Tanso Receives €6.5m to Decarbonize the European Industry
- The Munich-based software company offers carbon accounting software for industrial manufacturing companies under pressure to decarbonize their supply chains
- Tanso's ISO-compliant Climate Intelligence Software enables the calculation, management, and reduction of carbon emissions at company and product level
- The European Union supported Tanso's product development in March 2023 with a €2.5m innovation grant under the prestigious EIC Accelerator program
- Cologne-based investor Capnamic leads the recent additional €4m Seed funding round, while existing investors such as UVC Partners are expanding their investment
Stricter requirements force producers to be more transparent
Munich, April 19, 2023 – Companies in the manufacturing sector are responsible for about 32 percent of Europe's carbon emissions – but until now, only large corporations were affected by reporting requirements. With regulatory initiatives such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the European Union is now significantly expanding the circle of companies subjects to reporting requirements. From 2025, every company with an annual turnover of more than €40m and a balance sheet total of more than €20m or more than 250 employees must calculate and publish its own carbon footprint as part of its annual reporting.
The carbon footprint is also becoming increasingly relevant in the private sector: a few years ago, it was more of an expert indicator in sustainability reporting, but it is establishing itself as an essential criterion for companies such as BMW, Bosch, or Schäffler to decide which supplier they should choose. For their suppliers, the carbon footprint is now becoming a significant part of the corporate strategy as a sales driver, with increasing pressure for more transparency on their environmental performance. One thing is clear: a lower carbon footprint becomes a competitive advantage.
However, the complexity of supply chains, processes, and products makes it difficult for manufacturing companies to measure and reduce emissions – a significant challenge, especially for medium-sized companies. This is where Tanso comes in.
Reducing emissions with automated benchmarks and intelligent hotspot analyses
The founding team, Gyri Reiersen, Till Wiechmann, and Lorenz Hetzel are the brains behind the Tanso Climate Intelligence Suite. Their software helps industrial companies to manage their decarbonization based on data analysis. Through automated benchmark calculations and intelligent hotspot analyses, the founding team wants to support companies in making the ecological impact of their decisions measurable across departments and in reducing emissions.
After an initial €1.6m pre-seed funding in October 2021 by UVC Partners, Picus Capital and Possible Ventures, Tanso has grown to around 20 employees. Working closely with partner companies from the machinery, equipment and automotive sectors, the team has since successfully developed and launched its “Corporate Carbon Footprint” product for calculating Scope 1–3 emissions. In addition, Tanso is working in an exclusive collaboration with the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) to expand its product portfolio to include so-called Product Carbon Footprints (PCF), which experts consider to be the key to effectively decarbonizing supply chains. Tanso now offers PCF calculation for the 3500+ VDMA members.
Gyri Reiersen, Co-Founder & CPO at Tanso and an AI expert with a background in climate research, says: “We need to think about decarbonization holistically, with carbon accounting at company and product level – this is the only way to achieve our goals. Competitive advantages through emission reduction, e.g., by changing energy sources or suppliers, can only be achieved if you can prove that your own products are better than the alternatives.”
Christian Knott, Partner at Capnamic, says: “At Capnamic, we have a strong hypothesis on companies that serve industrial companies and create transparency in the value chain. Tanso understands that customers need to be met where they are today and that software must not just be a reporting tool, but must add value to everyone who works with it. We believe that Tanso's market approach will lead to companies making more conscious purchasing decisions and thus meeting the increasing consumer demand for higher sustainability.”
Alexander Kiltz, Principal at UVC Partners, says: “With initiatives such as the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, we see increasing demand from the industry for solutions such as Tanso's. Medium-sized companies in particular, with few resources in sustainability, are benefiting from the Climate Intelligence Suite to meet reporting obligations and become more sustainable. We are excited about the entrepreneurial development of the founding team and look forward to supporting the company on its steady growth path in the future.”
With the EU innovation funding and the fresh growth capital from Capnamic and UVC Partners, the founding team now wants to expand its team significantly. In particular, it plans to hire in product development to achieve the company's ambitious goals.
About Tanso Technologies
Tanso Technologies is a software company based in Munich which offers a carbon intelligence suite to industrial companies, which helps them gather, manage and report carbon footprint emissions on Scope 1–3 on both corporate and product levels and in alignment with the leading standards. Tanso’s solution is supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC), as well as notable VC funds like Capnamic and UVC Partners, and angel investors, and is used by some of the largest German industrial companies. More information about Tanso can be found here: www.tanso.io.
About Capnamic
Capnamic is a leading European early-stage Venture Capital firm, with offices in Cologne, Berlin and Munich. The VC invests in outstanding teams from the German-speaking regions from Pre-Seed up to Series A. Capnamic’s investments include companies such as LeanIX, Staffbase, Adjust (exit to Applovin), fatmap (exit to Strava), parcelLab or Capmo, amongst others. All portfolio companies can rely on Capnamic’s unique network of global investors and industry partners as well as hands-on support, mentoring and knowledge exchange. The vast expertise of the Capnamic team includes more than 100 investments, a high turnover of successful trade sales and IPOs, as well as a strong entrepreneurial track record within the investment team. The general partners are Christian Siegele, Christian Knott, Jörg Binnenbrücker and Olaf Jacobi. Learn more at www.capnamic.com.
About UVC Partners
UVC Partners is a leading Munich- and Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in European B2B tech start-ups from pre-seed to series A. With about € 400 million assets under management, UVC Partners typically invests between € 500,000 and € 10 million initially and up to € 30 million per company. The portfolio includes category leaders in deep tech, climate tech, hard- and software, and mobility with various technologies and business models. As an independent partner of UnternehmerTUM, Europe's most extensive innovation and startup center, UVC Partners has access to proprietary deal flow, an industrial network of more than 1,000 corporates, and access to talent from the leading European technical university. The investments include Flix, Vimcar, planqc, Tanso, Isar Aerospace, TWAICE, DeepDrive, FINN, STABL, and many more. They all benefit from the team's extensive investment and exit experience, their ability to build sustainable category leaders with a competitive advantage, and their passion for growing the game changers of tomorrow. Learn more at www.uvcpartners.com.
Press Contact:
Maria Poursaiadi, maria.poursaiadi@uvcpartners.com
