The acquisition of FoxEducation will establish Sdui Group as the market-leading EdTech provider in the field of communication and messaging for schools and preschools in German-speaking countries. The company is active in all three countries of the DACH market with a broad product portfolio. Following the acquisition of FoxEducation, Sdui Group serves over 22,000 organizations across Europe.
 
Similar to Sdui, FoxEducation also offers transformative solutions to improve communication between teachers, educators, students and parents. In the future, Sdui and FoxEducation will combine their expertise to make their products even better. Both companies also expect this to lead to stronger growth. FoxEducation already has three successful years behind it: the education platform was acquired by GoStudent in September 2021 and grew over 70% under the company’s management.
 
While FoxEducation’s growth represents a significant achievement for GoStudent, its unique capabilities have followed a different trajectory to GoStudent’s core offering: personalised tutoring. For this reason, GoStudent has established fewer immediate synergies with FoxEducation as it has its wider portfolio: TusMedia, Seneca and Studienkreis. Committed to driving education forward through the application of technology, GoStudent’s sale of FoxEducation to Sdui Group is a strategic move, aimed at enhancing communication between schools, parents and students, and strengthening the DACH EdTech ecosystem for the better.
 
„The acquisition of FoxEducation is an important strategic step that significantly strengthens the Sdui Group’s presence in the DACH region,“ says Daniel Zacharias, founder and CEO of the Sdui Group. „With a growing, holistic product offering, this exciting acquisition will enable Sdui to better serve educational institutions in the German-speaking region and consolidate our position as the largest digitalisation partner for educational institutions in Europe. With a total of 46 million euros, we can continue to invest in pioneering education technology.“
 
„The acquisition of FoxEducation by the Sdui Group is a significant win for our customers,“ says Philipp Fendt, Co-CEO of FoxEducation. „We look forward to joining forces to further improve everyday life in schools and preschools. Our combined expertise will create an even stronger foundation for innovative educational solutions. This partnership will ensure that our customers receive the best possible tools for their educational needs. By combining our resources, we aim to provide a more comprehensive and effective solution that will benefit students, teachers and parents alike.“

“The sale of FoxEducation to the Sdui Group is a strategic move that aims to amplify FoxEducation’s value and impact, aligned to our goal of enhancing education through technology. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved with FoxEducation, and excited to see how the company will evolve under Sdui’s stewardship”, says Felix Ohswald, co-founder and CEO of GoStudent. “Looking ahead, we will continue to harness technology to unlock student potential. This sale empowers us to focus on enhancing our AI-powered classroom, which has supported over 6 million hours of lessons in 2024, at a more rapid pace.“

Sdui Group plans to use the new funding to further invest in its platforms to make everyday life in schools and preschools even simpler.

About the Sdui Group
Since its foundation in Koblenz in 2018, the Sdui Group has developed into one of the fastest growing education technology companies in Europe. As a reliable partner, the EdTech provider supports educational institutions, providers and ministries in digitalisation and develops innovative operating systems for digital schools and preschools.

The aim of the platform is to connect teachers, educators, parents and children through intelligent functions. The Sdui Group’s solutions reduce the administrative burden, freeing up time for the organisations‘ main task: to provide the best possible education. To this end, the Sdui Group offers GDPR-compliant solutions with features such as chat, translation functions, cloud, class register or AI lesson planners that are specifically tailored to the needs of schools and preschools.

The Sdui Group also includes the administration and management platform PUPIL and the learning and grade management offering Additio. The company is based in Koblenz and currently employs around 230 people. It is active in more than 70 countries. Following the acquisition of FoxEducation, a total of 22,000 educational institutions use services offered by the Sdui Group.
Further information: https://sdui.de/  

About FoxEducation 
Founded in Vienna in 2016, FoxEducation offers digital solutions to simplify communication and administrative tasks in the education sector. In addition to the SchoolFox app for schools, the company later introduced the KidsFox platforms for preschools and kindergartens, as well as TeamFox for clubs. Today, over 9,000 institutions in the DACH region use the FoxApps. In the summer of 2021, FoxEducation became part of the Austrian company GoStudent, and the apps have since been continuously developed – including the innovative payment management tool FoxPay. Since July 2024, FoxEducation has been part of the Sdui Group. (As of July 2024)
Further information: www.foxeducation.com 

