The top 10 startups of a new generation of industrial tech companies have raised more than $1 Billion in capital. Much of the innovation is centered around software; half of the top 10 as a stand-alone play and the others leveraging software to innovate in IIoT and robotics. The next ten candidates have already been funded to the tune of $400 Million.

1. Confidential
WUNDERVC
The New ‘Hidden Champions’
in Industrial Tech
Christian Dahlen, July 2023

2. Confidential
WUNDERVC 2
Summary
• The top 10 startups of a new generation of industrial tech companies
have raised more than $1 Billion in capital
• Much of the innovation is centered around software; half of the top 10
as a stand-alone play and the others leveraging software to innovate in
IIoT and robotics
• Nine of the top 10 are founder led
• Seven of the top 10 are in or around Munich
• Three of the top 10 were founded in 2012; the last in 2019
• Seed rounds were funded locally; growth capital comes from
international investors
• The next ten candidates have already been funded to the tune of $400
Million

3. Confidential
WUNDERVC 3
The Top Ten Industrial Tech Startups Have Raised >$1 Billion
• Agile Robots has raised
$270M within 4 years.
This is the highest funding
velocity in $/year.
• 6 of the top ten
companies raised in
2022.
• The last funding round
was announced in May
2022.
$54.2
$57.2
$71.5
$79.1
$86.0
$106.0
$120.8
$130.0
$130.6
$270.1
HiveMQ
Simscale
Twaice
Emnify
Neura Robotics
NavVis
Wandelbots
Kinexon
Konux
Agile Robots

4. Confidential
WUNDERVC 4
Half of The Top Ten Are Software Only Companies
IIoT
• Konux
• Kinexon
• Emnify
5
3
2
Software
• Wandelbots
• NavVis
• Twaice
• Simscale
• HiveMQ
Robotics
• Agile Robots
• Neura Robotics

5. Confidential
WUNDERVC 5
9 Of The Top Ten Are Led By Their Founders

6. Confidential
WUNDERVC 6
7 Of The Top Ten Are In Bavaria, And In Or Close To Munich
Metzingen
• Neura Robotics
Dresden
• Wandelbots
Munich
• Agile Robotics,
• Konux
• Kinexon
• NavVis
• Twaice
• Simscale
Landshut
• HiveMQ
Berlin
• Emnify

7. Confidential
WUNDERVC 7
Three Companies Were Founded in 2012, The Last in 2019
2012 HiveMQ, Kinexon, Magazino
2013 NavVis
2014 Konux, Emnify
2015
2016
2017 Wandelbots
2018 Agile Robots, Twaice
2019 Neura Robotics

8. Confidential
WUNDERVC 8
Seed Funding is Local; Later Stage Funding International
• Seed funding for the top
ten has been provided
by investors in Germany
• Series C has been
entirely financed by
international investors 10
5
2
5
6
6
2
Seed Series A Series B Series C Series C+
D International

9. Confidential
WUNDERVC
1. Agile Robotics
9
WUNDERVC
• $270 Million raised
• Agile Robots is an intelligent robot
system development and
application service provider. The
core products include 7-degree-of-
freedom lightweight arm and
general-purpose robot controller
and robot vision system.
• Founded in 2018
• CEO and founder: Zhaopeng Chen

10. Confidential
WUNDERVC
2. Konux
10
WUNDERVC
• $131 Million raised
• KONUX is the first AI scale-up
offering predictive maintenance,
network usage, monitoring and
planning solutions for railway
infrastructure.
• Founded in 2014
• CEO: Adam Bonnifield

11. Confidential
WUNDERVC
3. KINEXON
11
WUNDERVC
• $130 Million raised
• KINEXON translates physical worlds
into digital twins so that it can
capture, optimize and automate
processes. The insights and results
power organizations in
manufacturing, logistics and sports.
• Founded in 2012
• CEO and co-founder:
Oliver Trinchera

12. Confidential
WUNDERVC
4. Wandelbots
12
WUNDERVC
• $121 Million raised
• Wandelbots is a robotic software
company. With its unified
Wandelbots Developer Platform,
the company enables the
programming free and uniform
operation of robots.
• Founded in 2017
• CEO and co-founder:
Christian Piechnick

13. Confidential
WUNDERVC
5. NavVis
13
WUNDERVC
• €96.4 Million raised
• NavVis enables service providers
and enterprises to capture and
share the built environment as
photorealistic digital twins.
• Founded in 2013
• CEO and co-founder:
Felix Reinshagen

14. Confidential
WUNDERVC
6. Neura Robotics
14
WUNDERVC
• $86 Million raised
• NEURA Robotics’ mission is to
expand the skill set of collaborative
robots with cognitive capabilities so
that they can work with humans in
existing environments without
having to invest in complex and
costly safety systems.
• Founded in 2019
• CEO and founder:
David Reger

15. Confidential
WUNDERVC
7. Emnify
15
WUNDERVC
• $79 Million raised
• Emnify is the leading cloud building
block for cellular communications
in the IoT stack, connecting millions
of IoT devices globally
• Founded in 2017
• CEO and founder:
Frank Stoecker

16. Confidential
WUNDERVC
8. Twaice
16
WUNDERVC
•$71.5 Million raised
•TWAICE is a battery company
developing analytics software that
addresses the transparency and
predictability of batteries.
•Founded in 2018
•CEO and co-founder:
Stephan Rohr

17. Confidential
WUNDERVC
9. Simscale
17
WUNDERVC
• €52 Million raised
• SimScale is a web-based 3d
simulation platform.
• Founded in 2012
• CEO and Co-founder:
David Heiny

18. Confidential
WUNDERVC
10. HiveMQ
18
WUNDERVC
• €49.3 Million raised
• HiveMQ empower businesses to
succeed in a connected world
by providing data movement
technology for fast, efficient &
secure communication.
• Founded in 2012
• CEO and co-founder:
Christian Meiner

19. Confidential
WUNDERVC 19
The Next Top Ten
• 8 companies have
raised in 2022
• The last funding round
was announced in
December 2022
• Proglove was acquired
Nordic Capital in 2022
$31.4
$32.5
$33.4
$36.9
$38.9
$40.5
$44.0
$48.7
$49.1
$49.3
3YOURMIND
German Bionic
Celus
ProEmion
Micropsi Industries
DyeMansion
fruitcore robotics
Synapticon
Proglove
Magazino

20. Confidential
WUNDERVC
The top ten startups of a new generation of industrial tech companies have
raised more than $1 Billion in capital
Much of the innovation is centered around software, either as a stand-alone
play or leveraging software to innovate in IIoT and robotics
The next ten candidates have already been funded to the tune of $400
Million

21. Confidential
WUNDERVC
Scope
21
• Included: Robotics, IIoT, Software (data analytics, workflow and project mgmt.,
workforce management, simulation, market places, AR/VR, engineering tools,
after sales support), new materials, additive manufacturing (AM)
• Excluded: Logistics, construction, drones, cyber security, energy,
procurement solutions