Tag Archives: Information technology

EQT Private Equity to sell BBS Automation, a global leader in factory automation solutions

eqt
  • EQT Private Equity, together with its co-shareholders, to sell BBS Automation to MDAX-listed Dürr Group
  • Under EQT’s ownership, BBS has transformed from a founder-led organization to a global leader in end-to-end factory automation solutions with full digital capabilities
  • Since EQT entered in 2018, the Company has more than doubled its revenues, significantly expanded its global site footprint, and complemented organic growth with four add-on acquisitions

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Mid Market Europe and EQT Mid Market Asia III funds (together “EQT Private Equity” or “EQT”), together with its co-shareholders, have agreed to sell BBS Automation (“BBS” or the “Company”) to MDAX-listed Dürr Group.

Headquartered in Munich, Germany, BBS Automation helps companies automate their production processes and reduce energy consumption, waste and downtime, allowing customers to meet rapidly growing cost and sustainability demands. It plays a pivotal role in the Industry 4.0 revolution by developing and manufacturing automated, smart factory solutions. The Company’s tailor-made assembly and testing applications are used by customers in a wide range of industries, including (e)Mobility, Life Sciences, and Consumer Electronics, amongst others.

EQT Private Equity partnered with Josef Wildgruber in May 2018 and acquired a majority stake in BBS with a joint vision to build a leading global platform for factory automation. During EQT’s ownership, BBS has more than doubled its sales to over EUR 300 million today (2023 estimate). At the same time, BBS has made substantial investments in its global footprint, doubling its network of sites from 7 to 14 and growing its number of employees from around 550 to around 1,200.

Organic growth was complemented by four strategic add-on acquisitions including ANT Solutions, a Polish provider of digital factory solutions, TEAM, an Italian specialist for winding technology, and ReaLead, a Chinese automation solutions provider. Last year, BBS significantly strengthened its MedTech and Life Sciences capabilities with the acquisition of Italy-based Kahle Automation.

As part of Dürr Group, BBS will continue its growth journey under the leadership of Josef Wildgruber. The combined Group will be one of the leading assembly and automation players globally with a highly complementary solution portfolio and substantial synergies with Dürr’s automation business, in particular Teamtechnik, which Dürr acquired in 2021.

Andreas Aschenbrenner, Partner within EQT Private Equity’s Advisory Team, said, “We could not have imagined a better home for BBS than Dürr Group and a more compelling industrial logic. By combining the Dürr automation business with BBS’ global automation platform, we are creating a global leader in the field. BBS is a showcase of EQT’s philosophy of investing at the nexus of digitization and sustainability, creating value for our investors, the company and its employees and society at large.”

Robert Latz, Managing Director within EQT Private Equity’s Advisory Team, adds, “We are very proud of what we have achieved together with the BBS team over the past years. EQT has a long-standing track record of partnering with founders to help them scale and professionalize their businesses. BBS is a showcase of how we can help companies reach their full potential. We have transformed BBS to a global leader in industrial automation by expanding its solutions portfolio, end markets, and geographic footprint.”

Josef Wildgruber, CEO and Founder of BBS Automation, said “This is a momentous day in the history of BBS. We are very excited to become part of the Dürr family and continue our growth journey together, leveraging our combined German heritage, reputation and expertise. We are very grateful for EQT’s strong support over the years, which enabled us to turn BBS into the global platform it is today with a market-leading footprint across all continents. I very much look forward to working with Jochen Weyrauch and his team in building the future of automation.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Closing of the transaction is expected in the fall of 2023.

 

Contact
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 119 billion in assets under management within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About BBS Automation
Headquartered in Munich, Germany, BBS Automation develops flexible and high-quality automation solutions for complex manufacturing and testing processes. With state-of-the-art production sites in Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, India, China, Malaysia, Mexico and the US, BBS Automation supports a diverse network of blue-chip customers on a global scale. BBS has around 1,200 employees across 14 locations in Europe, Asia, and North America.

More info: www.bbsautomation.com

About Dürr Group
The Dürr Group is one of the world’s leading mechanical and plant engineering firms with extensive expertise in automation, digitalization and energy efficiency. Its products, systems and services enable highly efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes in different industries. The Dürr Group primarily supplies the automotive industry, producers of furniture and timber houses as well as the chemical, pharmaceutical, medical devices and electrical engineering sectors. The company has about 18,500 employees and 123 business locations in 32 countries.

More info: www.durr.com

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KLAR Partners enters the Netherlands market as a growth partner to hallo, with the mission to build Europe’s leading SME-focused IT services provider.

