto’s solution can be implemented within minutes, during operations and without construction or IT-integration measures – delivering instant savings.
A large portion of vilisto’s Series A funding has come from Amsterdam-based VC, SET Ventures, a firm that has built a track record of investing in digital technologies for a carbon-free energy system since 2007.
Dr. Till Stenzel, a lead Partner from SET Ventures, echoed the simplicity of the vilisto solution: “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 labeled ‘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.”
Vilisto has an early lead in the German market. With over 200 customers representing around 35,000 buildings, they have achieved product-market fit and are now ready to scale further. And the demand for vilisto is understandably huge. Building owners and the public sector represent a total of more than 1.000.000 non-residential buildings all over Europe that are searching for sustainable energy efficiency solutions.
E.R. Capital Holding, a Hamburg-based investment holding and the other main investors in the financing round, has identified vilisto’s climate impact as another important selling point.
“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”, said David Falcone Schlüter, Head of Business Development & Controlling of E.R. Capital Holding.
In the future, vilisto plans to introduce more service benefits to serve the additional needs of its customers. “We greatly look forward to working with the vilisto team as they continue to develop their product offering and expand into new markets.”, said Dr. Stenzel. “It’s a critical problem to solve and an elegant solution they have created to do so. We can’t wait to see where they go from here!”
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/07/hamburg-based-vilisto-secures-e5-million-series-a-to-efficiently-heat-rooms-with-self-learning-algorithms/
