Draft:Mirko Novakovic
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Comment: Many of these sources seem like WP:CORPTRIV (though I haven’t translated any of the German ones to check them yet) —pythoncoder (talk | contribs) 21:49, 27 June 2026 (UTC)
Mirko Novakovic | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976 (age 49–50) Solingen, Germany |
| Alma mater | Berufsakademie Stuttgart |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, Investor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Known for | Co-founder of codecentric, CenterDevice, Instana and Dash0 |
| Title | CEO of Dash0 |
Mirko Novakovic (born 1976) is a German software entrepreneur and angel investor based in Solingen. He co-founded the software consultancy codecentric in 2005 and the Application performance management company Instana in 2015, the latter of which was acquired by IBM in 2020.[1][2] Since 2023 he has been the co-founder and chief executive office of Dash0, an observability software company built on OpenTelemetry.[3] He is also a partner at the early-stage technology investor NewForge.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Novakovic grew up in Solingen.[1] For his studies, he moved to Stuttgart, to study at the Berufsakademie Stuttgart (now Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University) qualifying as a Diplom-Ingenieur (BA), and began his career as an IT specialist and software developer at IBM Deutschland in the late 1990s before working as a freelance software architect.[1][2]
Career
[edit]codecentric
[edit]In 2005 Novakovic co-founded the software consultancy codecentric in Solingen together with Rainer Vehns.[1][4] The company grew organically, without outside capital, into one of Germany's larger software-engineering service firms, reaching several hundred employees across multiple European locations.[1] Novakovic served on its management board until 2016.[2]
CenterDevice
[edit]In 2011 Novakovic co-founded CenterDevice, a Germany-based cloud document-management service that positioned itself as an European alternative to United States based tools like Dropbox or Box, Inc.. He served as one of its managing directors until 2016.[5]
Instana
[edit]In April 2015 Novakovic co-founded Instana, together with Pete Abrams, Fabian Lange and Pavlo Baron.[6][2] The company developed application performance management software aimed at microservices architectures, with development based in Solingen and commercial operations in the United States.[2] Instana raised successive funding rounds, including a US$20 million round led by Accel in 2017 and a US$30 million round led by Meritech in 2018.[7][6] In November 2020 IBM announced an agreement to acquire Instana as part of its hybrid-cloud and AI strategy; the purchase price was not officially disclosed, though German press reported it to be in the hundreds of millions.[8][1] Novakovic led the company as chief executive through the acquisition.[1]
Dash0
[edit]In May 2023 Novakovic co-founded Dash0, a software company that develops an observability platform built on the open OpenTelemetry standard.[3] The company is registered in the United States but has German founders and a largely German team.[3] In 2025 Dash0 raised a US$35 million funding round led by Cherry Ventures and Accel, with participation from DIG Ventures, and reported around 300 customers, including Porsche and The Telegraph.[3]
Investments and other activities
[edit]In 2019 Novakovic founded New Forge, a Solingen-based business-angel and early-stage venture investor focused on business-to-business technology start-ups, where he is a partner; he has described himself as an active angel investor in dozens of companies.[3][9] He has also been involved in initiatives to develop the start-up ecosystem in the Solingen region, including the local "Berg-Pitch" start-up competition, and operates a co-working venture in the city.[10]
Personal life
[edit]Novakovic lives in Solingen and is married with three children.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "Novakovic: "Das ist wie in einer Achterbahn"". Solinger Tageblatt (in German). 9 November 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f Steger, Johannes (26 September 2018). "Gründer von Instana: Mirko Novakovic setzt auf künstliche Intelligenz statt Küchenmesser". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f "Start-up-Check: 35 Millionen Dollar für schnelles Wachstum". Handelsblatt (in German). 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ "Gründer von codecentric erklärt Führungskräften die digitale Welt". Solinger Tageblatt (in German). 15 January 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ "Sensationeller Deal: IBM gibt Kauf von Instana bekannt" (in German). codecentric AG. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ a b Schnor, Pauline (26 September 2018). "Solinger Software-Startup bekommt 30 Millionen Dollar von Facebook-Investoren". Gründerszene (in German). Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ Lardinois, Frederic (14 December 2017). "Instana raises $20 million for its microservice monitoring and management service". TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ "IBM to Acquire Instana as Company Continues to Advance its Hybrid Cloud and AI Strategy" (Press release). IBM. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ "10 Jahre Softwerker: So haben wir gefeiert" (in German). codecentric AG. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
- ^ "2. Berg-Pitch im Mai bei der codecentric AG in Solingen". Das SolingenMagazin (in German). 14 March 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2026.