About GoStudent 
GoStudent is one of the world’s leading providers of tutoring and education platforms. The company was founded in Vienna in 2016 by Felix Ohswald (CEO) and Gregor Müller (COO) and has already raised more than 675 million euros from investors such as Prosus, Left Lane Capital and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. GoStudent believes that the future of education is hybrid and has expanded its offering with the acquisition of Seneca Learning, Tus Media and offline tutoring company Studienkreis. Together, these companies aim to combine the best of the online and offline worlds to realise the potential of every child. With its entire portfolio, GoStudent supports 10 million families every month.
Learn more here: www.gostudent.org    

Source: Sdui

Since its inception at the end of 2020, encentive has focused on the intelligent control and flexibilization of energy consumption into clean & cheap time periods with an abundant supply of renewable energy. At the heart of the technology is the AI-based software platform flexOn, which is integrated into the existing infrastructure of industrial customers and serves as a central operating system for intelligent energy management. flexOn already enables savings of around 20% and a significant, measurable reduction in CO2 through AI-driven analysis and automation.

encentive has already successfully demonstrated the use of its solution in the food industry and refrigerated logistics. Customers include large corporate groups such as the Wernsing Food Family and Ornua or well-known logistics companies, which are able to operate their refrigerated warehouses as dynamic energy storage facilities using the encentive solution. The ongoing electrification of industry, particularly in the heating and mobility sectors, means that encentive’s customers will be able to benefit even more from this powerful technology in the future.

The company began by optimizing industrial cooling and heating processes. The range has since been expanded to include other controllable systems and industrial processes. With the new capital, encentive plans to further roll out its software platform and reach more customer groups, as well as extend their interface into the energy system.

Torge Lahrsen, co-founder and Managing Director, emphasizes the need to align energy consumption with renewable energy production in the course of the decarbonization of industry. „Our vision is the complete decarbonization of industry. We provide our industrial customers with a holistic solution that aligns all relevant energy flows bidirectionally with the availability of renewable energy locally at their own site and in the markets. We are thus defining a new way for industry to consume energy transparently, predictably and independently.“

„Many companies possess a wide range of energy buffer and storage options which enable them to compensate and utilize fluctuations in renewable energy generation to their advantage. encentive harnesses this potential in a simple and modular way without interfering with companies‘ existing processes. In this way, industrial customers save a lot of money and help to integrate more renewable energy into our energy system. That’s what convinced us in the end,“ says Dominik Bär, Partner at Summiteer.

Matthias Engel, Partner at Vireo Ventures, adds: „In the future, we will have to consume energy primarily when it is available from renewable sources. Energy flexibilization is a key component for a successful energy transition. encentive provides an impressive technology for industrial energy management and is far ahead of other solutions.“

„This investment round marks a significant milestone for encentive,“ comments Daniel Ehnes, also Co-Founder and Managing Director of encentive. „We are now in a position to make our outstanding software and solution available to a wider range of industrial customers and thus significantly advance the energy transition. We are grateful for the support of our valued investors who have truly understood the importance of the industrial energy transition. We look forward to the developments ahead.“

encentive is a company from Schleswig-Holstein and provides a solution that reduces energy costs and emissions in industry. The company uses AI-based data analysis and automation to shift the electricity consumption of existing infrastructure into clean & cheap time periods with an abundant supply of renewable energy. The core element is the software flexOn, which acts as an intelligent control system, coordinating energy flows bidirectionally with the availability of renewable energy production locally at its own site and within the markets, using existing infrastructure, flexible loads and energy storage potential across all sectors.

Source: encentive

Based in Munich, 4.screen is a driver interaction platform which was co-founded in 2020 by three ex-BMW digital product specialists. 4.screen allows global and local brands to interact with drivers in real time via their car screens, using ground-breaking in-car technology and unique data signals, only accessible through their platform. By leveraging car sensor data, such as location, engine type, car brand and fueling or charging levels, the platform provides drivers with contextual information about nearby businesses, including parking, restaurants or shops – and provides marketers using its platform with targeting precision unmatched by alternative in-car channels.

