1KOMMA5° Raises €70M at $1.35B Valuation as It Eyes US Expansion and IPO

German energy technology unicorn 1KOMMA5° has raised €70 million from existing and new investors at a valuation of $1.35 billion, as it prepares to expand its artificial intelligence-powered home energy management platform and considers entering the US market. The Hamburg-based company is also keeping a potential stock market listing on the table, with its 2027 financial performance expected to influence the timing.

Founded in 2021, 1KOMMA5° connects residential energy technologies, including solar panels, home batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers, through its Heartbeat AI software. The company aims to coordinate these devices to help households manage electricity consumption and enable more flexible electricity trading.

The latest funding brings in Marunouchi Innovation Partners, a Tokyo-based climate technology investment fund backed by Mitsubishi Corporation, alongside existing investors. According to reports cited by Tech Funding News, the new investor is expected to contribute experience in US energy investments.

1KOMMA5° Reaches a $1.35 Billion Valuation

The latest €70 million funding round values 1KOMMA5° at $1.35 billion, up 35% from its $1 billion valuation in June 2023. That earlier milestone made the company one of Europe's energy technology unicorns.

The valuation increase comes as the business expands its revenue. 1KOMMA5° expects approximately €700 million in revenue for 2026, compared with around €450 million in 2023. The company also expects about €40 million in operating profit from its hardware business in 2026, according to a September 2026 company announcement.

Despite its revenue growth, the company's valuation has increased more slowly than its sales. This reflects an important question for the business: how much value can investors attribute to its software platform while hardware installations remain the primary revenue driver?

The company's earlier funding milestones include a €215 million Series B round led by G2VP in 2023. In December 2024, it also secured a €150 million pre-IPO investment round led by CalSTRS, the California teachers' pension fund, and G2VP. Additional investors over the years have included Porsche Ventures, Eurazeo, b2venture, Hamilton Lane, Norrsken VC and Sabanci Climate Ventures.

According to the company, it has raised nearly €400 million in equity since its founding and is debt-free.

Heartbeat AI Is at the Centre of Its Growth Strategy

A significant portion of the latest funding is expected to support Heartbeat AI, the company's software platform for coordinating residential energy devices.

The platform links solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers, allowing connected devices to respond to changing electricity demand and supply. By coordinating these resources, 1KOMMA5° can combine many small household energy systems into a virtual power plant that can participate in electricity markets.

The company says Heartbeat AI currently controls one gigawatt of flexible capacity, double the level recorded a year earlier. Its target is to reach 20 gigawatts by 2030.

1KOMMA5° plans to invest more than €100 million in Heartbeat AI in 2027. The investment is intended to advance automation across electricity trading, billing and metering.

The software business is growing, although it remains a relatively small part of the overall company. Heartbeat AI reached approximately €30 million in annualised revenue in August 2026, nearly twice the level of the previous year. Based on the company's expected 2026 group revenue of €700 million, this represents roughly 4% of projected annual revenue.

This creates a strategic challenge. 1KOMMA5° must continue growing its hardware installation business while demonstrating that its software platform can become a more substantial and recurring source of revenue.

The opportunity extends beyond individual households. The International Energy Agency estimates that around 100 gigawatts of demand response capacity was being used worldwide in 2024, including approximately 30 gigawatts from buildings. Demand response enables electricity users to shift consumption when the grid needs additional flexibility.

US Expansion and an IPO Remain Under Consideration

1KOMMA5° is considering entering the United States in 2027. CEO Philipp Schröder, a former Tesla Germany country director, told Reuters that investor interest and enthusiasm around the US market were among the factors behind the company's consideration of expansion.

The company already operates across Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands and Australia. Entering the US would extend its geographical reach into a market where it could pursue opportunities in residential electrification and flexible energy management.

However, US expansion is not yet a confirmed launch. The company previously shelved its US IPO plans in April 2025 amid uncertainty surrounding trade policy and renewable energy policies. Its listing ambitions have shifted several times, and Schröder has said that business performance in 2027 will help determine whether and when the company proceeds with an IPO.

The latest investment may give the company additional resources to develop its software platform and evaluate international expansion. However, a public listing will depend on more than revenue growth alone. Investors will also assess profitability, software adoption, the economics of hardware installations and the company's ability to compete in different energy markets.

Competition in Europe's Energy Technology Market

1KOMMA5° is expanding in a competitive market for energy flexibility and connected home energy systems.

London-based Axle Energy raised a $25 million Series A round led by Energize Capital in July 2026. The company says its connected devices represent approximately two gigawatts of capacity, although capacity measurements may differ between businesses.

Belgium-based NOX Energy raised €3 million in seed funding on September 30, 2026, and reported having connected more than 10,000 devices. Berlin-based Cloover secured a $100 million credit facility in September 2026 and has reported a revenue run rate exceeding $350 million.

These companies are pursuing different approaches to energy technology, but their activity highlights the growing interest in platforms that connect distributed energy assets, improve energy management and support electricity grid flexibility.

For 1KOMMA5°, Heartbeat AI's ability to scale will be central to differentiating its offering. The company will need to demonstrate that its software can generate meaningful recurring revenue while creating value for customers and energy markets.

Founders and Investors Behind 1KOMMA5°

1KOMMA5° was founded in 2021 by Philipp Schröder, Micha Grüber, Jannik Schall, Philip Liesenfeld and Michael Hinderer.

Its investors include Marunouchi Innovation Partners, Porsche Ventures, G2VP, CalSTRS, Eurazeo, b2venture, Hamilton Lane, Norrsken VC and Sabanci Climate Ventures, among others.

The company's strategy combines residential energy hardware with software designed to coordinate electricity consumption and trading. Its long-term ambition is to expand the role of flexible household energy systems in electricity markets.

The next phase will test whether the company can turn that ambition into a larger software business, expand into the US and establish a convincing path towards an IPO.

With a $1.35 billion valuation, €700 million in expected 2026 revenue and an ambitious 20-gigawatt flexible capacity target for 2030, 1KOMMA5° is positioning itself for its next stage of growth. The key question for investors is whether Heartbeat AI can become a sufficiently large and profitable software business to support the company's valuation and future listing ambitions.