Munich Startup Furo Raises $4M to Slash Industrial Energy Bills by 40%

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-11

### The Funding Round That Caught Our Eye Furo, a Munich-based energy software company (formerly known as Lumera Energy), just closed a €3.44 million ($4 million) funding round. The goal? Make industrial battery storage actually worth it for companies drowning in high electricity costs. The round was led by US investor TQ Ventures, with participation from Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners (yes, that's Sheryl Sandberg's fund), along with Neo and CDTM Venture Capital. "Our customers did not buy a battery in order to own a technology, but in order to lower their electricity bill," says Lena Sophia Voß, co-founder of Furo. "In one of the most volatile power markets in the world, that is decided by the software, not by the hardware. That is exactly why we founded Furo." ### What Furo Actually Does Furo is a software company that controls and optimizes commercial and industrial battery storage. Their platform forecasts power prices and weather up to 48 hours ahead, then optimizes the storage systems in real time based on those predictions. It also markets unused capacity in energy trading. Here's the problem they're solving: global energy demand from AI data centers is skyrocketing, and energy-intensive industrial companies are feeling the pinch. Especially in Germany, where electricity prices are already among the highest in the world. Battery storage should help—store surplus solar or wind power and release it when needed. But most installations run on rigid, pre-programmed rules. They don't care what the weather is doing or where electricity prices are heading. Furo's software changes that. It decides in real time when a storage system charges and when it releases or sells power. The company claims this can cut customers' electricity costs by up to 40%. ### How It Reaches Customers Furo doesn't sell directly to end users. Instead, it works through installers, project developers, storage manufacturers, and utilities. More than 800 companies use the platform across over 6,000 sites in Germany and Europe. The platform adapts to each role—from system sizing to asset operation to marketing free capacity in energy trading. ### Why This Matters Now European and German power markets are among the most volatile in the world, thanks to the rapid build-out of wind and solar energy. Furo's forecasting module prices in those fluctuations. Static systems? They're blind to them. Inflexible energy demand costs industrial companies an estimated $580 billion a year worldwide. The culprit isn't renewable energy itself—it's price volatility, high grid fees, load peaks, and a lack of flexibility in consumption. "Lena, Leonie and Simon understand the European energy market at an extraordinary level of depth," says Schuster Tanger, co-founding partner at TQ Ventures. "It's a remarkable example of team-market fit. Together, they bring exceptional technical depth and operational experience in Europe's most complex power market. That's already reflected in the number of projects and the data they've built up. Coupled with a global market for storage flexibility set to multiply in the coming years, we see this as one of the greatest opportunities in Europe and beyond." ### The Backstory Furo was founded in 2025 as Lumera Energy by Voß, Leonie Wagner, and Simon Wittner. The three met on a joint master's program at the Centre for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) of LMU Munich and the Technical University of Munich. Earlier this month, Furo announced a partnership with Berlin-based LUOX Energy, the end-customer brand of Lumenaza GmbH, to launch a combined solution for optimizing commercial and industrial battery storage systems. And in May 2026, the company announced its rebrand from Lumera Energy. ### What's Next With this fresh $4 million, Furo plans to further develop its software, expand into additional European markets, and grow its team. If they can deliver on that 40% cost reduction promise, they might just become the go-to platform for industrial battery storage in Europe—and beyond.