Podcast
With a valuation of 11 billion dollars, Celonis is one of the most successful German start-ups. The software company is currently making headlines again with an acquisition. Co-founder and Co-CEO Bastian Nominacher talks about a development that sometimes leaves him speechless.
Celonis has been growing rapidly for years, and it wasn’t until the summer that the founders raised a billion dollars for expansion. The Munich software company is making headlines these days with the acquisition of the data streaming platform Lenses.io. Customers can now analyze data in real time.
The rapid growth is sometimes a little overwhelming for the founders themselves. “So far we have only tapped one percent of our addressable market”said co-founder Bastian Nominacher “. “One can almost be afraid of what still needs to be done.” Celonis technology can help countless companies to improve their processes.
The Celonis software is based on the so-called “Process Mining”. Nominacher compares the whole thing with an X-ray machine with which companies can examine their data, understand it and improve processes, supported by artificial intelligence. “With process mining, we have created a new category”said Nominacher. A year ago Celonis launched the sixth generation of its execution management system. One has since then “received incredibly positive reactions”, reported Nominacher, who is also Co-CEO. “That was also the reason for our financing round in order to really meet this great demand.”
Origin as a student project
Celonis, which once emerged from a student project for Bavarian Broadcasting, now employs over 1,300 people at 15 locations. Most recently, in May 2020, sales were reported to be over $ 100 million. The Munich-based company has just announced a strategic partnership with the US company Service Now, which is led by former SAP boss Bill McDermott.
As a founder, Nominacher looks at the German location with mixed feelings. “We have an excellent education here”said Nominacher, who was supposed to be taking over his father’s pastry shop. “We have very good universities, Munich is a very strong location. More than 7,500 computer scientists are currently being trained at the TU alone. That’s an immense talent base.”
What the start-up lacked is the financing: “At that time, each of us scraped together 4,000 euros from the student loan”, recalls Nominacher. You need more “Anchor company in financing”. He also criticized that “very high regulatory complexity”, the “the setting up is delayed”. “In other countries there are much more attractive models.”
Also, listen in
- How Celonis celebrated its 10th birthday
- Why Bastian Nominacher didn’t take over his parents’ bakery
- Where the name Celonis comes from
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Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