Klar Partners

Funds advised by KLAR Partners Limited (“KLAR Partners” or “KLAR”) have signed an agreement to invest as a growth partner in hallo,. As a leading Dutch provider of mission-critical IT services for SMEs, the company is well-positioned for accelerated growth and, with support from KLAR, aspires to become the champion in the growing SME market in Europe. KLAR will invest alongside the present owners, Vortex Capital Partners and hallo’s management.

hallo,’s automated services platform provides small and medium-sized clients with a one-stop-shop for mission-critical IT services. Services include among others the Microsoft modern workplace, security, communication/UC, connectivity/SD-WAN and a growing practice in Dynamics CRM and Data Warehousing/Power BI. hallo, currently employs 350 people, with offices in The Netherlands, Spain and the Caribbean. In 2022, the company achieved sales of approximately EUR 70 million.

“This investment aligns perfectly with KLAR’s strategy to support companies providing mission-critical services in resilient and growing markets. The strong growth of hallo, in recent years has been impressive and clearly reflects the strength of the platform, as well as the culture of the company. We look forward to working with management and Vortex to support the company in further accelerating its growth, particularly its plans to expand across Europe”, commented Alex Kulikowski of KLAR Partners.

“This partnership marks the next strategically important step for hallo, and opens an exciting new chapter in our journey. The support of KLAR’s expertise and resources will enable us to accelerate our growth, both organically and through acquisitions. We believe in building a sustainable, culture-driven company for the long-term and this fits well with the values of the KLAR team. We look forward to working together in pursuit of our ambition to become a leading European player, empowering SMEs wherever we operate,” commented Barry Wissink, CEO at hallo,.

We are proud of hallo,’s exceptional growth trajectory and the leading position the company obtained in the Dutch market. With its scalable platform and strong focus on standardization and automation, hallo, is very well positioned to grow further inside and outside of the Netherlands. We are keen to take part in the next wave of growth as we believe that the new partnership with KLAR will enable international expansion and further value creation. We look forward to working with the management team and KLAR on hallo,‘s mission ‘to make IT work for you’”, commented Evert Jan de Groot of Vortex Capital Partners.

This transaction is conditional upon regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities.

For more information:

Fredrik Brynildsen
fb@klarpartners.com
Tel: +44 7388 439 890

Carl Johan Falkenberg
cj@klarpartners.com
+44 7918 941 391

About hallo,
hallo, is the trusted IT service partner for SMEs with a one-stop-shop offering of mission-critical managed IT services.

hallo,’s mission is to make IT services accessible for customers and their end-users in the best possible way, for maximum impact on productivity. In the fragmented landscape of IT service providers, the company aims to become the go-to brand for everyday IT service needs. With a digital customer journey including self-service tooling to simplify the complex IT service buying experience that SMEs typically experience. And with an enthusiastic and professional team of 350 IT service professionals (affectionately referred to as ‘digital energizers’) ready to help.

hallo, currently has offices in The Netherlands, Spain and the Caribbean. For more information please visit https://hallo.eu/.

About KLAR Partners
KLAR Partners is a European private equity firm focused on investments in companies operating in business services and industrial technology. The companies in which KLAR invests each have an annual turnover of approximately EUR 50-500m and are headquartered in the DACH, Nordics, and Benelux regions. With investment professionals located in London, Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Brussels, together with a broad international network in the industry, KLAR has a proven business model to support, develop, and grow companies. KLAR’s senior professionals have worked together for many years and have more than 50 years of combined investment experience in KLAR’s industry-specific and geographical focus area. KLAR Partners is a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.

About Vortex Capital Partners
Vortex Capital Partners is a specialist investment firm with a focus on small and medium-sized tech companies with a high growth potential. Since 2012 Vortex invested in 22 platform companies with close to 30 add-on investments. The team combines years of M&A experience with deep technical expertise and first-hand operational experience to support ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams as an active partner in realizing their growth ambitions.

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Fivetran Announces $125 Million in New Financing from Vista Credit Partners

Vista Equity

Investment will be used to accelerate enterprise growth, global go-to-market strategy and fuel platform innovation

OAKLAND, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fivetran, a global leader in automated data movement, today announced $125 million in financing from Vista Credit Partners, a subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners and strategic credit and financing partner focused on the enterprise software, data and technology markets. The investment will be used to support Fivetran’s continued innovation and enterprise growth, bolstering its leadership position in the automated data movement market.

“In today’s macroeconomic climate, many of the most successful companies are data companies. From making revenue-impacting decisions to driving operational efficiencies, enterprises rely on data to run their business. Data availability across an organization cannot be something in question. Access must be as simple and as reliable as electricity,” said George Fraser, CEO at Fivetran. “Fivetran’s automated data movement platform helps enterprises connect to all of their data – whether on prem or in the cloud – with 99.9% guaranteed uptime. The financing will allow us to accelerate R&D and expand our automated data movement platform as we continue to scale globally.”

