Xentral

Overview

Xentral is a software company based in Augsburg, Germany, that develops a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system for small and mid-sized merchants. According to Wikipedia and Silicon Canals, the company is headquartered in Augsburg, and TechCrunch and Silicon Canals name Benedikt Sauter and Claudia Sauter as its founders. The platform combines order processing, warehouse management, fulfilment, procurement and accounting, and connects to online shops, marketplaces and carriers. Its website https://xentral.com now describes an AI-supported ERP for merchants with roughly 1 to 50 million euros in revenue and states that more than 2,000 companies use it.

Why this entity matters

Xentral is one of the best-known German examples of a software company that moved from a self-funded side project to venture-backed scale. In 2021 it raised a US$20 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital in January and a US$75 million Series B led by Tiger Global and Meritech Capital in August, both reported by TechCrunch and Silicon Canals. Those rounds placed an Augsburg ERP vendor among the high-profile growth bets of the 2021 funding cycle and gave it a reported customer base of about 1,000 at the time of the Series B.

The company also illustrates what happens after a funding peak. In a March 2024 Startuprad.io interview, co-CEO Domenico Cipolla said the company held substantial cash from its 2020 to 2021 funding and planned international expansion only after strengthening customer satisfaction and processes. In April 2025 a Startuprad.io roundup relayed Manager Magazin commentary that several former high-fliers, including Xentral, faced sharply declining valuations and relevance. That is reported media commentary, not a verified statement about the company's financial position.

Company or institutional background

Wikipedia reports that the company was founded in 2008 in Augsburg as embedded projects GmbH, initially selling computer hardware, and that its in-house ERP software, first called waWision, was renamed Xentral in 2018. These details rest on Wikipedia alone and are not independently verified. The Startuprad.io interview describes the same origin in different words: the founders built the software as a side project while selling electronic components, then offered it to companies they knew, and the software became the main business.

Silicon Canals reported in August 2021 that headcount had grown from 50 to more than 120 and that the company had hired senior managers for sales, finance and operations. Wikipedia currently states 200 or more employees. Domenico Cipolla, a former BCG consultant who had worked at Home24 and YFood and was a partner at Freigeist, joined as co-CEO at the end of 2023 according to the Startuprad.io interview and Wikipedia. Wikipedia also reports that in 2026 the company added AI features, and the company website lists an AI agent hub and an MCP server.

Role in the ecosystem

Xentral competes in the ERP and commerce back-office segment for small and mid-sized online and trading businesses, a segment that links software vendors, marketplaces, shipping providers and payment companies. TechCrunch named Shopify, eBay, Amazon, Magento, WooCommerce and Pipedrive among its integration targets in 2021, and the company website now lists more than 200 integrations. Within DACH it is a reference case for vertical SaaS aimed at the Mittelstand and the e-commerce scale-up market, and for the funding dynamics that followed the 2021 investment boom.

Selected relationships and affiliations

Publicly reported relationships include Benedikt Sauter and Claudia Sauter as founders and Domenico Cipolla as co-CEO. Investors named in the sources are Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, Meritech Capital, Visionaries Club and Freigeist, with HubSpot Ventures and s16vc also named in the Startuprad.io interview. TechCrunch reported that Sequoia's Luciana Lixandru and Visionaries' Robert Lacher were expected to join the board after the Series B. Customers named by TechCrunch in 2021 include YFood, KoRo, The Nu Company and Flyeralarm. These relationships are listed as reported by third-party outlets and are not a verified current cap table or customer list.

Startuprad.io relevance

Startuprad.io's coverage of Xentral consists of four articles. The March 2024 long-form interview with co-CEO Domenico Cipolla covers the company's origins, ERP focus, customer base, hiring plans and leadership approach. Three monthly roundups mention the company as a news item: the summer 2021 edition reports the 64 million euro round led by Sequoia and Tiger Global, the March 2024 edition notes Xentral on a European list of potential unicorns and points to the interview, and the April 2025 edition relays the Manager Magazin commentary on former high-fliers. The roundups treat Xentral as one item among many rather than a dedicated feature.

Public source context

This record draws on Xentral's own website https://xentral.com , Wikipedia, TechCrunch, Silicon Canals and Startuprad.io's interview and roundups. Funding amounts, customer counts and headcount are as reported at the time of each article. The 2024 valuation figure, the 2008 founding as embedded projects GmbH and the 2026 AI feature details are drawn from Wikipedia alone and are not independently verified. Xentral is presented as an active company; readers should consult the company for current ownership and product details. This record presents only publicly reported business facts.

Startuprad.io coverage

This Month in DACH Startups: April 2025 Startup News Wrap-Up
Published: 01 May 2025
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: News
https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-dach-startups-april-2025-startup-news-wrap-up

DACH Startup News March 2024: Founders, Funding and Ecosystem Updates
Published: 27 March 2024
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: News
https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-march-2024

Inside Xentral: Unveiling Startup Success with Sequoia and Tiger Global
Published: 13 March 2024
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: Interview
https://www.startuprad.io/post/inside-xentral-unveiling-startup-success-with-sequoia-and-tiger-global

DACH Startup News Summer 2021: Mid-Year Ecosystem Roundup
Published: 07 September 2021
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: News
https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-german-startups-summer-wrap-up-july-august-september-2021

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Canonical record: https://www.startuprad.io/entities/xentral .