Phoenix Contact Innovation Ventures, together with Join Capital, is conducting a Series A round for the Berlin-based proptech company Digital Spine GmbH.
Digital Spine GmbH, the German company founded in 2020 as an independent spin-off of Vestner Digital, today announced a Series A financing round with new investors Join Capital and Phoenix Contact Innovation Ventures together with existing investor Goldbeck Family Office. With this financing round, Digital Spine aims to accelerate digital transformation and automation in the elevator industry and the smart building sector. Digital Spine is in a position to capture market share in the DACH region thanks to its development course, its pioneering technology and its decades of experience in the elevator industry.
“We are delighted to welcome Digital Spine as our 9th portfolio company and to further expand our presence in the building automation market. We believe that the digitalization of elevators in buildings is the key to digitalizing other building components in order to create a digital backbone for smart buildings,” says Marcus Böker, Managing Director Phoenix Contact Innovation Ventures, “Together with the Aufzughelden team, we want to further exploit the potential in the real estate sector in order to create added value for customers with smart solutions. Both the existing shareholders and Phoenix Contact’s own operating units are convinced that we are in a position to realize additional benefits for the company.”
DIGITALIZATION OF THE ELEVATOR INDUSTRY
The Berlin start-up Digital Spine GmbH is known for its Aufzughelden brand. The proptech company has developed a powerful technology for the digitalization of elevators in buildings. Cloud- and IoT-based technology enables a platform-as-a-service business model and makes elevator data increasingly transparent. Remote monitoring and intelligent decision-making based on data supports both the building owners and the elevator users themselves.
When successfully implemented for customers, Digital Spine’s AI uses the collected data for predictive maintenance and improved elevator operation. The platform also offers additional functions such as document management and documentation of CO2 reduction.
“With the current pressure on elevator owners to keep elevators in service and reduce maintenance costs, Digital Spine’s smart IoT device and proprietary software are perfectly suited to provide tangible value and save building owners up to 15%,” said Jan Borgstädt, Partner at Join Capital. “We were impressed by the team’s extensive experience in the market, as well as the technology and independent business model that enables them to serve the entire market. We are delighted to support this team with a Series A round to enable expansion and development in the DACH region.”
Since inception, Digital Spine has a strong track record of delivering on strategic and tactical business and product milestones – with notable growth following the completion of last year’s seed round with Goldbeck Family Office and other experienced investors for a seven-figure sum.
“We are very pleased to announce the closing of our Series A financing round with Phoenix Contact Innovation Ventures and Join Capital – just one year after Goldbeck joined our company. This puts us in an excellent position for the future. We are the only provider on the market to offer a real-time solution for elevator management. The financing enables us to consistently continue our growth in the smart building sector,” says Simon Vestner, founder and CEO of Digital Spine.
In the meantime, Digital Spine has increased its customer base to a three-digit number and was also able to double its CARR every month in 2021. Its most important customers include leading construction and housing companies in the DACH region. In addition, Digital Spine has also gained many established partners who are contributing to the growth of the smart building sector and ecosystem.
ABOUT DIGITAL SPINE GMBH
Aufzughelden is a team of elevator experts, IoT developers and specialists in the fields of data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Diversity makes the team strong: understanding every elevator with the experience of 90 years of elevator construction. The potential that lies in automation is thus leveraged. The elevator as the digital backbone of buildings is just the beginning.
Further information can be found at: https://aufzughelden.com/de/
ABOUT JOIN CAPITAL GMBH
Join Capital is a Berlin-based early-stage VC firm that invests in the European New Industry. With a combined experience of more than 50 years among its partners, Join focuses primarily on industrial and enterprise startups that are creating new foundations for our increasingly automated and connected world. Join’s extensive corporate network and expertise make the company a unique VC for the European industrial landscape.
For more information, please visit: https://www.join.capital/