• Munich-based IntegrityNext empowers businesses to meet regulatory ESG requirements, manage ESG risks and improve supply chain sustainability.
• The Company operates in a rapidly growing market that will likely benefit from the introduction of several major regulatory frameworks around climate protection and human rights, as ESG compliance and risk assessment becomes a “license to operate” issue
• Its cloud-based software platform is used by more than 200 customers, including Siemens Gamesa, Infineon, SwissRe, Kion and Hilti. To date, the company monitors almost 1 million suppliers in more than 190 countries
• EQT Growth will support the Company as its first institutional investor, leveraging its experience of investing throughout the tech value-chain, global network of sustainability and technology advisors, and in-house teams of digitization and sustainability experts

STOCKHOLM, March 23, 2023 — The EQT Growth fund (“EQT Growth”) has today announced a EUR 100 million investment in IntegrityNext (“the Company”), a sustainability software platform dedicated to enabling supply chain transparency and regulatory compliance. Co-founders Martin Berr-Sorokin (CEO), Simon Jaehnig (CRO) and Nick Heine (COO), who have grown the business whilst bootstrapped to date, will continue to lead the Company.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, IntegrityNext has grown to serve more than 200 customers and monitoring almost one million suppliers, making it one of the leading environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) Certification software solutions in Europe. Its cloud-based platform enables enterprises – such as Siemens Gamesa, Infineon, SwissRe, Kion and Hilti – to assess risk and monitor a large portion of their supply chain for ESG metrics and compliance, allowing them to meet stakeholder demands and regulatory requirements. IntegrityNext has also partnered and integrated with leading enterprise software tools, including Celonis, Coupa and SAP, allowing it to offer supply chain assessments across numerous major industries.

The penetrated market in Europe for sustainability supply chain software solutions is expected to see strong growth over the next years. According to market estimates, the penetrated market is growing by more than 50 percent annually¹ with an expected market volume of around EUR two billion in the medium term². This development is driven by the introduction of several major regulatory frameworks across Europe. Most notably, these include the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (“LkSG”), the EU’s Green Deal and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”). At the same, increasing stakeholder pressure is also expected to drive market expansion, as ESG compliance and risk assessment becomes a “license to operate” issue for companies worldwide.

EQT Growth will partner with IntegrityNext on the next phase of its growth journey as it looks to further cement its leading position within Germany, while expanding its core product to serve upcoming European regulations. EQT Growth will bring its experience of investing throughout the tech value-chain, supported by EQT’s dedicated in-house teams of digital and sustainability experts and network of 600 advisors. Together, EQT Growth and IntegrityNext will further invest in the tech platform to support the acceleration of the product offering, and position it for long-term success.

Martin Berr-Sorokin, CEO and co-founder of IntegrityNext, said: “The critical importance of ESG is not a new concept to modern businesses. However, as a raft of regulatory frameworks – like Germany’s LkSG or the EU’s CSRD – begin to take effect, supply chain transparency and sustainability is evolving from a nice-to-have to a must-have. As more clients entrust us and we embark on our next stage of growth, we’re excited to be partnering with an experienced and hands-on investor with European roots and global scale like EQT Growth.”

Dominik Stein, Partner in the EQT Growth Investment advisory team who will join IntegrityNext’s Advisory Board, said: “IntegrityNext’s technology provides a streamlined and automated way for customers to easily monitor and certify their supply chain for ESG risks. Their cutting-edge product and large footprint in their home market of Germany positions them well to expand across Europe, as they have already built a significant proprietary supplier database. We look forward to working with Martin and the entire IntegrityNext team as they accelerate on their journey to making supply chains more transparent.”

Bitget has announced a $30 million investment in BitKeep the decentralized multi-chain wallet, becoming its biggest stakeholder. The investment will allow the exchange to extend its range of centralized crypto services into a decentralized ecosystem. The sister companies will leverage their respective offerings and collaborate on linking CeFi and DeFi. The investment involves the merger of BitKeep Wallet with Bitget’s business domain, significantly bolstering its existing user base and product offering.

