// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Xentral ERP say to the data? "You're central to me.
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Benedikt Sauter, Claudia Sauter |
| Headquarters | Augsburg, Germany |
| Key people | Domenico Cipolla (CEO, since 2024) Benedikt Sauter (Co-Founder, Product & Customer Focus) |
Number of employees | 200+ |
| Website | xentral.com |
Xentral ERP Software is a German enterprise resource planning (ERP) company headquartered in Augsburg, Germany. The company provides cloud-based ERP services primarily for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the e-commerce, retail, and B2B sectors.[1][2][3]
History
[edit]In 2008, Benedikt Sauter and Claudia Sauter founded the company under the name embedded projects GmbH. At first, it sold computer hardware. In the early 2010s, the couple developed an in‑house ERP service based on open‑source technology to support their hardware business. This system laid the foundation for what would later become Xentral ERP.[4][5]
The ERP product was initially marketed under the name waWision. On 23 November 2018, the product was rebranded as Xentral, shifting focus from hardware to software and setting the stage for the ERP product's market rollout.[6]
In early 2018, Xentral received its first external funding from Frank Thelen and his firm Freigeist Capital.[7][8]
In March 2020, Xentral released version 20.1 of its on‑premise software, featuring integrated integrations for Shopware 6, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Gambio. This update introduced mobile optimization and a redesigned user interface.[9][10]
By January 2021, Xentral had grown to serve around 1,000 SMEs and secured a US$20 million Series A investment led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Visionaries Club.[11][12]
In August 2021, the company raised a $75 million Series B funding round led by Tiger Global Management and Meritech Capital, with continued participation from Sequoia, Visionaries Club, and Freigeist Capital. This brought Xentral's total known funding to approximately $95 million.[13][14]
In December 2022, Benedikt Sauter was awarded the Gründergeist Award 2022 by Hochschule Augsburg,[15][16] and Xentral won the Best Omnichannel Solution award at the E‑commerce Germany Awards 2022.[17]
At the end of 2023, Domenico Cipolla joined as Co‑CEO to support the company's scale‑up phase, allowing Benedikt Sauter to focus more on product development and customer engagement.[18][19] In 2023, Xentral reported processing €3 billion in commercial transactions.[20]
By 2024, Xentral had been valued at around €670 million and was described as a potential unicorn.[21][22]
Products and services
[edit]Xentral provides a cloud-based ERP platform aimed at growing small and medium-sized commerce businesses. Its functionality covers order processing, warehouse management and fulfillment, multichannel e-commerce, procurement, and financial workflows, including the export of records to the German accounting standard DATEV. The software is delivered through five-tier subscription packages and runs entirely in a web browser without on-premise installation.[23][24]
The platform offers pre-built integrations with online shops, online marketplaces, shipping carriers, and payment providers. Integrations are maintained through an in-house middleware layer called Xentral Connect, which includes Xentral Flows, an automation platform, and the Flow Editor, an automation builder. Xentral is an API-driven cloud ERP that connects shops, marketplaces, and carriers in a single platform, while noting a learning curve during implementation.[25][26][27]
In 2026, Xentral introduced artificial intelligence (AI) and automated "agentic" capabilities into its enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. The system includes an AI-assisted copilot that generates SQL-based reports from natural-language prompts, optical character recognition (OCR) for supplier invoices, and automated data import tools.[28] Xentral is developing and beta-testing AI features designed to automate order creation, returns processing, and customer inquiries, utilizing a review framework that requires manual approval before completion. Future updates are planned to introduce capabilities for managing remittance advice and supplier invoices, alongside a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to connect the platform with external large language models such as Claude and ChatGPT.[29][30]
References
[edit]- ↑ "KoRo-Gründer über Wachstum, Pareto und Bauchgefühl". StartupValley. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Xentral: Wenn ein Startup gleichzeitig der eigene Kunde ist". Hallo Augsburg. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Er ließ Promi-Investoren abblitzen – und leitet jetzt ein 600-Millionen-Startup". Business Insider. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Xentral Führungsteam: Embedded Projects GmbH". Business Insider Deutschland. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Xentral". LSV Partners. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Smart Enterprise Resource Planning: waWision becomes Xentral". Univention. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Frank Thelen". Leading Minds. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ Mumme, Thorsten (2018-08-19). "Frank Thelen investiert in Unternehmens-Software Xentral". Business Insider (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ↑ "E‑Commerce aufgepasst: Xentral launcht kostenfreie ERP‑Software mit integrierter Shopware 6 und Shopify‑Anbindung". EAS‑MAG. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Xentral launcht kostenfreie Software". connect Professional. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Germany's Xentral nabs $20M led by Sequoia to help online‑facing SMBs run back offices better". TechCrunch. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Xentral erhält 20 Mio Dollar". Startup Insider. Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Xentral: SAP für kleine Unternehmen – Gründer‑Ehepaar aus Augsburg expandiert". Handelsblatt. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Xentral, an ERP platform for SMBs, raises $75M Series B from Tiger Global and Meritech". TechCrunch. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Hochschule Augsburg verleiht die GP Awards 2022". B4B Schwaben. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "gP‑Awards 2022". tha.de. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "The E‑commerce Germany Awards 2022 Winners Announced". E‑commerce Germany. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Domenico Cipolla". The Org. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ "Domenico Cipolla". Startup‑Map Berlin. Retrieved 2 July 2025.[dead link]
- ↑ "Xentral sichert sich 20 Mio Dollar Series A Finanzierung". Starting Up. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ↑ Räth, Georg (2024-05-21). "Xentral: Wie Benedikt Sauter ein 600-Millionen-Startup aufbaute". Business Insider (in German). Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ "Xentral: Wie Benedikt Sauter ein 600-Millionen-Startup aufbaute". Business Insider Deutschland (in German).
- ↑ "Xentral Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026". Capterra. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ "Xentral Erfahrungen & Features 2026". OMR Reviews. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ "Blog". Qualimero. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ Sauter, Benedikt (2026-03-23). "Omnichannel ohne Limit: ERP als virtuelles Team für Händler". e-commerce magazin (in German). Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ Weidemann, Tobias (2021-08-17). "Warum die deutsche ERP-Plattform Xentral mit Celonis und SAP verglichen wird". t3n Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2026-09-25.
- ↑ Sauter, Benedikt (2024-07-05). "ERP-System im E-Commerce: Wettbewerbsvorteil". www.e-commerce-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-07-13.
- ↑ "The 7 best ERP systems for small businesses". OMR Reviews. 2026-01-30. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ Weidemann, Tobias (2021-01-14). "Xentral aus Augsburg: Warum dieses Startup Investorengeld von Sequoia einsammelt". t3n Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2026-09-25.