4.screen therefore enables businesses to target the most relevant audience at any given moment, driving brand awareness and creating a notable pickup in store visits by tapping into the market of on-the-go consumers. The funding will be used to accelerate 4.screen’s global expansion plans and further advance its platform. The co-leads, S4S Ventures and Continental VC, bring strategic benefits in addition to capital – S4S Ventures brings advertising and marketing expertise, and Continental VC provides expertise in automotive technology. 4.screen has also received backing from two German venture capital firms, Summiteer and BayBG, and from business angels from the automotive industry, including Matthias Müller, former CEO of VW, and Bram Schot, former CEO of Audi.

To date, 4.screen has successfully launched with multiple car makers in Europe, including Audi, Skoda and Mercedes-Benz, and is live with several million users actively using the platform today. It counts over 60 global consumer brands as customers, including Shell and McDonald’s, and is now targeting expansion in the EU and North America through the rest of the year. 4.screen enables OEM touch point and use-case agnostic services that are backward integrated into existing car models (going back to 2018), meaning that the platform can be scaled at zero marginal cost and at the click of a button.

Business-to-driver interaction via the car screen is one of the digital advertising industry’s most significant untapped channels. According to a study by Ptolemus Consulting, the number of connected vehicles has reached 260 million and is expected to rise to 600 million by 2030, at which point the overall market value, estimated by McKinsey, will exceed €300 billion.

Fabian Beste, Co-founder and CEO of 4.screen commented “We are delighted to have closed our Series A funding round and to have secured the trust of strong investors. S4S Ventures brings outstanding business expertise in marketing and advertising, while Continental Corporate Venture Capital adds invaluable global mobility experience and knowledge. We are now well positioned to expand our operations beyond Europe and deliver exceptional experiences to drivers and businesses worldwide. We are grateful for the support of our valued investors and excited for the journey ahead.”

Sanja Partalo, Co-founder and Managing Partner at S4S Ventures commented: “4.screen is opening up one of the digital advertising industry’s most significant untapped channels, with remarkable speed and at scale. Their ability to integrate into the OEM’s core systems and utilize the rich data signals has enabled them to build a truly differentiated offering within the digital advertising industry. Their platform will give rise to a new breed of ad formats and marketing experiences, which 4.screen and their automotive partners are uniquely positioned to provide.”

Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder and Chairman at S4Capital, and Co-Founder and Partner at S4S Ventures commented: “As an entirely new and distinct channel, 4.screen is a rare and exciting opportunity. The automotive industry has always recognised the huge importance of advertising, and Fabian and his team are driving the industry’s advance into digital transformation and the immense value it can unlock for the driver, the automotive company, the advertiser and the digital advertising ecosystem as a whole. We are delighted to be investing ahead of the expansion into North America, which brings the potential to reach many multiples of the users 4.screen already has in Europe.”

Jürgen Bilo, Managing Director of Continental’s Corporate Venture Capital Unit commented: “We are pleased to announce that our Corporate Venture Capital Unit invested into 4.screen, a cutting-edge technology company that is revolutionizing the way we consume and interact with digital content in the car. Their innovative solution combined with an excellent team, make them a standout player in the industry. We are confident that our involvement will not only drive the growth of 4.screen, but also pave the way for a new era of e-commerce in mobility.”

Matthias Müller, investor and former CEO VW commented: “As an investor in 4.screen, I am delighted to have witnessed the company’s exceptional progress and accomplishment in securing its series A funding round. 4.screen’s technology has the potential to transform the in-car experience, creating massive opportunities for car brands to connect drivers with their surroundings. The digitalization of vehicles is set to revolutionize both the automotive industry and the digital advertising industry, and 4.screen is at the forefront of this change.”

Bram Schot, investor, Board Member Shell and Senior Advisor Carlyle Group, former Chairman and CEO Audi AG commented: “Having witnessed the impressive progress of 4.screen, I am excited about the opportunity it presents for car brands and businesses. By enabling real-time interaction with drivers, 4.screen’s technology creates an entirely new marketing channel. I see the potential for companies like Shell to leverage this channel and reach millions of drivers in a personalized way.”

