viboo closes € 3.3 million deal for the move into Germany

The Swiss climate and PropTech startup viboo has successfully closed its second financing round of €3.3 million (We already reported on the first round in 2023). The round is led by Realyze Ventures, with participation from Zürcher Kantonalbank, existing investors such as HTGF and Swisscom as well as other new investors.

Building automation for energy efficiency and decarbonization

Buildings cause over 40% of CO₂ emissions worldwide. The EU stipulates that the existing building stock must reach net zero by 2050. Millions of commercial buildings must improve their energy efficiency by 2030, otherwise there is a risk of stranded assets. Today, buildings with low energy efficiency lose up to 4 % of their value every year.

We have laid the foundations in Switzerland - over 40 satisfied customers and significant energy savings. Now we are taking the next step by entering Germany, where the combination of energy prices and regulation is providing a strong pull.

Felix Bünning, co-founder of viboo

viboo is developing a retrofittable, wireless cloud system that connects to existing IoT devices such as smart thermostats in commercial properties. The AI controls heating behavior proactively, without sacrificing comfort, with low investment costs and a fast ROI.

The solution is already in use in over 100 buildings and achieves average energy savings of 27%. Existing customers have increased their contract volume by a factor of 8 in the last year.

Scalable approach and partnerships

viboo does not rely on its own hardware, but on products from leading building technology manufacturers and open software interfaces. Thanks to the installation app, partners and installers can implement the solution quickly. In addition to direct sales to public sector clients and real estate companies, viboo works closely with installation and facility management service providers.

viboo addresses a very large market: the decarbonization of existing buildings. The simple implementation and fast ROI ensure a high level of satisfaction among customers and users.

Marnix Roes, Realyze Ventures

The platform will also be expanded to include functions such as individual heating cost billing in order to meet the needs of the German market. With Realyze Ventures' network, the go-to-market strategy in Germany can be accelerated.

Many awards, but not suitable for all cases

viboo has its roots in leading research at Empa, ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen University and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. The founders and the company have received several prestigious awards, including:

• BRIDGE Fellowship
• All Venture Kick stages
• Innobooster from the Gebert Rüf Foundation
• Swiss GreenTech Startup Battle
• Empa Innovation Award
• ETH Medal

viboo's technology is particularly suitable for existing buildings in which smart thermostats or other IoT-enabled hardware are already installed. The solution is therefore of particular interest to customers with inefficient heating behavior or a lack of optimization, as it quickly takes effect and achieves energy savings. At the same time, however, this is also a limitation: in many buildings, for example in the traditional manufacturing industry, in family-run SMEs or in rural regions, the necessary basic equipment of digital hardware is often lacking. This is where viboo reaches its limits. However, as a transitional solution in a market segment that is already partially digitized, the start-up offers real added value, even if it cannot be applied to the entire building stock.