Cumulocity completes management buyout to become the leading independent IoT platform

Düsseldorf, January 20, 2025 – Cumulocity, the German IIoT (Industrial IoT) pioneer has today announced its acquisition by its management team from Software AG*.

The team is backed by European financial investor Avedon, which supports owner-led companies in achieving their growth objectives, together with Schroders Capital, the private markets-focused division of the Schroders Group with $97.3 billion under management, and European carve-out specialist investor, Verso Capital. This strategic move underscores the confidence of Cumulocity’s management in the rapidly growing global IIoT market and aims to make the company even more agile in addressing the evolving needs of its customers.

For years, Cumulocity has been regarded as one of the leading platforms for IIoT, recognized for its strong product-market fit and reputation among industrial equipment manufacturers across various sectors. Within the Software AG* group, the company has evolved from a startup to a full-fledged scale-up. Its cutting-edge technology is now utilized by hundreds of companies across diverse industries worldwide. One of the largest and most competitive growth markets for the German-based company is in the United States, where Cumulocity has already achieved significant success. The company also serves customers in over 30 further countries, offering a comprehensive full-service approach, 24-hour support, CloudOps, and customized AIoT solutions.

Cumulocity’s management team – Bernd Gross, Jürgen Krämer, Stefan Vaillant, Jari Salminen, and Philip Hooker – consists of passionate founders with decades of experience in growth companies within the IIoT sector. They are well equipped to drive the company’s ambitious global expansion plans.

Cumulocity’s platform has been ranked as a leader in both the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Global Industrial IoT Platforms and the Forrester Wave for Industrial IoT. Positive feedback and recommendations from Gartner Peer Insights further demonstrate the solution’s potential to thrive in the fast-growing market for smart, connected products.

Speaking about the transaction, co-founder and CEO, Bernd Gross said, “We are very excited to enter this new phase of independence, with renewed momentum and a strengthened structure. Our new corporate setup enables us to be more agile and adapt to the changing needs of our customers.”

He added, “The dynamic IIoT market, where we have already demonstrated our credentials, will provide the right environment for Cumulocity to thrive in its next chapter. The long-term partnership with our investors will enable us to deliver value to our customers and partners, while creating an attractive workplace for our talented people. We are pleased to have been a part of Software AG*, and we are now looking forward to forging our own path forward.”

*Software AG is now a trademark of Software GmbH, a limited liability company.

About Cumulocity

Founded in 2012, Cumulocity is a global leading industrial IoT platform, offering ready-to-use device management and low-code application enablement for a fast ROI. The cloud-native platform enables enterprises to adopt a “Buy & Build” approach, shortening time-to-market for new, differentiating digital services. Cumulocity is the preferred choice for industrial equipment makers and is trusted by leading companies worldwide to power their smart connected products in manufacturing, fleet management, consumer electronics, and more. Cumulocity is available as a cloud, on-premises, edge, and hybrid solution.

About Avedon Capital Partners

Avedon Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm based in Amsterdam and Düsseldorf. We focus on supporting growth-stage businesses in the Benelux and DACH regions, partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams to accelerate organic growth, international expansion, and buy-and-build strategies. Our investments are concentrated in four key sectors: business services, software & technology, smart industries, and consumer & health. For more information, visit https://avedoncapital.com.

About Schroders Capital

Schroders Capital provides investors with access to a broad range of private market investment opportunities, portfolio building blocks and customized private market strategies. Its team focuses on delivering best-in-class, risk-adjusted returns and executing investments through a combination of direct investment capabilities and broader solutions in all private market asset classes, through comingled funds and customised private market mandates. The team aims to achieve sustainable returns through a rigorous approach and in alignment with a culture characterised by performance, collaboration and integrity. With $97.3 billion (£77.0 billion; €90.8 billion)* assets under management, Schroders Capital offers a diversified range of investment strategies, including real estate, private equity, secondaries, venture capital, infrastructure, securitised products and asset-based finance, private debt, insurance-linked securities and BlueOrchard (Impact Specialists).

About Verso Capital

Verso Capital is a Nordic private equity company investing in European B2B businesses with €10-100m in revenue. We look for businesses that target a leading position in their target market or have the potential to disrupt the market equilibrium. We specialize in carve-outs and buy-out situations where we can leverage our extensive operational and carve-out experience, working together with the management to build sustainable profitable growth. Our team has experience from over 100 carve-out and M&A transaction situations – we have the necessary know-how and methodology to execute even complicated transactions quickly and efficiently. We invest primarily in northern Europe and have offices in Helsinki, Stockholm and Munich.