Sources: 4.screen

Zeppelin University's Investor Summit will bring together up to five selected startups with investors from the Lake Constance region on April 17, 2023. The event will focus on the pitches of the selected startups seeking capital and raising investments by innovative founding teams. Scalable and innovative startups can apply to pitch until March 15, 2023. 

Sven Schulz is one of the key players who make the Investor Summit Bodensee possible for us. Sven Schulz answers the exciting question of "why" as follows:

"With our venture capital company Summiteer GmbH, we have made it our goal to invest in young ambitious companies with a sustainable business model as well as strong growth prospects with outstanding visions.
We would like to pass on my entrepreneurial experience in building up our group of companies as well as AKASOL AG from the foundation to the IPO to the takeover by a globally leading automotive supplier as well as the comprehensive expertise of our second managing director Dominik Bär in all financial, M&A and capital market relevant topics to ambitious entrepreneurs in order to support them not only with capital but also with know-how, as well as the access to our extensive network in a sustainable scaling up to a possible exit."

Our special interest is of course also the answer to the question "What do you expect from the Investor Summit Bodensee?".

Sven Schulz: "The Investor Summit is intended to provide a format and matchmaking platform that encourages regional founders and entrepreneurs to become actively involved. This represents a first and important step towards establishing our Lake Constance region as a start-up center, on the one hand to be able to exploit the existing potential of young founders and business ideas, and on the other hand to invest the entrepreneurial know-how and capital of investors from the region in the further development of start-ups from the region."

neoom’s capital base will be also strengthened by:

• Juergen Hoeller, co-founder and inventor of spring.io, the leading Java frameworks sold by VMware;
• Alexander Kirchgasser, co-founder and Ex-COO of has.to.be, European´s leading charge point operating software platform which was acquired by Chargepoint in 2021; Founder of neoom Walter Kreisel himself and the neoom Management as well other existing investors
• and a credit line from neoom’s principal bank Sparkasse

Both Summiteer and ING bring considerable value-add to neoom through their in-depth industry and financing expertise. Sven Schulz, founder of Summiteer commented: “A substantial growth acceleration in solar power capacity over the next decades is an essential pillar towards a pathway to net zero by mid-century. With our investment in neoom, we partner up with a team of leading climate and deep tech experts, a truly software centric organisation and a company with the potential to become a leader in democratizing the energy market. neoom’s AI based and hardware independent IoE – Internet of Energy management platform, with an API and mobile first approach, offers digital services and many valuable features for customers. Among others the ability for solar plant owners to trade renewable energy directly within local energy communities inside their APP, a neoom own developed skill called „KLUUB“, which is already up and running in Austria.

The diverse background of investors with the bundled expertise around energy, batteries, software, AI and the design of the electricity market demonstrates the potential of the company and shows the readiness of the neoom team to disrupt the energy market.

Since its foundation in 2018 and the first product sale in March 2019, the company provides holistic decentralized energy solutions comprising solar with battery storage, EV charging systems, combined with a proprietary, self-developed and open IoE – Internet of Energy management platform for both residential customers and SMEs across the DACH region. Since its inception, neoom has successfully developed a hardware framework, alongside a full suite of digital services that has driven material growth in the business from c. EUR 15m of revenues in 2021 to > EUR 50m in 2022. neoom’s reputable Enterprise clients include IKEA, Post AG, Zinkpower and ASFINAG. Today neoom is proud of a talented, trained and specialized network of 300+ installation partners in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and manages 25,000+ IoE connected devices on their software platform with over 200 employees.

neoom has been advised by PJT Partners as its financial adviser as well as Freshfields and Waitz as legal adviser on this transaction.

About Summiteer

Summiteer is an investment company founded by serial entrepreneur and former Akasol CEO Sven Schulz, which invests in start-ups and growth companies with scalable, sustainable and innovative business models. Summiteer sets its sights on creating sustainable value with the companies in their portfolio, thereby supporting the prosperity of our company while also playing an active role in creating an environmentally friendly future.

About ING Sustainable Investments

ING Sustainable Investments, part of ING Wholesale Banking, offers a wide range of tailor-made financial solutions, including equity investments and subordinated debt instruments, to support companies in achieving their sustainable ambitions.

