Ventures The Power of Innovation

Who we are:

Axpo’s Partnering & Investing team looks for innovative software startups that complement the diverse activities of our divisions spanning from Renewables to Trading to Energy Solutions. 

Using digital and energy technologies strategically, we enhance the efficiency of our existing business areas while also cultivating new and profitable ventures in sustainable energy. Through the integration of these approaches, we enable a sustainable future by providing innovative energy solutions.

What we look for:

We are in constant exchange with Axpo’s different divisions to define search fields that reflect our current priorities. These are some of the areas we are interested in right now:

Flexibility

  • Demand flexibility
  • Supply flexibility
  • DERMS

Grids

  • BIM
  • IoT Data
  • Maintenance AR
  • Drone maintenance

B2C

  • Digital customer services
  • EV smart changing

Corporate

  • Cybersecurity
  • Generative AI
  • Emmissions accounting

Hydrogen & biomass

  • Logistics optimization
  • SLA
  • Alternative fuels

BESS

  • Algorithmic trading
  • Planning optimization

What we offer:

  • Strategic long-term partnerships and capital

  • Broad range of expertise from more than 6’500 employees

  • Market access in more than 30 countries

  • Joint development with our manifold business areas 

  • Access to a vast client and infrastructure foundation

Investment criteria

  • B2B Software in fields around PV, wind, storage, biomass, hydrogen, trading, services

  • Proven product market fit and evident traction

  • Series A/B up to CHF 5 mn entry ticket

  • Reputable lead investor on board 

  • Strategic importance for Axpo business

Our investments

Eliq

Customer engagement software for energy suppliers which uses energy insights and self-service tools to drive engagement, satisfaction and loyalty.

Energy Impact Partners

Collaborative strategic investment firm that invests in companies optimizing energy consumption and improving sustainable energy generation.

Linia

Integrated software solution for automated inspection that significantly increases inspection quality, speed, and safety while reducing CO2 emissions (acquired).

Our involvement

We are engaged as sponsors for select events and aim to contribute with our involvement in juries, workshops and panels.

Select startup cooperations

Our Team

Axpo's Partnering & Investing team consists of a small group of dedicated startup and investment professionals. 

Andreas Schlenker

Head of M&A, Partnering & Investing

Mario Jankovic

Associate Partnering & Investing

Georg Schumacher

Principal Partnering & Investing

FAQ

Our sweet spot is digital, scalable and asset-light companies seeking Series A+ funding that have shown evidence of a product-market-fit.

We are flexible with regards to the amount of our investments. For an average series A investment, we look at an amount between CHF 1-4 million. For later stages, the investment amount depends on the specific case.

No. While we are headquartered in Switzerland, we operate across Europe and therefore look for ventures in the European market.

It depends on the stage of the company, but we typically aim for a 10-20% participation.

With every investment we undertake, we reserve a certain amount of capital to ensure we can participate in future financing rounds.

In general, we target a board seat to be able to support companies to make the best strategic decisions.

We prefer to be a follower, and it would be a plus if the round is lead by a reputable lead investor.

Get in touch with us

Join our energy ecosystem in this rapidly changing world to accelerate the energy transformation.

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Biomass & Wood

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Batteries

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Energy Trading & Sales

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