Berlin-based blockchain startup peaq raises €2.5 million, announces plans for token

A Berlin blockchain startup that’s seeking to transform the internet of things into the economy of things, peaq has raised €2.5 million in a round led by Scherzer & Co. AG, and Werner Geissler, former Vice-Chairman of Procter & Gamble. The round also saw participation from Meteoric VC. The firm reports that the funding will be used to diversify its blockchain solution.

Founded in 2017 by Julia Pönitzsch, Leonard Dorlöchter, Max Thake, and Till Wendler, peaq is a blockchain infrastructure and solution development company that’s leveraging the power of the ‘chain to transform the internet of things into the economy of things.

This funding round is part of a larger plan, as peaq now offers peaq enterprise and peaq network.

Enterprise will use the funding to continue its blockchain for enterprise, while the newly announced network will use the funding for the public network and a planned token offering.

“This investment will allow us to take peaq’s enterprise solutions to more customers, thus using our technology to create value within the Internet of Things at scale and advance the Economy of Things. We will continue to follow our mission of making our technology accessible to society and build an even stronger bridge between the real world and the blockchain ecosystem,” CEO Wendler said.

“Regarding the public network and token – we are certain that choosing to wait before launching our public network was not only the right decision from a business strategy perspective but is also representative of the ethical values by which we have built the company and are leading it into the future. We’re excited to share more information in the coming weeks, especially once the ongoing peaq network funding round is finalised,” he said.

“We’ve been in this space for many years but chose a different strategy to most projects, opting to create real-world value for business before launching a means of exchanging that value. With Fortune 100 companies like NTT and a big German automotive group trusting in our technology, we believe now is the time.”

Maltese co-founder Max Thake is still confident that his decision to leave home, drop out of university, and move to Berlin to establish the venture with his German partners will pay off.

They have raised €3m so far, and aim to raise another €5m and although they plan to remain in Germany, they are now only seeking overseas investors.

“The future will change [Germany],” he said. “But right now, we can’t stop and wait.”