Tracking champion COMAN Software from the Altmark region further extends its lead
Stendal, 15.01.2024– Founded in 2018, the software start-up COMAN from Stendal has won over new and old investors. A well-known family office from the automotive industry has joined as a new investor. At the same time, existing investor bmp Ventures AG has increased its investment via the IBG Venture Capital Fund III (IBG). The current investment is in the seven-figure range. Both investors are thus clearly committed to the growth plans and the successful course of the software start-up.
As a provider of project management software, COMAN Software has succeeded in winning all well-known German car manufacturers as customers in recent years. Industry giants such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW use the innovative solution to monitor the conversion of their production lines and factories worldwide. Nevertheless, the software is still largely unknown outside the automotive industry.
“We are pleased to have gained more car manufacturers as customers in recent years. But this is by no means the end for us,” says software developer and company founder Timur Ripke. He developed the software COMAN (short for “Collaboration Manager”) before 2018 with his partner Sven Kägebein at inpro – Innovationsgesellschaft für fortgeschrittene Produktionssysteme in der Fahrzeugindustrie mbH in Berlin. “The idea behind COMAN is to revolutionize the management of large, complex industrial projects. In other words, to make it as simple as possible,” explains co-founder Kägebein. It’s great that COMAN is now an established name in the automotive industry, but according to Kägebein and Ripke, the advantages of the system can be used across all sectors.
The company, which is based in Stendal in the Altmark region, is currently occupying a completely new market with its niche solution. While most conventional software solutions focus on the planning of projects, COMAN targets the critical phase of project implementation. “Ongoing production is super-digital again,” says Sven Kägebein from experience, ”but when it comes to setting up or converting a new system, modernizing the plant or carrying out maintenance, most project participants are still running around the hall with a clipboard, piece of paper and pen.”
The two founders want to use the newly raised capital strategically. The main aim is to optimize the software and make it even more user-friendly. This will allow more customers to be acquired and introduced to using the software more quickly. Existing customers will also benefit from the improvements. Ripke and Kägebein are also planning to target new markets with COMAN in order to broaden the company’s base and further accelerate its already impressive growth. In addition to the German market, there is now also an increasing number of inquiries from the USA and China.
“COMAN Software has succeeded in establishing itself as the standard for plant construction and conversion in the automotive environment. In the next stage of growth, COMAN will be able to address further customer groups and establish the advantage of COMAN Software in the digital twin and smart objects sector. We are happy to have found a new, very experienced co-investor and to participate in this financing round as lead investor”, says Dr. Jan Alberti, Investor and Managing Partner at bmp Ventures AG.
About IBG Fonds
The IBG funds, headquartered in Magdeburg, are the venture capital funds of the country of Saxony-Anhalt – they provide capital to young, innovative technology companies with sustainable and above average growth potential, based in Saxony-Anhalt. By the end of 2023, IBG launched the new venture capital fund, RKF IV, with a volume of 63 million euros. The fund is financed by the state and the European Union and invests in innovative startups in Saxony-Anhalt in the seed, early stage, and expansion. The IBG funds are managed by bmp Ventures AG.
About bmp Ventures
With a track record of over 250 investments across nearly all technology segments, mainly in the early-stage phase, bmp Ventures is one of the most experienced venture capital investors in Germany. In addition to direct investments, bmp managed venture capital funds for institutions such as the KfW Banking Group and DEG, the German Investment and Development Corporation. Currently, bmp oversees the IBG funds in Saxony-Anhalt and employs approximately 20 experts across its Berlin and Magdeburg locations.
About COMAN Software GmbH
COMAN Software GmbH was founded in 2018 as a development project of the Berlin-based inpro Innovationsgesellschaft für fortgeschrittene Produktionssysteme in der Fahrzeugindustrie mbH. The company is headquartered in Stendal. Since 2022, the company has had a US subsidiary, COMAN Software US Inc. in Chicago, Illinois. Currently, 27 employees work in offices in Stendal and Berlin. COMAN Software GmbH provides license software for sophisticated plant engineering projects. The software is used worldwide in projects by Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Siemens, thyssenkrupp, KUKA and many others.
Press Contact
bmp Ventures AG
Josephine Gantze
Marketing und Events
Tel.: +49 391 5328 140
jgantze@bmp.com
COMAN Software GmbH
Mats-Milan L. Müller
Head of Marketing
Tel.: +49 3931 68626 0
news@coman-software.com