Futurail, the German DeepTech startup developing an autonomy stack for self-driving trains, announced the closing of its €7.5 million Seed round, aligning with the EU’s broader push to shift passengers and freight from cars to trains.
The round was co-led by Asterion Ventures and Leap435, joined by EIT Urban Mobility and U.S. investors Zero Infinity Partners and Heroic Ventures.
“While leading the Autopilot team at Tesla, I saw how autonomy can completely transform an entire industry,” said Alex Haag, CEO and Co-founder of Futurail. “We founded Futurail to bring that same revolutionary potential to rail, turning a 200-year-old industry into the backbone of sustainable mobility.”
Founded in 2023 by Alex Haag, Dr. Patrick Dendorfer, and Maximilian Schöffer, Futurail is led by former Tesla, Argo AI, and Edge Case leaders, who were previously involved in the rise of autonomous driving in the automotive sector. Now, they are bringing that expertise to rail with a clear mission: to make trains the most attractive mode of transportation.
Its holistic autonomy stack powers the future of autonomous rail transportation, enabling operators to deliver a superior experience for passengers and more efficient, seamless movement of goods.
Futurail is using their AI technology to tackle one of rail’s biggest challenges: a growing shortage of train drivers limiting the expansion of rail services and driving up operating costs.
“[Futurail] combines deep technical expertise and long-term vision with proven commercial traction to establish global relevance,” said Alexandre Sauvage, Partner at Asterion Ventures. “Their technology has the potential to transform rail into the backbone of sustainable mobility in Europe and beyond.”
Governments are under increasing pressure to offer flexible, cost-efficient and sustainable mobility for citizens and industries alike, which they can only achieve by shifting both passengers and freight from road to rail.
Futurail looks to meet this demand head-on with automated train operation that allows operators to run more services at lower cost while boosting reliability, flexibility, and safety. Its autonomy stack, FUTURAIL Driver, can reportedly be integrated into new trains or retrofitted onto existing fleets. Importantly, it also enables full use of secondary lines and the reopening of previously unprofitable routes, strengthening regional connectivity and unlocking new capacity across the network.
The European Union has been steadily pushing for a large-scale shift from road to rail as part of its climate and mobility agenda. Through initiatives like the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), Brussels is targeting lower emissions, better connectivity, and greater interoperability across borders. Major funding programmes such as the Connecting Europe Facility dedicate the majority of resources to rail, modernising infrastructure and rolling out the European Rail Traffic Management System, which is key to safety and automation.
These policies set the groundwork for innovation-driven projects like Futurail, as automation complements EU ambitions by increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and enabling more frequent and reliable services.
Industry coalitions and projects are also working to accelerate rail adoption. The Rail Freight Forward coalition has set the “30 by 2030” target, aiming to increase rail freight’s market share to 30% within the decade, while research programmes like Shift2Rail focus on integrating advanced technologies to enhance rail’s competitiveness. Large-scale infrastructure projects such as Rail Baltica further highlight Europe’s commitment to making rail the backbone of sustainable transport.
Yet, despite the policy push, reports such as the European Transport Workers’ Federation’s analysis show that the modal shift has been slower than expected, signalling the urgent need for disruptive technologies like autonomous trains to unlock additional capacity, revitalise secondary lines, and make rail a more attractive option for both freight and passengers.
Dr Matthias Kempf, Founding Partner at Leap435 added: “Just as electric traction replaced steam and defined a new era, autonomy is the transformative technology of this century for the rail. Futurail is delivering this leap and ensuring Europe’s industry stays ahead.”
The startup already benefits from strategic early partnerships: in Europe with Lohr Group, a French global specialist in the design and manufacture of transport systems, including in railways; and in the United States with Parallel Systems, an automated, batteryelectric freight rail vehicles startup founded by former SpaceX engineers.
“What excites our partners is that autonomy unlocks both growth and efficiency,” said Maximilian Schöffer, CCO and Co-Founder. “Operators can run more trains, more often, at lower cost. That is a complete game-changer.”
According to Futurail, this shift will move millions of passengers and tons of freight from road to rail, avoiding more than 10 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually. “This is not a fancy research project,” added Dr Patrick Dendorfer, CTO and Co-Founder. “It is about the serious ambition to build a certified, safe system that holds the expectations to redefine how people and goods move.”
With €7.5 million in funding, comprising €5.5 million in seed investment, €1 million in public grants, and €1 million from a pre-seed conversion, Futurail will accelerate team expansion, drive key projects with leading train OEMs and operators, and obtain regulatory approval for its first use case: depot autonomy.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/09/munichs-futurail-lands-e7-5-million-for-autonomous-trains-as-eu-pushes-for-a-shift-from-road-to-rail/
