tado°

📂 Climate Tech📂 Hardware & Deep Tech📍 Munich🗓️ Founded: 2011

tado° develops thermostats, heat-pump controls and home energy software, including integration with dynamic electricity tariffs.

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About tado°

Munich-based tado GmbH operates under the tado° brand. Founded in 2011, it began with connected heating controls. Christian Deilmann, Johannes Schwarz and Valentin Sawadski are named as co-founders; Munich Startup (2016) also names Leopold von Bismarck, who joined the team later, while Wikipedia lists three. The offering has expanded from thermostats to heat-pump management and electricity use. The acquisition of aWATTar in 2022 added dynamic tariffs. Its Panasonic partnership combines control software with the manufacturer's heat pumps. In March 2026, tado° reported more than 5.5 million connected thermostats, over one million homes served and operating profitability, without disclosing a profit amount. The financing history starts with Target's 2012 investment. Later funding includes €38 million in 2021, €43 million in January 2023 and a €12 million extension that April. Panasonic invested €30 million in March 2025. A proposed public listing through a SPAC merger discussed in 2022 did not complete. The March 2026 company announcement identifies Johannes Schwarz as CEO.

The Story

Established in Munich in 2011 by Christian Deilmann, Johannes Schwarz and Valentin Sawadski; Munich Startup (2016) also names Leopold von Bismarck, who joined the team later.

How tado° works

Business Model

Device sales to consumers and partnerships with energy providers and heating equipment manufacturers.

Products & Services

Key Products

  • Smart Thermostat X
  • Smart Radiator Thermostat X
  • Heat Pump Optimizer X
  • tado° App

Core Use Cases

  • Home heating control
  • Heat-pump optimisation
  • Shifting consumption with dynamic tariffs

Market & Clients

Key Customers

European households; in March 2026 the company reported serving more than one million homes.

Geographic Presence

DE

How tado° competes

Competitive Advantages

  • Integration between heating control and energy tariffs
  • Heat-pump collaboration with Panasonic

How tado° grows

Growth Strategy

Expand home energy management by combining devices, tariffs and heat-pump integrations.

Distribution Model

Device sales and partnerships with manufacturers and energy providers; the 2016 release also documents retail channels.

Strategic Insights

  • The aWATTar acquisition extended the offering from control hardware into energy services.
  • Panasonic invested after the companies had established their heat-pump collaboration.

Funding & Investors

Total Funding

€192,7M + US$25,6M: somma dei dieci apporti quantificati in tabella, senza conversioni. Totale parziale; €1,5M del 2012 e US$2,6M del 2013 derivano da database. Nessun doppio conteggio dei €55M cumulativi 2023.

Funding Rounds

  • 2012 - Finanziamento iniziale: €1.5M
  • 2013 - Finanziamento venture: $2.6M
  • 2014 - Finanziamento venture: €10M
  • 2015 - Finanziamento per la crescita: €15.2M
  • 2016 - Finanziamento venture: $23M
  • 2018 - Aumento di capitale: €43M
  • 2021 - Finanziamento strategico: €38M
  • 2023 - Finanziamento venture: €43M
    Lead: Trill Impact Ventures
  • 2023 - Estensione del round 2023: €12M
  • 2025 - Investimento strategico Panasonic: €30M

Key Investors

Target PartnersShortcut VenturesStatkraft VenturesSiemens Venture CapitalBayBGHomeServeINVEN CapitalAmazonTotal Energy VenturesnoventicTrill Impact VenturesBayern KapitalKiko VenturesZürcher Kantonalbank / SwisscantoS2G VenturesPanasonic

Founding Team

Founders

Christian DeilmannCo-founder & Managing Director
Johannes SchwarzCo-founder & CEO
Valentin SawadskiCo-founder
Leopold von BismarckCo-founder

Key Executives

  • Sven Hanser - Managing Director

Key Metrics

Termostati connessi dichiaratioltre 5,5 milioni (2026)
Abitazioni servite dichiarateoltre 1 milione (2026)

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Sources

🎙️ Scalable Podcast — European startup stories · 🇮🇹 in Italian
Spotify 🎧 Apple