Ventures Partnering with promising startups
Axpo’s Innovation & Ventures team drives progress by partnering with and investing in startups that strengthen Axpo’s core businesses. We leverage digital and energy technologies to boost operational efficiency, build new sustainable ventures, and bring innovative solutions into the Group. Through collaboration and strategic engagements, we help shape a future powered by smarter and cleaner energy.
What we look for:
Innovation is driven decentraly at Axpo. 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
Our offer and investment criteria
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
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
How we live innovation
Selected investments
Selected startup partnerships
Selected ecosystem involvement
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.