Source: neoom

The seed round is lead by Summiteer. The investment company was founded by serial entrepreneur and former AKASOL CEO, Sven Schulz, and has already invested in numerous companies with sustainable and innovative business models. These include the organic food company followfood, the greentech unicorn Enpal and the market leader for reusable alternatives in Germany, reCup.

Well-known names such as Paul Schwarzenholz (Zenloop), Tobias Mehrer (Ranger), Georg Bader (Vitafy), Benedikt Klarmann (Junglück) as well as existing investors Anne and Stefan Lemcke (Ankerkraut) and Christoph Behn (Kartenmacherei) have invested through the Angel Club better ventures.

World’s first energy-saving alternative to conventional kettles

The kettle is considered a household staple in most kitchens throughout Europe. However, these appliances are amongst the biggest energy wasters within households. Studies by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in Great Britain have established what most of us knew from personal experience: On average, tea drinkers use kettles to heat more than twice as much water, than is actually needed. As a result, in England alone, more than 70 million litres of water are boiled unnecessarily – every day. This corresponds to an energy waste of over 3.2 TWh per year or the annual energy consumption of 1.2 million households – and that’s just from the use of kettles in one country.

This issue drove the ambitious team of developers at Heatle. After years of research, the two founders Wachtang Budagaschwili and David Riding succeeded in developing the world’s first energy-saving induction immersion heater – a monumental task that many other companies, including global corporations, have failed at. The immersion heater, with its design and technology, is now market ready and CE certified. Commercial success was quick to follow: in the first weekend of pre-sales in 2021 alone, over 5,500 units were sold across Europe, including Iceland, Gibraltar and the Canary Islands.

Wachtang Budagaschwili is pleased to announce that, with the help of the financing round, the company will now be able to set up and expand series production of the immersion boiling device; „It took a lot of time and effort to get our innovative technology ready for the market. We are more devoted than ever to being able to scale up production and bringing enjoyment to consumers across Europe,“ says the 37-year-old. „We are exceedingly happy and grateful for the patience and loyalty of our clientele, accompanying us on our important and exciting mission. We have a tremendously engaged and passionate audience – lots of new ideas. Insightful feedback reaches us every day, which constantly improves the product and the ecosystem around it,“ adds David Riding.

Summiteer CEO Dominik Bär is confident in the potential of the Berlin-based start-up: „We are looking forward to supporting this determined team on their mission in the long term and helping to further scale the business model- with the help of our entrepreneurial expertise in the industrial, technological and financial environment.“

Scaling, internationalization and B2B expansion

Through this capital, Heatle plans to further develop its state-of-the-art production site in Berlin. For context: the first immersion heaters have been in use by end customers since the end of last year. As of 2022, Heatle has been delivering throughout Germany as well as other regions of Europe. In the fall of this year, production has now been accelerated at a new, modern location in Berlin. In addition, the start-up plans to scale manufacturing and further drive internationalization. Furthermore, the greentech start-up would like to establish itself as a brand in the B2B sector, in order to facilitate the innovative Heatle technology being integrated into countertops and third-party appliances.

In the long term, Heatle aims to become the new standard in homes, offices, vacation homes and camping. Laterally Heatle also aims to work with renowned kitchen retailers and manufacturers, to establish its sustainable technology in the B2B segment. „Fundamentally, when customers want to buy a smart kitchen appliance, whether for tea or baby food, they will think of Heatle. We are developing Heatle as a sustainable companion for home, work, and on the go,“ says Wachtang Budagashvili.

Note: Interested customers have the opportunity to secure their Heatle in a limited pre-sale during Black Weekend, November 25-28, 2022: Heatle Shop

www.heatle.de

About Heatle: After years of research and development, Heatle was founded in 2020. Based in Berlin, the startup currently employs ten team members plus a dozen freelancers. Heatle won all three main prizes at the prestigious Berlin-Brandenburg 2020 Business Plan Competition, including the special prize for sustainability and the EMC Award from Siemens and InnoEnergy. Heatle was also a finalist for the Berlin-Brandenburg 2020 Innovation Award.