Softbank invests in Enpal

The solar start-up closes its Series C financing round with the €150 million capital injection.

The Japanese Softbank conglomerate is investing 150 million euros in Enpal. The money comes from the investor's Vision Fund 2. With this, Enpal declared its own Series C financing round closed, which had already raised around 100 million euros earlier. The valuation rises to over one billion US dollars.

Enpal, founded in 2017 by Mario Kohle, Viktor Wingert and Jochen Ziervogel, offers photovoltaic systems on a subscription basis. Homeowners thus save on investment costs and can buy the systems at a discount after 20 years of operation. "Our dream is to put a solar system on every roof," Kohle said in light of the funding round. "We're very excited to have Softbank Vision Fund 2 on board to support our mission."

Softbank is also excited about the deal, "We believe Enpal will provide their customers with an all-in-one solar solution that lowers barriers for consumers," said Yanni Pipilis, Managing Partner at Softbank Investment Advisers. Softbank, originally a software retailer, has been among the world's most prominent venture capitalists for several years. The company got in early on Klarna and Uber, among others. Recently, however, some of the Japanese investments have gone wrong, for example in the intermediate financier Greensill, which collapsed this year.