1KOMMA5° Is New Unicorn On The Block

• 1KOMMA5° valued at $1 billion, making it the newest Unicorn
• The company becomes a Unicorn within 23 months of its inception
• The company will be investing in its technology development laboratory in Berlin
• 1KOMMA5° plans to expand to Spain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland by the end of 2023

Climate-neutral energy solutions company 1KOMMA5° announced that it has been recently valued at $1 billion, making it a Unicorn just within 23 months of its inception.

The mission of the company is to build a world where everyone can live on wind and sun for free. Towards this, the company had planned to raise € 150 million ($164.2 million), but went on to exceed the target and ended up raising € 215 million ($235.4 million) in equity.

Speaking on the occasion, Philip Schroeder, CEO 1KOMMA5°, said, "The 1.5-degree climate target requires speed in implementation, and with this round we are doing our part to make as many buildings CO2-neutral as quickly as possible."

With the appointment of Ben Kortlang as the new vice chairman of the company board, and G2VP as its new lead investor, 1KOMMA5° is all set to investing in its team and in its new technology development laboratory in Berlin, thus fulfilling the strong commitment it always had towards innovation and technology.

1KOMMA5°'s strategy is to expand mostly through expansions, taking over the majority of installers while the owners still keep a minority share and continue working as part of the new group. It installs carbon-neutral energy systems for private customers, especially for solar power systems, heat pumps, energy storage, charging infrastructure and smart energy management, it says.

Until recently, 1KOMMA5° Group has operated mainly it its home market Germany as well as Sweden, Finland, and Australia. With its recent acquisition of market leader Viasol in Denmark, the company has now expanded to six markets and look forward to expand further in Spain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland by the end of 2023. According to the company website, its around 950 employees have installed around 55,000.

Another German solar unicorn is also active in the solar rooftop installation business. In early June, residential solar energy start-up Enpal has completed yet another round of funding securing €430 million commitments that it claims takes its total refinancing commitments to exceed €1.9 billion, and help install more than 13,000 new renewable energy solutions in Germany (see More Funding For German Solar Unicorn).

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