Realyze Ventures leads the round; Pi Labs, Asterion Ventures and existing investors Übermorgen Ventures and NAP co-invest
Cologne/Ghent, 8 June 2026 – Electricity has become one of the most volatile cost items on a large company’s balance sheet. Belgian startup Companion.energy has secured €7.8M in an oversubscribed Seed round to help large commercial and industrial enterprises manage, optimise and monetise their energy assets through software. Realyze Ventures, one of Europe’s leading sector-focused early-stage Venture Capital funds, is leading the round. New international investors Pi Labs (United Kingdom) and Asterion Ventures (France) are participating as co-investors, alongside existing investors Übermorgen Ventures and NAP.
Companion.energy’s platform manages over 2 TWh of energy annually – equivalent to roughly half a billion euros in energy costs and revenues for its customers. The company currently manages assets across Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, including solar PV installations, wind turbines, battery storage systems, e-boilers and EV chargers.
From energy cost risk to competitive advantage
The move from coal and nuclear power to wind and solar has made electricity prices far more volatile. Prices now shift within minutes, not days. For large companies, this creates a direct and growing financial risk.
Most large enterprises manage energy across two largely disconnected worlds: local teams handling on-site assets (solar panels, batteries, EV chargers) and central finance teams managing contracts and hedging strategies. Today, coordinating between these two sides typically relies on manual processes and spreadsheets – functional, but too slow to keep pace with real-time market movements.
Companion.energy was built to bridge exactly this gap. Its platform connects a company’s on-site assets with wholesale, intraday and balancing markets in real time, bringing together operational data, contract structures, grid costs and market prices in one place. The software continuously forecasts energy demand, identifies the best moments to consume, store or sell energy, and automatically steers assets accordingly, without manual intervention.
The outcome is straightforward: companies stop absorbing energy price swings and start turning their operational flexibility into a financial advantage.
Strong early traction with multinational customers
Companion.energy already serves some of Europe’s largest energy users. Its customer base includes TotalEnergies, KPN, Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Interparking and Proximus Group, alongside logistics operators, telecoms infrastructure providers and real estate portfolios. More than 30 enterprises use the platform directly, with a further 75+ customers reached via energy supplier partnerships.
Over the last year, the company grew its customer base and revenue tenfold, surpassing €1 million in annual recurring revenue and existing customers are expanding their use of the platform over time. The platform has already proven it can handle thousands of assets and data points simultaneously across multiple markets and asset types.
The founders, Thomas Vyncke and Jonas Verstraeten, spent years implementing large-scale energy projects for major industrial groups before founding Companion.energy. The knowhow gained from this shaped the product directly and gave them the credibility and network to win multinational enterprise customers from the earliest stages of the company.
With this funding, Companion.energy will accelerate its expansion across Europe and grow its team to meet increasing demand.
Why Realyze Ventures invested
Buildings are increasingly equipped with their own energy assets, such as solar panels, batteries, EV chargers and heat pumps. As these installations grow, so does their potential to actively participate in energy markets, rather than simply consuming power. As the grid becomes more dynamic, the ability to make commercial and industrial sites smarter – cutting CO₂ emissions, lowering energy costs and trading energy flexibly – becomes a real competitive differentiator. Companion.energy is a direct enabler of this shift.
The investment deepens Realyze Ventures’ focus on energy within the fund. Companion.energy is part of a deliberate portfolio strategy: backing companies that help buildings and industrial sites manage their energy flows more intelligently by reducing costs, cutting emissions and unlocking new revenue from on-site assets.
Realyze Ventures’ investors, including leading enterprises from the European construction and real estate industry, are increasingly looking to offer integrated energy solutions as part of their services, beyond the point of construction. Platforms like Companion.energy can support these enterprises in broadening their service offering.
“Enterprise energy teams are now operating in markets that move in minutes instead of months,” says Thomas Vyncke, co-founder, Companion.energy. “The operational complexity has changed dramatically, but most of the software stack hasn’t. Our customers don’t want another dashboard or another consultant. They want a system that runs and optimises energy operations continuously.”
Thomas Vyncke, co-founder, Companion.energy
“We were deeply impressed by the robustness of Companion.energy’s software and its ability to manage highly complex enterprise energy environments across multiple sites and markets,” said Marnix Roes, Investment Manager at Realyze Ventures. “Germany alone represents a massive opportunity as industrial and commercial enterprises increasingly look for ways to optimise flexibility, electrification and energy exposure operationally rather than manually.”
Marnix Roes, Investment Manager at Realyze Ventures
About Companion.energy
Companion.energy helps large industrial and commercial enterprises turn energy from a risk into a competitive advantage. Its software platform gives them full transparency on their energy economics and runs AI-driven optimisation workflows that improve their contract mix and steer their assets in real time. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, the company serves customers across Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. More at www.companion.energy.
About Realyze Ventures
Realyze Ventures is one of Europe’s largest sector-focused early-stage VC funds, with more than €50 million in capital raised and a portfolio that received more than €200 million in financing in 2025. Realyze Ventures invests in early-stage European technology startups that drive climate and process efficiency in the construction and real estate industry, as well as companies operating at the intersection of the real estate and energy sectors.
By integrating leading industry players, Realyze Ventures accelerates the transition towards net zero and addresses key challenges such as process efficiency, decarbonisation and labour shortages. Through its strong network of national and international industry leaders, Realyze Ventures provides investors with valuable insights. The experienced management team aims to identify promising opportunities and generate attractive returns for investors. The fund is currently open to investors who want to participate in the structural transformation of real estate, construction and energy in Europe.
