Munich Startup Furo Just Raised $4M to Cut Your Power Bill by 40%

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-11

Munich-based energy software company Furo (formerly Lumera Energy) just closed a €3.44 million ($4 million) funding round. The company plans to use the cash to develop its software further, expand into more European markets, and grow its team. The round was led by US investor TQ Ventures, with participation from Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners (the fund of Sheryl Sandberg), 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. 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," said Lena Sophia Voß, co-founder of Furo. ### From Classroom to Grid: The Origin Story Furo was founded in 2025 as Lumera Energy by Voß, Leonie Wagner, and Simon Wittner. The three met during a joint master's program at the Centre for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) of LMU Munich and the Technical University of Munich. ### How Furo's Software Slashes Energy Costs Furo is a software company that controls and optimizes commercial and industrial battery storage. Its platform forecasts power prices and weather up to 48 hours ahead. Then it optimizes the operation of storage systems in real time and markets unused capacity in energy trading. According to the company, global energy demand from AI data centers is rising sharply. This hits energy-intensive industrial companies hardest, especially in Germany, where electricity prices are already among the highest in the world. Battery storage provides a solution by storing surplus solar or wind power and releasing it when needed. The problem is that most installations have operated on rigid, pre-programmed rules, regardless of how the weather or electricity prices are actually developing. Furo claims its software works differently. It forecasts electricity prices and weather up to 48 hours ahead and decides in real time when a storage system charges and when it releases or sells power. The company says this enables customers to reduce their electricity costs by up to 40%. It is not sold directly to end customers but 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 the respective role, from system sizing through asset operation to the marketing of free capacity in energy trading. ### Why Europe's Volatile Power Market Needs Smarter Software The German startup points out that the European and German power markets are among the most volatile in the world, owing to the rapid build-out of wind and solar energy. Furo highlights that its forecasting module prices in exactly these fluctuations, while static systems have so far remained blind to them. Inflexible energy demand costs industrial companies an estimated $580 billion a year worldwide. The cause is not the build-out of renewable energy itself, but 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. 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," said Schuster Tanger, co-founding partner at TQ Ventures. 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. In May 2026, the company announced its rebrand from Lumera Energy. With this fresh capital, Furo is poised to help more industrial companies take control of their energy costs. And if the software delivers on its promise, that 40% savings could be just the beginning.