This past year, Fivetran has demonstrated significant momentum and continued growth. Company milestones include:

Fivetran also continued to add new product functionalities in the last year. Key updates include the introduction of Fivetran’s Metadata API which simplifies data governance for enterprises by automating the tracking of data in-flight. In addition, the company introduced new enterprise-grade capabilities including: support for Amazon S3 with Apache Iceberg which makes data lakes more effective and accessible for all users across the organization; High-Volume Agent (HVA) Connectors, AWS Gov Cloud support and private deployment – setting the industry standard with options for all deployment types for secure, real-time and high-volume database replication; and Lite connectors, which allow Fivetran to connect to virtually any SaaS application.

“Fivetran is an ideal partner for Vista Credit Partners as a founder-led, scaled and growing category leader providing mission-critical solutions to modern businesses,” said David Flannery, President at Vista Credit Partners. “We are pleased to provide non-dilutive credit solutions and operational support to George and the entire team as they continue to innovate and help more companies become data-driven.”

About Fivetran

Fivetran automates data movement out of, into and across cloud data platforms. We automate the most time-consuming parts of the ELT process from extracts to schema drift handling to transformations, so data engineers can focus on higher-impact projects with total pipeline peace of mind. With 99.9% uptime and self-healing pipelines, Fivetran enables hundreds of leading brands across the globe, including Autodesk, Conagra Brands, JetBlue, Lionsgate, Morgan Stanley and Ziff Davis, to accelerate data-driven decisions and drive business growth. Fivetran is headquartered in Oakland, California, with offices around the world. For more info, visit fivetran.com.

About Vista Credit Partners

Vista Credit Partners (VCP) is the credit-investing arm of Vista Equity Partners and is a strategic investor and financing partner focused on the growing enterprise software, data and technology market. VCP employs a highly disciplined approach to credit investing while maintaining flexibility to pursue investments offering the best relative value and investing across the capital structure. As of December 31, 2022, VCP has grown to over $6.8 billion of assets under management. Since formation in 2013 and as of March 31, 2023, VCP has deployed over $10.4 billion. For more information, please visit www.vistacreditpartners.com.

Vista Credit Partners offers solutions tailored to strategic objectives with growth-friendly terms and long-term investment horizons across both the private and broadly syndicated markets, sourcing deals directly from founder-led companies, through sponsor relationships, and from its deep network of experts, advisors and other intermediaries to support growth and unlock value through creative capital solutions and operational partnership. Vista Credit Partners has completed more than 495 software and technology transactions since inception.

Contacts

Fivetran Media Contact:
Ross Perich
press@fivetran.com

Vista Credit Partners Media Contact:
Brian W. Steel
media@vistaequitypartners.com
(212) 804-9170

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Benchmark Gensuite® Receives Minority Growth Investment from Vista Equity Partners

Vista Equity

Established category leader accepts first external capital to take advantage of growing demand for unified EHS, Sustainability and ESG reporting capabilities

Benchmark Gensuite is a unique investment opportunity as a founder-led business that’s never required external capital to establish or maintain category leadership”

— Rachel Arnold, Vista Equity Partners, Senior Managing Director

CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES, April 25, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Benchmark Gensuite (the “Company”), a leading software platform that helps companies unify and digitally transform their EHS, Sustainability, and ESG Reporting programs, today announced a minority growth investment from Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses. The minority investment, the Company’s first external capital since inception, will be used to accelerate growth and take advantage of increased market demand for unified EHS, Sustainability, ESG reporting, Quality, Operational Risk, Stewardship, and Supply Chain Risk capabilities.

“Since our founding, our ethos has been rooted in collaborative partnerships with our customers and delivering a product with fast ROI, excellent service, and continuous innovation. The opportunistic investment from Vista will enable us to accelerate product development, deepen our existing partnerships and bring the power of our platform to new customers,” said R. Mukund, Founder and CEO of Benchmark Gensuite. “With Vista, we’ve chosen a partner who is strongly aligned with our customer-focused values and has a shared commitment to innovation.”

Benchmark Gensuite was founded on the philosophy that technology can help companies power safer, compliant, and more sustainable operations worldwide. The Company’s heritage is built on its two-decade long market-leading digital EHS management platform, with quick-to-launch, best-practice workflows, intuitive functionality, turnkey configuration, and seamlessly integrated advanced technologies, including AI and IoT.

