encentive opens up billion-dollar market and receives 6.3 million euros in seed funding

• encentive raises 6.3 million euros in a seed funding round
• The software startup’s AI connects directly to the machine room, steering  industrial and renewable assets automatically and cutting energy costs by as  much as 20%
• The fresh capital will be used to expand the team with AI and engineering experts, advance encentive’s market-leading energy management platform for industrials, and drive international market entry
• The funding round was led by renowned global investor General Catalyst (known for investments in Parloa, Mistral and Helsing). Other investors include Summiteer, SIVentures, Vireo Ventures, HelloWorld, as well as Stefan Müller and Bernhard Niesner

Neumünster/ Hamburg, 15. September 2025 – In a seed round, software company encentive has raised 6.3 million euros in fresh capital. The round was led by renowned global investor General Catalyst and other existing investors. encentive’s AI-driven platform helps industrials automatically cut energy costs by up to 20% and reduce CO₂ emissions – a billion-euro market opportunity as industries face rising costs and climate pressure. The funding will be used to expand their AI-driven platform to connect to even more industrial assets,unlock new markets, and strengthen its technological leadership. Earlier in2024, the company had already secured €2.7 million from investors such as Summiteer, SI Ventures, Vireo Ventures, Interface Capital (Christian Reber), OMA Ventures, as well as well-known business angels including Mario Götze and Stefan Müller.

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Flexibility: Using AI to counter rising energy costs and emissions

“Rising energy costs and mounting decarbonisation pressure are challenges faced by almost every industrial company today. Businesses unable to flexibly and intelligently manage their energy flows and adapt to the volatility and fluctuating prices of renewables are already putting their competitiveness at risk. Our solution enables companies to harness the economic potential of flexibility without interfering with existing processes. In doing so, our clients safeguard themselves against economic uncertainty and location disadvantages in the long term,” explains Torge Lahrsen, COO of encentive.

With flexOn, encentive has developed an AI-driven software solution that enables industrial companies to manage their energy consumption flexibly, cutting electricity costs by up to 20% and significantly reducing CO₂emissions. The platform leverages latent flexibility in refrigeration, heating processes, batteries and production lines, generating intelligent schedules and automatically controlling these assets.

Through AI-driven data analysis and optimisation algorithms, energy flows are aligned in real time with the availability of renewable energy. This allows companies to draw on on-site generation or tap into the intraday spot market exactly when wind and solar power are abundant and low-cost. flexOn is primarily used by medium-sized and large industrial players with annual consumption of at least two gigawatt hours (GWh).

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Scaling the platform – new industries, new markets

The solution is already in use at leading companies such as Metro Logistics, Dachser and Klingele, and is now also being deployed by well-known utilities as a flexibility platform. To expand into further sectors and markets, encentive will invest the additional funds in new talent as well as in scaling core areas of the platform. This will enable major customers and partners to integrate flexOn independently via a dedicated onboarding suite.

“With the fresh capital, we are investing specifically in further developing our platform and expanding our team. Together, we are driving forward the only AI to date that is directly integrated into industrial machine rooms to actively control systems, thereby setting technological standards. Our vision is to become the leading address for controlling energy flows in industry. The seven-figure order volume from our core industries underscores the success of our solution and confirms our commitment to establishing flexOn as the standard for intelligent energy management – scalable and deeply integrated,” adds Nicolás Juhl, CEO of encentive.

“Energy has become one of the most decisive levers for competitiveness in European industry. It is no longer a background cost but a strategic factor in an era of volatility and sustainable transformation,” said Robin Dechant, Partner at General Catalyst. “encentive turns this pressure point into an opportunity: its AI-driven platform helps industrials cut costs while enabling them to thrive on renewable power. What convinced us was what we believe is the team’s rare ability to bridge cutting-edge AI with the realities of factory floors, a capability that can strengthen Europe’s industrial backbone and accelerate the energy transition.”

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Connecting  AI to industrial hardware: A billion-euro market

Industry is the world’s largest energy consumer and therefore a decisive lever for achieving a climate-neutral future.The electrification of industrial processes, which is essential for this transition, is further driving up electricity demand. At the same time, the expansion of renewables is making power supply and prices increasingly volatile. In this environment, the ability to actively harness flexibility is becoming a key lever for the future of industry.