encentive secures 6.3 million euros in seed financing

The software startup encentive from Neumünster and Hamburg has raised 6.3 million euros in a seed financing round. The round was led by US investor General Catalyst, which has stakes in Parloa, Mistral and Helsing, among others. Other investors include Summiteer, SIVentures, Vireo Ventures, HelloWorld and the business angels Stefan Müller and Bernhard Niesner.

At the beginning of 2024, encentive had already raised EUR 2.7 million in a previous financing round, including from Summiteer, SI Ventures, Vireo Ventures, Interface Capital, OMA Ventures and prominent private investors such as Mario Götze and Christian Reber.

AI platform reduces costs and emissions

With its flexOn platform, encentive offers an AI-supported solution that enables industrial companies to reduce their energy costs by up to 20 percent. The software connects directly to industrial plants and renewable energy sources, controls them automatically and adjusts energy consumption in real time to the availability of electricity from renewable sources.

Energy has become a key competitive factor for European industry.

Robin Dechant, Partner at General Catalyst

This not only saves costs, but also significantly reduces CO₂ emissions. Among other things, the solution uses the flexibility of battery storage systems as well as cooling, heating and production processes to create intelligent schedules and optimize processes.

Already in use

The platform is already being used by companies such as Metro Logistics, Dachser and Klingele. Energy suppliers also use flexOn as a central flexibility platform.

The focus is primarily on medium-sized and industrial companies with an annual consumption of at least two gigawatt hours. With the new funds, encentive intends to open up further sectors and expand internationally.

Expansion of team and technology

The fresh capital will be used to build up the team of experts in the fields of AI and engineering. The company also plans to drive forward the technological development of its platform.

With the fresh capital, we are making targeted investments in the further development of our platform and the expansion of our team. Together, we are driving the only AI to date that works directly in the machine room of industry...

Nicolás Juhl, CEO of encentive

One focus is on expanding an onboarding suite that enables major customers and partners to integrate flexOn independently. The aim is to set the standard for intelligent energy management in industry and expand the company's market leadership.

Billion-euro market for industrial flexibilization

Rising energy costs and the increasing pressure to decarbonize are challenges that almost every industrial company is facing today.

Torge Lahrsen, COO of encentive

Industry is the world's largest energy consumer and therefore a decisive factor on the road to a climate-neutral economy. At the same time, the electrification of processes and the expansion of renewable energies are leading to greater volatility in the price and availability of electricity. The ability to actively exploit flexibility potential is therefore becoming a key lever for competitiveness. According to encentive, this is a market worth billions that can be addressed through a combination of artificial intelligence and industrial hardware.