Munich’s Furo Raises $4M to Optimise Commercial Battery Storage With AI

Munich-based energy software company Furo has raised $4 million in a funding round led by TQ Ventures, with participation from Sheryl Sandberg’s family office, as the startup looks to expand its AI-powered platform for commercial battery storage across Europe.

Formerly known as Lumera Energy, Furo was founded in 2025 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich. The company was founded by Leonie Wagner, Simon Wittner, and Lena Sophia Voß, who returned to Munich after experiences at companies and startups in Silicon Valley and Seattle.

Furo focuses on a growing problem in Europe's energy market: owning a battery does not automatically make it economically valuable. The software controlling when that battery charges, discharges, or sends electricity back to the grid can have a major impact on its financial performance.

From Excel-based planning to real-time battery control

Furo initially developed software to help battery installers model and manage battery economics using spreadsheets. The company has since evolved into a real-time optimisation and energy trading platform.

Its software forecasts electricity prices and weather up to 48 hours ahead, allowing commercial battery systems to dynamically adjust their operations based on changing market conditions.

According to Furo, its optimisation technology can reduce customers' electricity costs by up to 40%.

The company sells its platform through installers, project developers, battery manufacturers, and utilities. Its customers include Deutsche Bahn, Sonnen, and Enpal.

More than 6,000 sites already covered

Furo says its software is now used to plan and optimise operations across more than 6,000 industrial sites, serving over 800 customers.

The company argues that its full-lifecycle approach differentiates it from many competitors. While some energy software companies focus primarily on battery trading, tariffs, project development, or financing, Furo aims to cover the journey from initial planning through live energy trading and optimisation.

The market is becoming increasingly important as Europe's electricity demand rises. Ember Energy expects electricity consumption from European data centres to nearly triple by 2035, putting additional pressure on power infrastructure and electricity markets.

At the same time, German industry already faces some of the world's highest industrial electricity costs, increasing the economic incentive for businesses to optimise energy consumption and storage.

Competition is heating up

Furo enters a competitive European energy software market.

Hamburg-based Suena has raised €8 million for AI-powered trading of flexible energy assets, while Cologne-based Einklang raised €2.2 million to combine dynamic electricity tariffs with storage for medium-sized factories. Berlin-based Scale Energy has also raised capital to own and finance battery systems directly.

Furo's challenge will be maintaining its software-driven margins as larger energy companies and better-funded competitors enter the market.

Funding to accelerate European expansion

The latest round also includes Neo and CDTM Venture Capital.

Furo plans to use the new funding to further develop its platform, expand into additional European markets, and grow its team.

The company's founders believe the economics of commercial battery storage will increasingly depend on intelligent software rather than the battery hardware itself.

As battery technology becomes increasingly commoditised, the ability to predict energy markets and make real-time decisions could become the key differentiator for commercial storage operators.