More recently, the Company expanded its offering to help organizations address emerging, global reporting standards and requirements related to climate risk, value chain sustainability, and circular economy. The Company now supports over 400 customers globally, including approximately 20% of the Fortune 500, and over three million users across 35 industries with a single, unified, organically-developed digital platform covering EHS, Sustainability, Quality, Product Stewardship, Supply Chain, Operational Risk, and ESG Reporting.

The investment in Benchmark Gensuite was made by Vista’s Endeavor Fund, which provides growth capital and strategic support to market-leading, high-growth enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled companies that have achieved at least $10 million in recurring revenue. Endeavor partnerships focus on growth, market strategy, talent, and customer success – building enduring businesses designed to scale. Founders and management teams benefit from the expertise and support of Vista and its global ecosystem to deliver unparalleled value to their customers, unlock the potential of their employees, and accelerate market leadership. Abhay Puskoor, Senior Vice President at Vista, will join Benchmark Gensuite’s Board of Directors effective immediately.

“Benchmark Gensuite is a unique investment opportunity as a founder-led business that’s never required external capital to establish or maintain category leadership,” said Rachel Arnold, Co-Head of Vista’s Endeavor Fund and Senior Managing Director. “This is a testament to the vision, expert talent, and commitment to satisfying its customers’ ever-evolving regulatory compliance needs through continuous innovation. We look forward to partnering with Mukund and the entire Benchmark Gensuite team as they look to capitalize on the accelerating market opportunity.”

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL served as legal advisor to Benchmark Gensuite and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Vista. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

About Benchmark Gensuite®
Benchmark Gensuite® enables companies to implement robust, cross-functional digital systems for EHS, Sustainability, and ESG Reporting through a unified digital platform—locally, globally and across diverse operating profiles. With intuitive, best-practice-based process functionality, flexible configurations, and powerful extensions, the Benchmark Gensuite® platform has helped companies worldwide manage their EHS, Sustainability; Quality; Operational Risk and Compliance; Product Stewardship, and Supply Chain Risks for over two decades; and now organically integrated with cutting-edge ESG disclosure reporting and management solutions. Join over 3 million users that trust Benchmark Gensuite® with their software system needs and benefit from rapid deployment and adoption, immediate return on investment (ROI), service excellence, and collaborative innovation. Follow Benchmark Gensuite on LinkedIn, @Benchmark-Gensuite, and on Twitter, @Bmrk_Gensuite

About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $96 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.

Jen Redden
Benchmark Gensuite
+1 513-207-1320
email us here
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Hyperautomation specialist Ciphix accelerates growth strategy with Mentha

Mentha

Mentha has entered into a partnership with Ciphix, a fast-growing hyperautomation specialist that automates and optimises processes for large and reputable companies such as Marel, ASR, Vattenfall and ANWB. The collaboration will boost its growth strategy, which should make Ciphix a leading European player in hyperautomation.

Since its founding in 2018, Ciphix’s mission has been to ‘take the robot out of the human’ by letting RPA (robotic process automation) software take over repetitive tasks carried out by employees. Since then, Ciphix has grown into a company with more than 60 employees and operates as a broad hyperautomation service provider active in RPA, (conversational) AI, process mining, low-code and iPaaS. Thanks to these various technologies, Ciphix also automates more complex repetitive processes, which ensures higher efficiency and a reduction of errors and costs. In addition, it enables customers to assign more important, valuable and challenging work to employees such as solving complex problems.

Ciphix as an appealing employer
Next to the innovative use of the various technologies, Ciphix stands out in successfully attracting and retaining talent. This is made possible by a positive and challenging corporate culture and provides a solid foundation for further organic growth. As an active shareholder, Mentha will also be looking at possible acquisitions in the home market and abroad, in order to accelerate the growth strategy. The investor has extensive experience in scaling technology companies internationally and will use this knowledge and expertise at Ciphix on both an operational and a strategic level.

Koen Mallee and Marijn van de Poel together form the management of Ciphix and are enthusiastic about the collaboration. Mallee: “We have a lot of confidence in this collaboration. Our journey has only just begun and this is the start of the next phase.” Van de Poel: “We are proud of our team, customers and partners and look forward to taking the next steps with Mentha on board.”

The joint aim of Ciphix and Mentha is to grow the company into a leading European hyperautomation specialist in the coming years. This is fuelled by the ambition to play a role in solving major labour market challenges such as the large shortage of qualified staff and high staff turnover due to low job satisfaction and a lack of challenging and meaningful work. Ciphix is convinced in its ability to further shape this ambition, partly due to the broad applicability of robotisation of certain labour processes in combination with continuous innovation from software suppliers.