“This move is a win-win choice for Bitget and BitKeep and facilitates collaborative efforts in the decentralized space and beyond. We are not only delighted to provide the team at BitKeep with the necessary support to reinforce the security and stability of its offering services, but also excited to have such an established industry player as part of our growing ecosystem,” said Gracy Chen, Managing Director at Bitget.

As part of the deal, Bitget has invested $30 million in BitKeep, increasing its shareholding and becoming the primary stakeholder of the company valued at $300 million as per its previous funding round. The partnership with Bitget will give the wallet access to the exchange’s proven technology and security capabilities in the exchange domain, thus helping it improve the stability and security of its services.

By integrating BitKeep’s established 8 million user base, Bitget will receive access to an entirely new audience of potential clients. This is one of Bitget’s crucial moves towards Web3 which foresees linking CeFi and DeFi, transforming the platform from a leading contract exchange to a comprehensive and holistic exchange with its own ecosystem.

“The investment deal implies not only financial but also technical support, which will be provided to us by a professional team along with the experience necessary for product growth and market expansion. We are excited about this partnership and the potential it has to provide our users with even more comprehensive digital asset management services. We believe that working closely with Bitget will not only drive the growth of our business but also provide us with valuable experience exchange that will benefit our users,” said Moka Han, Chief Operating Officer at BitKeep

About Bitget

Established in 2018, Bitget is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange with futures trading and copy trading services as its key features. Serving over 8 million users in more than 100 countries and regions, the exchange is committed to helping users trade smarter by providing a secure, one-stop trading solution. It also inspires individuals to embrace crypto through collaborations with credible partners, including legendary Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi, the leading Italian football team Juventus, and official eSports events organizer PGL. According to Coingecko, Bitget is currently a top 5 futures trading platform and a top 10 spot trading platform.

Having people support a business idea and are willing to invest in it is a great accomplishment. This is known as crowdfunding, and many entrepreneurs are turning to the internet to get the proper funding to go after their dreams. There is a wide array of crowdfunding platform software that can be used to advertise the mission and gather like-minded people together who are willing to take a chance on it. This is very beneficial for those looking to start businesses.

1. Accessibility

Using software for crowdfunding is great because it is possible to reach a larger target audience. It is no secret that the internet is growing on a daily basis. Nearly everybody uses it and discovers many new things online. Marketing the idea this way by using a platform is a great way to remain organized and to garner the right kind of attention. Word of mouth is something that begins to happen when people think an idea is worthwhile. They will start telling others about it.

2. Personalization

When using a crowdfunding platform software, it is possible to customize the experience. Target audiences can be selected and the right messages are able to be posted to convince people that it is a worthy idea. This is great because this is what will set the business apart. In any industry, there is a lot of competition and similar ideas, but what matters most is expressing why this one is different. These platforms offer people ways to set their ideas apart.

3. Reporting

Each time a donation is made, there is an automatic digital record of it. This is important because it holds business owners accountable. They are able to see exactly who is contributing and how much. This is also a great opportunity to send out thank you messages once the end goal has been achieved. People enjoy being noticed for their contributions and will be much more likely to follow along on the rest of the journey if they feel they are being recognized for their contributions.

4. Progress

Using an online platform to keep track of crowdfunding also presents a unique opportunity to offer progress updates. This not only holds business owners accountable but also shows the contributors what progress is being made. They will feel their efforts are worthwhile and that donating was a good decision. It is always nice to be kept in the loop, and it is very simple to do this when using software to organize the entire mission. This also offers a great way to stay true to a given timeline, which is very helpful in terms of productivity.

5. Results

If one thing is certain, using an online platform for crowdfunding garners much more effective results than asking people to donate individually. For one, it takes far less time to put out a mass message to potential contributors than seeking out people and messaging them one by one. This is just one example of how technology helps entrepreneurs regularly. Taking advantage of these platforms is recommended for any aspiring business owners out there who need a little help to get the idea off the ground.

Crowdfunding is a newfound way to get extra help when it is needed. Many entrepreneurs use it and are successful with it regularly. It is simple to begin using a platform to organize these efforts and keep track of all the progress being made. People like knowing what their contributions are going toward, so being given a tangible way to track this is very valuable. It is a beneficial method that yields great results.