Berlin's KUGU Raises €8.5m to Drive Real Estate Decarbonization

The PropTech plans to use the new funding to expand its digital product range, enhance sales and operations, and grow its team

KUGU, a Berlin-based PropTech firm focused on decarbonizing the real estate industry, has raised €8.5 million in a Series A funding round. Leading the round were Tengelmann Ventures and Gewobag ID, with additional participation from industry advisors Michael Lowak and Axel Müller. Existing investors Wecken & Cie., IBB Ventures, and Future Energy Ventures also contributed to the financing.

Founded in 2018, KUGU provides digital solutions to help real estate companies reduce energy consumption and meet emissions targets. The company’s platform acts as an extension of the digital boiler room, utilizing real-time monitoring to optimize energy systems. This technology reduces both CO₂ emissions and energy usage by up to 30%, with costs easily allocated to tenants, offering property owners an efficient energy management solution.

“With an expanding product portfolio and strong relationships within the housing sector, KUGU is positioned as a significant leader in energy solutions for real estate. We’re pleased to support their growth with our expertise in retail and commercial real estate.”

Alexander Greis, Investment Manager at Tengelmann Ventures

Currently, KUGU’s platform manages over 12,000 buildings, achieving energy savings of approximately 25 million kWh last year, equivalent to the average consumption of 7,000 households. The company’s technology is widely used by over 60 organizations, including leading housing companies, municipal utilities, and metering service providers throughout Germany.

Alexander Greis, Investment Manager at Tengelmann Ventures, highlighted KUGU’s role as an innovator in digital energy solutions, noting its impact on the real estate sector’s sustainability efforts. “With an expanding product portfolio and strong relationships within the housing sector, KUGU is positioned as a significant leader in energy solutions for real estate. We’re pleased to support their growth with our expertise in retail and commercial real estate.”

Sven Harke-Kajuth, Managing Director of Gewobag ID, remarked, “We see KUGU as a strategic partner, bringing expertise and agility to advance decarbonization within the real estate sector through intelligent digital tools.”

KUGU plans to use the new funding to expand its digital product range, enhance sales and operations, and grow its team. “With this investment, we are positioned to scale up, with a goal of optimizing around 50,000 buildings on our platform,” said Managing Director Niko Mikac. “This expansion will save an estimated 100,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually. Our next goal is to achieve profitability for KUGU.”

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