Stijn Dietz, Investment Director at Mentha: “We are impressed by Ciphix and very excited to invest in the future of hyperautomation through this partnership. The management’s ambition and Ciphix’s innovative approach to intelligent automation, combined with our expertise in scaling this type of business is an excellent foundation to continue growing and increasingly delivering value to customers in the coming years.”

——

About Ciphix
Ciphix is a Rotterdam-based Hyperautomation specialist. Ciphix believes that in a world with so much technological potential, there is no need for employees to carry out monotonous, boring and repetitive work. That is why the company is committed to helping organisations harness human potential through smart automation of business processes. With an integrated approach to Process Mining, RPA, Low-code, Integrations and Machine Learning, Ciphix offers its customers, including global brands and government organisations, unique and robust solutions to take the robot out of the human.

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New brand Cerios brings together Salves, Valori, De Agile Testers, and Quality Accelerators under one holding

Avedon

The new brand Cerios brings together leading companies Salves, Valori, De Agile Testers, and Quality Accelerators in a ‘House of Brands,’ and herewith acquires a leading position in the consolidating market of quality and software testing. Through this collaboration, the companies are creating more opportunities for their consultants and a broader proposition for their customers while maintaining their own identity and autonomy.

Leading position in consolidating market

The new brand Cerios brings together over 400 consultants with the shared goal of supporting clients in increasing the quality of their IT through a wide range of innovative (testing) services and automated testing solutions. By bringing together the four companies, accompanied by the recently acquired test management software tool Supportbook, Cerios is building an overarching brand with a leading position in a consolidating market. The collaboration is an important step in the growth ambitions of Salves, in which Avedon Capital Partners (‘Avedon’) invested mid last year.

Christ Coppens, CEO of Cerios and founder of Salves: “Within Cerios, the companies operate in a partnership, each retaining their own name, culture, and specializations. They work closely together and strengthen each other wherever possible. The focus on employees enables us to support clients in all aspects of quality and software testing. Always.”

Focus on consultants

In the current tight labor market, focus on consultants is crucial. Consultants make the company. Those who retain personnel for long periods can constantly provide quality to customers and are seen by (potential) employees as stable employers who take good care of their professionals. To safeguard the unique, personal culture of the companies, they will continue to operate independently. At the same time, consultants can benefit from more opportunities within the larger group.

“Providing sufficient career opportunities is important for retaining consultants in the long term,” Coppens says. “This, in combination with variation in the content of the work and the possibility for consultants to work in different sectors.”

According to Jaap Merkus, CEO of Valori, the proposition of Cerios is interesting for consultants: “The different profiles of the individual companies ensure that every professional can get the most out of their career.”

Broadening of proposition with specialized knowledge

Through the collaboration, Cerios can offer its clients a broader service portfolio with specialized knowledge. In addition, the cluster of 400 professionals will be able to guarantee the quality and continuity required for larger projects and tenders. Especially because the different companies are each fully focused on quality and software testing.

Marcel van Eekeren, Managing Director of Salves, is convinced that collaboration within the ‘House of Brands’ strengthens the group of companies: “Customers can benefit from even more certainty in terms of continuity.”

Furthermore, customers benefit from the diversity of the companies that work together within Cerios, Merkus: “Clients can choose the specialization and way of working of one of the four companies that are able to jointly offer a wide range of services.”

James Johnsen, founder and Managing Director of De Agile Testers and Quality Accelerators, adds: “Innovation runs through our veins. Therefore, we have set ourselves the goal of setting the market standard in the field of agile testing. The connection with like-minded companies within the ‘House of Brands’ offers each partner the opportunity to profile themselves even more as a specialist in the field of quality and software testing.”

Collaboration within ‘House of Brands’

Cerios is a cluster of powerful independent companies that will maintain their own authenticity and identity but can benefit from the larger group.

Michel Verhoog, Partner at Avedon: “Cerios operates in a fragmented and rapidly growing market driven by, amongst others, the increasing importance of software for mission-critical business processes. We see Cerios as a strong platform for further autonomous and acquisitive (international) growth where the independent companies can benefit from economies of scale. We are convinced that Cerios will have a distinctive position in the market for quality and software testing due to its unique setup.”

About Salves

Salves supports organizations in the field of quality. With audits, project management, coaching, and testing, Salves elevates the quality of IT. Salves maps risks, determines the strategy to improve quality, and provides customized training. Salves uses test automation where possible and where it contributes to business goals. Salves’ consultants often work in Agile and DevOps teams.

About Valori

Valori believes that building integral quality into information systems is crucial to enable seamless innovation. Valori’s QA- and test consultants help with the quality of IT systems in all phases of the software development lifecycle. We call this ‘Building IT Quality.’ Valori has been doing this for more than 30 years through technology solutions, advice, and expert services. The ultimate goal is to ensure that software can be developed faster with higher quality and afterwards maintains its quality.

