Rytis Jakubauskas, CEO of Comgy, discussed what the startup does: “We work with large real estate portfolios and provide them with energy data which they use to monitor buildings.”

At the ABB Startup Challenge 2025, Startups Magazine had the opportunity to interview a range of the finalists. Kicking off the interview series is Comgy.

What is Comgy?

Jakubauskas discussed the company in more depth: “We're a software company, and we help larger real estate companies that own dozens or hundreds of buildings, and we help them decarbonise.

“Specifically we do that by providing and gathering energy data, so electricity, heating, water, and gather that in a single place. Once that's there, companies can use that to monitor buildings, and to figure out which ones are more or less efficient.”

Once companies find out which buildings are less efficient, they can put actions in place to improve this, such as installing heat pumps or solar panels, and they can then report that data.

The inspiration behind the business

Comgy was founded in response to the slow progress of decarbonisation in the building sector, which lagged behind industries like automotive. The original founders of the company, Ruben Haas and Lukas Krauter, realised that upcoming legislation in Germany would require better metering infrastructure.

At this time, most energy metres were analogue and required manual readings, making it difficult to collect the necessary data for decarbonisation efforts. Realising that reliable data collection was essential for reducing emissions in the built environment, which is one of the largest contributors to global CO₂ output, they set out to automate and digitise the metering process.

Competition in the industry

When asked whether the startup has competition, Jakubauskas said: “Of course we do. Many, many startups like to think they don’t. We’re definitely special, but there are alternative solutions that companies can use.”

So what makes Comgy stand out in a market that has many competitors?

“I think we’re the strongest in the DACH region, particularly Germany, because that’s where metering is least digitised.

“The challenge to digitise them is much, much harder. You need to have hardware expertise, you need to have a tonne of integrations to obscure places to even know how to get that data. I would argue we’re by far the best, and perhaps the only one, especially for Germany, that has mastered it.”

The challenges

Comgy has been through a rollercoaster of a journey since the start, which has brought with it many challenges.

Jakubauskas explained: “Eight years ago, when the company was started, it was a bit of a rocket ship – it raised a tonne of money, and grew into a fairly large company. But ultimately, a year and a half ago, the company went bankrupt. This was after raising €30 million, and then ultimately failing in raising its series C, that’s a gigantic challenge.”

However, the company was able to built itself up again. “What then happened is that this is when I joined the company. I took over the clients, the employees, the core technology, and restructured the company, and continued in a smaller, leaner way.

“Going through bankruptcy is traumatising for employees, clients, everyone. Imagine like having a bus with 100 people crashing into a wall. Most die on impact, but you survive, and the bus is broken, and then you rebuild it and try to keep going.

“So that was a gigantic challenge, but we've mastered it, and for like a year now, we've been in growth mode again.”

The highlights

When the challenges that have been faced by the startup have been so severe, the highlights make the journey worthwhile.

“I do really think we have a strong impact,” Jakubauskas explained. “It's very hard to see how without us, our clients could decarbonise their portfolios. If we don’t provide them the data, and do the cumbersome work of gathering the data from wherever is building those integrations, they’re flying blind.”

“You can still decide to put solar here and there, and put heat pumps here and there, but if you don't know what the baseline is, you can't really track it. You're doing it in an inefficient way. You cannot decarbonise properly without data.

“So I do think, although the work sometimes is difficult, I think it's always very nice to see when it then starts to work, and the data arrives, and then clients end up making their buildings more efficient and saving costs.”

The ABB Startup Challenge

Comgy was one of the finalists in the ABB Startup Challenge 2025. Discussing the company’s motivation in entering the competition, he said: “ABB is a very important company in our space. They’re one of the largest building management systems providers that there is, so we encounter them quite often.

“It was a no-brainer to say if we managed to work with ABB, and integrate with them, there would be huge potential for us to grow the business with them and their clients.”

What’s next for Comgy?

Looking ahead, the future is looking bright for Comgy. “We have some exciting partnerships that we’re about to announce, with larger companies, as real estate is a space where it helps to work with larger companies.”

The technology is also adapting, as the launch of “some cool new AI functionality.”

Jakubauskas summed up the future in one line: “ We're growing quicker and quicker. So, it's more growth, cool products, and new announcements.”

For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.