1Komma5° becomes Hamburg's latest unicorn

Founded in 2021 by former Tesla manager Philipp Schröder and three others, 1Komma5° wants to enable households to switch to renewable energies. To this end, the founders have developed a CO2-neutral energy management system called "Heartbeat" to manage the operation of hardware components, such as heat pumps and charging stations based on the Internet of Things (IoT). The start-up is buying up craft businesses and other companies to grow rapidly. The fresh capital will go towards expanding the team of around 1,300 and the international business. Spain and Austria are considered the next potential markets after Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Australia. The company is also mulling a separate technology branch in Berlin. "The 1.5-degree climate target requires speed and we are doing our part to make as many buildings CO2-neutral as quickly as possible," said Schröderm, CEO.

Porsche Ventures and b2venture, renowned family offices and manager Jan Klatten, invested EUR 200 million in a Series A financing round completed in April 2022. All the existing investors were involved in the latest Series B round, led by G2VP. 1Komma5° is on a "mission create a world in which  everyone can live free of charge from wind and sun". The start-up has raised EUR 215 million in equity and exceeded the target volume of EUR 150 million due to an oversubscription. Another EUR 215 million had been made available in the form of re-investment options, which can be paid as part of the purchase price for new acquisitions. "This will allow us to invest up to EUR 430 million (USD 470 million) in the vertical value chain and advance the technology development around Heartbeat and our virtual power plant," 1Komma5° announced.

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