About De Agile Testers

De Agile Testers is deeply rooted in agile principles, with innovation at its core. The company has set the goal of establishing the market standard for agile testing, not just in the Netherlands and Belgium, but across the globe. This led to the book FAST (Flexible Approach to Software Testing) and accompanying certified training modules which are used worldwide.

About Quality Accelerators

Agile transformations have yielded many benefits for organizations, but after a while the acceleration and improvement of software delivery reaches a standstill. This is the moment when customers approach Quality Accelerators. Quality Accelerators helps organizations to reignite the process of acceleration and improvement and even implement it sustainably in the existing organization.

About Avedon Capital Partners

Avedon Capital Partners is a private equity firm with offices in Amsterdam and Düsseldorf, which focuses on growing mid-market companies in the Benelux and DACH regions. Avedon supports ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams in accelerating organic growth, international expansion and/or buy-and-build strategies. Avedon focuses on companies in four sectors: i) business services, ii) software & technology, iii) smart industries and iv) consumer & health.

More information

Christ Coppens (CEO Cerios & founder Salves)

christ.coppens@cerios.nl
www.cerios.nl

Lotte Verhoeve (Investment Manager Avedon)

lotte.verhoeve@avedoncapital.com
+31 6 20 822 133

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INTERSTELLAR transfers DataExpert shares to Bridgepoint

Delft, 5 April 2023 – Quadrum Capital is pleased to announce that DataExpert, one of Interstellar’s labels, has been sold to Bridgepoint. DataExpert has attracted Bridgepoint as a new partner to accelerate its international growth and ambition. This divestment is in line with Interstellar’s renewed strategy. This is a win-win situation for both Quadrum Capital and Interstellar. Interstellar is an associate of Quadrum Capital Investment Funds.

IT services provider INTERSTELLAR is transferring its shares in DataExpert to UK-based Bridgepoint Development Capital IV (BDC IV), a fund focused on investing in mid-sized growth companies. As a leading provider of products and services to combat cybercrime, fraud and incident response, DataExpert was part of INTERSTELLAR’s collection.

image

Interstellar

__Forensics, analysis and cyber security __

DataExpert, founded in 1990, helps clients reduce and solve cybercrime and fraud through a customised package of software, hardware, training, consultancy and support. The company employs over 60 people. In recent years, DataExpert has experienced strong growth in its three main divisions: forensics, analytics and cyber security. From its base in Benelux, DataExpert has also grown in Scandinavia through mergers and acquisitions. Through its unique positioning, DataExpert successfully responds to industry developments, including continuously evolving cyber threats, increased IT infrastructure complexity and an increasing need to investigate the origins of cyber events.

Infinigate

The partnership between DataExpert and Bridgepoint builds on Bridgepoint’s growing track record and expertise in cyber security, including its strategic investment in Infinigate, a leading distributor of enterprise cyber security solutions for SMEs in Europe.

Robbert Bakker, CEO of DataExpert, said, “In a world of rapidly evolving cyber threats and IT challenges, we continue to see strong demand for our cyber security solutions and services. DataExpert’s mission is to provide maximum support to our customers in fighting cybercrime and advancing cybersecurity, both nationally and internationally. Bridgepoint has extensive experience investing in and growing first-class companies in this sector, and we look forward to continuing our mission as we further develop our offering, expand our geographical presence and enter our next growth phase.”

Maarten van Montfoort, CEO of INTERSTELLAR, adds: “DataExpert has performed exceptionally well in recent years as we have worked closely together to realise growth ambitions and develop the offering. After a strategic review, we agreed that now is the right time for a new owner. We are very pleased that DataExpert continues its successful and international journey with Bridgepoint, a team with strong expertise and capabilities in supporting industry-leading companies. We wish them and the management team all the best for the future. Of course, INTERSTELLAR and DataExpert will continue their cooperation for Incident Response Services for joint customers.”

About DataExpert

DataExpert is a managed service provider of cyber security solutions focused on helping customers combat cybercrime and fraud. It specialises in providing and supporting complex post-incident forensic and analytical tools. DataExpert works closely with supranational agencies, large national public sector organisations including police forces and corporate clients to improve safety and security, supporting them with expertise, innovative software, training and services.

About INTERSTELLAR

The IT service providers Solimas, Exite ICT, DataByte, Datamex and CSN Group operate under the INTERSTELLAR umbrella. The other companies in the collection, namely Ask Roger!, Q-Conferencing, Fundaments, SCCTand Pinewood, are specialists in collaboration, cloud and security. Founded in January 2021, INTERSTELLAR’s collection has grown over the past year to 11 participations, more than 650 employees, 170 million in revenue and 15 offices. INTERSTELLAR’s companies collectively serve more than 11,000 customers. For more information, visit www.thisisinterstellar.com.

