Berlin-based proptech startup Novo has secured €1 million in a pre-seed funding round, signaling a significant step toward accelerating the decarbonization of real estate on a large scale. Citizen Capital, a leading impact investor in France, led the round, marking its first investment in a German company. Co-led by 2bX, an early-stage investor specializing in urban tech, the funding round also saw participation from Antler and several prominent angel investors, including proptech-angel Franz De Waal and Atomico angel investor Kerstin Bock.
Novo aims to simplify and expedite the complex process of making buildings more energy-efficient. The startup’s technology automates the analysis, planning, and financing of energy renovations in three steps. It begins by analyzing the building’s current status, providing a comprehensive energy renovation plan, and connecting owners to subsidies and loans to reduce renovation costs. Novo is unique in offering this service directly embedded into partners’ systems, such as banks and energy providers.
Mona Hornung, Co-Founder of Novo, highlighted the significance of buildings’ carbon emissions reduction, stating, “Buildings start to be political, as reducing their carbon emissions will be the most massive use case of our century.”
Novo’s collaboration with TU Berlin ensures the high quality of its technology. The funding will be used to further invest in Novo’s technology and enhance automation.
Novo is already working with major partners such as financial institutions and energy providers to reach building owners at scale. Through portfolio analysis, Novo enables partners to easily identify, categorize, and prioritize buildings in need of renovation. Current partnerships in Germany include collaborations with DZ Bank and RheinEnergie, representing a volume of over 7 million buildings.
Olivier Mougenot, Partner at Citizen Capital, said: “We’re thrilled to back Novo’s mission to provide simpler and faster access to much-needed home energy renovation. The drive of the founding team to speed up real estate’s climate action across Europe struck us and made supporting Novo an obvious choice”.
The EU’s ambitious goal of renovating 15% of its building stock by 2030 requires a much faster pace than the current rate of 1% in Germany.
Novo’s automation aims to increase the speed of planning and execution, potentially saving up to 80% of today’s carbon emissions in the next six years for 35 million buildings in need of energy renovation.
Katharina Lind, Partner at 2bX, emphasized Novo’s innovative role in addressing the dominant topic of the energy transition in the building sector. She sees Novo as making a significant impact and a promising investment in the sustainable renovation of the EU’s building stock.
Source
Berlin-based proptech Novo snaps €1 million pre-seed to drastically reduce carbon emissions, EU-Startups, 2023-09-28
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