About Quadrum Capital

Independent investment company Quadrum Capital helps mid-market companies realise their growth ambitions in a structured and responsible manner. Entrepreneurship, strong commitment and the contribution of high-quality management experience, network and financial strength form the basis for this. Quadrum Capital has offices in Woerden and Almelo and is characterised by strong regional roots and a no-nonsense approach. Quadrum Capital is mainly funded by entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial families and has a clear (international) growth ambition. Interstellar is one of Quadrum Capital’s platform companies.

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1X Raises $23.5M in Series A2 Funding led by OpenAI

Alliance Venture

Humanoid robotics company 1X Technologies announces Series A2 fundraise led by OpenAI to pursue producing androids at commercial scale.

NORWAY, March 23rd, 2023. 1X, previously named Halodi Robotics, a manufacturer and inventor of androids, announced today the successful close of its Series A2 funding round, raising $23.5 million. This round was led by the OpenAI Startup Fund, with participation from Tiger Global and a consortium of Norway-based investors, including Sandwater, Alliance Ventures, and Skagerak Capital.

“1X is at the forefront of augmenting labor through the use of safe, advanced technologies in robotics,” said Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s COO and manager of the OpenAI Startup Fund. “The OpenAI Startup Fund believes in the approach and impact that 1X can have on the future of work.”

Tiger Global partner Griffin Schroeder also expressed enthusiasm for 1X’s mission: “We believe 1X’s androids are revolutionizing the field of robotics and are excited to be investing alongside OpenAI to support their continued growth.”

1X Technologies partnering with OpenAI to increase the efforts of building its upcoming bipedal android model NEO

The company intends to use the funds to increase the efforts of building its upcoming bipedal android model NEO, as well as scale manufacturing of its first commercially available android EVE in Norway and North America.

“1X is thrilled to have OpenAI lead this round because we’re aligned in our missions: thoughtfully integrating emerging technology into people’s daily lives. With the support of our investors, we will continue to make significant strides in the field of robotics and augment the global labor market,” says Bernt Øyvind Børnich, CEO and founder of 1X Technologies.

Børnich highlights the necessity of having androids deployed in the real world.

“Deploying our wheeled android EVE at an unprecedented commercial scale gives us a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities the robotics community has yet to address. If androids are going to work in our world, they need to experience our world.”

Torkel Engeness, Partner, Sandwater

Torkel Engeness, partner at Sandwater, sees tremendous value in 1X’s vision and next-generation model.

“We are excited to support 1X as they launch their bipedal android NEO, while scaling their first-generation android EVE in Norway and North America. 1X is providing value now, and the potential for their androids looks limitless.”

Arne Tonning, Partner, Alliance Venture
“Demographic changes will cause a labor shortage, and androids could help fill the gap. Goldman Sachs predicts a 150 BUSD market potential in 2035. Solving the right use cases is key to success, and we believe 1X Technologies is constructing a winning alliance.”

Espen Kjellsen, Partner, Skagerak Capital

“1X now deploys Androids in North America before entering the global market while maintaining a “safety first” mindset, making product design and development even more challenging. It is exciting for Skagerak to support 1X with their disruptive technology now that they enter this ambitious commercialization phase.”

About 1X

1X is an engineering and robotics company producing androids capable of human-like movements and behaviors. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Norway, with over 60 employees globally. 1X’s mission is to create robots with practical, real-world applications to augment labor globally.

For more information about 1X, visit www.1x.tech.

PR Contact
Hege Nikolaisen
hege@1x.tech

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Two is bringing a consumer-like experience to B2B payments

Alliance Venture

When individuals make purchases online, they place items in the digital shopping cart and use a credit or debit card to complete the transaction instantly. Businesses operate differently, typically looking to pay later at some agreed upon time frame between one week and 90 days. Most of these types of net transactions continue to be handled manually via paper invoices.

Two, an Oslo, Norway startup, wants to change that by bringing the world of net payments online and helping speed up transactions by making them digital. Today, the company announced an €18 million investment (approximately $19 million).

Two co-founder Andreas Mjelde says his company is taking a process that is largely paper-driven and offline and essentially transforming it into a purchase process that’s faster than a consumer using a card to make a purchase online.

“Effectively if you input our solution, you can now offer your business buyers or customers the ability to check out and complete a purchase in about 30 seconds. And in that 30 seconds, you onboard them as an official customer yourself through Two. We underwrite and take care of both the credit and fraud risk, verify that the user is actually who they say they are and allow the buyer to complete the transaction [instantly],” Mjelde told TechCrunch.

Small business owners can buy a no-code solution, while larger ones can use an API-driven approach that links to their other systems. “Small businesses can get started with no code. There’s an out-of-the-box solution to start creating their orders and accepting payments through our system. Medium and large-sized businesses typically will integrate with our API. Our API is built to serve the merchant or seller’s normal order flow,” he said.

Mjelde recognized the need for such a product when he previously ran an e-commerce business, and ran into issues getting paid by businesses, which typically had larger transactions than individuals, but the net terms process was hard to navigate and required a ton of paperwork. That friction and complexity often resulted in lost sales.

He started Two in 2020 to build a solution to make it easier for online businesses to deal with these types of payments. He launched the product in the second quarter of 2021, and reports growing 243% quarterly since. Today, the company has 70 employees. Mjelde says that being a remote company with employees across the world has helped him to build diversity into his employee base.

Today’s €18 million round was led by Shine Capital and Antler, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Day One Ventures, Alumni Ventures, LocalGlobe, The Visionaries Club, Alliance VC and other unnamed investors. The latest investment brings the total raised by the company to €28 million (approximately $30 million).

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Beyond Ventures’ Portfolio Company Mapxus Raised US$5M in its Series B’s 1st closing Led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Beyond Ventures

ommitted to innovating and developing technology solutions for the future of indoor mapping and location-based services

(HONG KONG – March 8, 2023) – Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Beyond Ventures is pleased to announce that its portfolio company Mapxus, the leading indoor Geographic Information System (GIS) platform that provides global indoor mapping and navigation services, has successfully completed the 1st closing of its Series B funding round, raising over US$5 million despite the economic doldrums. The funding round was led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a leading Japanese corporation with a diverse business portfolio spanning various industries centered around technology.

Starting in August 2021, Mapxus collaborated exclusively with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to provide indoor technology such as digital maps, Wi-Fi fingerprint positioning and SDK for indoor map data infrastructure service in Japan, which is named iPNT-K. According to market research and consulting company Seed Planning, Japan’s indoor location-based services market size is expected to grow to JPY 1,170 billion by 2035. With the iPNT-K solution, businesses can apply indoor navigation in commercial facilities such as shopping centres, train stations, and airports to perform location-based marketing, traffic analysis, barrier-free navigation, manage and track operations, facilitate the management, and improve the work efficiency of employees in offices and warehouses.

With the new investment, Mapxus is well-positioned to continue to innovate and develop technology solutions for the future of indoor mapping and location-based services. The potential applications of Mapxus’s technology are wide-ranging, with opportunities for both government and factory use.

Lap Man, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Beyond Ventures said: “We are so proud to be the first equity investor to support Mapxus since its early stages in 2019, and have witnessed its growth journey despite the social movement in Hong Kong in 2019-2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic over 3 years, driven by the management team’s unwavering passion to offer the best-in-class indoor mapping and location-based services. We are also amazed at the courage and execution capability of John and Ocean when we proposed them entering the Japanese market in 2019 with the support of our mentor, which helped them overcome significant challenges in Hong Kong. Since then, they have successfully gained a strong foothold in Japan and expanded to other Asian markets such as Singapore and Taiwan. We strongly believe that the support of the global conglomerate Kawasaki will undoubtedly propel Mapxus to the next level.”

“We are grateful to have had the investment and advice of Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Beyond Ventures, supporting Mapxus’ growth journey since 2019. At Mapxus, we are dedicated to making indoor mapping more accessible and user-friendly and creating a truly inclusive city experience. Our innovative indoor map data infrastructure is designed to empower businesses and individuals, enabling them to improve work efficiency and enhance daily experiences. With the support of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, we are excited to continue innovating and developing technology solutions that will shape the future of indoor mapping and location-based services.” said Ocean Ng, Founder and Chief Operation Officer of Mapxus.

“We are thrilled to have Kawasaki Heavy Industries lead this round of investment in Mapxus,” said Dr John Chan, Founder and CEO of Mapxus. “With this new funding, we will accelerate our indoor map data infrastructure development in Japan (iPNT-K) with Kawasaki and expand our service coverage in Southeast Asia. We aim to enable businesses to revolutionise their interactions with physical spaces and deliver a comfortable, intuitive, and seamless indoor-outdoor experience for everyone.”

Furthermore, Mapxus has recently joined hands with NOIZChain to co-create Honio, the world’s first indoor location-based Game-Fi metaverse. Honio aims to connect the virtual and physical worlds through a mobile app that rewards users for spending time in physical stores. It is expected to launch in Japan by 2023 and in other Southeast Asian markets by 2024.

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