Our mission
Accelerate the decarbonization of buildings with better planning
The people behind the software
We are an impact-driven software company specialized in urban energy planning. Founded in January 2020, Urbio is a spinoff from climate-tech university EPFL, born in the bubbling technology park of Energypolis in the heart of the Swiss Alps. Because climate change has no borders, Urbio is growing fast to tackle the energy transition globally.
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Our multidisciplinary and international team has deep expertise in the fields of energy modeling, data science, machine learning and human-computer interaction. Stemming from years of research and industry experience in renewable energy, Urbio enables our customers to make quick, data-driven and science-based decisions to decarbonize buildings at the pace required by the urgent climate situation.
The hacker, the hipster and the hustler
Nils ​– the hacker – and Sébastien ​– the hipster – first teamed up in 2014 at EPFL to explore how humans and computers could join forces to design sustainable cities. Combining Nils’ aptitude for energy modeling with Sébastien’s passion for digitization and design, they developed the first prototype of Urbio that transformed the way energy infrastructure was planned. Nicolas – the hustler – completed the founding team in 2019, bringing a decade of market experience in the utility and consulting sector.
Urbio's vision for truly sustainable, carbon-free cities has since attracted talented people, advisors and investors around the globe who believe in Urbio’s ability to accelerate the transition to net-zero buildings.
Team
Nils Schüler
Combining a methodical and visionary mindset, Nils leads Urbio’s product teams to create high-impact software, staying always one step ahead of client needs with an actionable roadmap.
Nils holds a PhD in computational methods from EPFL, with expertise in mathematical optimization, data management and energy systems.
Co-founder & CTO
Alina is responsible for the completeness and accuracy of Urbio’s data, building trust and reliability in customer decisions.
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After graduating from Imperial College London, she did her PhD at EPFL, where she developed Machine Learning models to estimate renewable energy potentials, processing large building and climatic data.
Alina Walch
Data Scientist
Alex onboards, trains and supports Urbio users, shaping the processes and knowledge-base required for their long-term success.
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Alex has a Master in Energy from EPFL, and received an excellence award for his thesis on energy planning applications. He also gained field experience working as energy consultant and auditor in Europe.
Alexandre Jewell
Customer Success Manager
Martin is responsible for input data management and accuracy at Urbio.
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He has extensive experience in energy model development at consulting companies and in the context of academic research, holding a PhD from the University of Geneva. He is passionate about the concepts and technologies of the modern data stack and loves exploiting its potential in practice.
Martin Soini
Data Engineer
Lena is driving Urbio's expansion in the DACH region.
With an extensive background in consulting, focused on innovation, Lena is motivated by driving progress and making a real difference for local communities and the environment.
Lena Rom
Account Executive
Sébastien Cajot
Sébastien Cajot is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Urbio. With a passion for blending digitization and sustainability, his vision is to accelerate the energy transition with software.
Prior to Urbio, Sébastien obtained a PhD in human-computer interaction from EPFL and EIFER/EDF. Throughout his career, Sébastien has led teams with interdisciplinary backgrounds to carry out complex projects in energy planning and sustainability.
Co-founder & CEO
Ari ensures the quick generation of accurate scenarios for Urbio users, cracking the most complex computational and energy-specific challenges.
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With a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zürich, Ari worked over 6 years for a leading software company, developing innovative solutions to design future energy networks in cities.
Ari Artinian
Senior Software Engineer
Francois brings 30 years of international business development experience in highly successful startups such as the software unicorn Nexthink.
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His mission is to bring Urbio into new markets and establish strategic partnerships that will accelerate the adoption of its groundbreaking technology and help clients transition to decarbonized energy systems.
Francois D'Haegeleer
Head of Growth
Filip drives the development of Urbio's user interface.
With a background in software development and entrepreneurship, he helped over a hundred startups develop industry-leading software and made an exit from his own company a few years back.
Filip Marusca
Product Owner
Nicolas Sommer
As Chief Commercial Officer, Nicolas is relentless when it comes to ensuring the success of Urbio customers and detecting new market opportunities.
Nicolas holds an executive MBA from the Geneva School of Economics and Management, and has 10 years’ experience in the renewable energy industry, working both for utilities and energy consulting.
Co-founder & CCO
Marina Kraus
Marina designs Urbio’s user interface and experience to provide an intuitive exploration and interaction process.
She is a polyvalent designer with several years of experience working at the interface between IT and the environment. She realized numerous digital projects in which she elaborated creative design solutions.
Senior UX/UI Designer
Thibaud enable the intuitive, accurate, and fast exploration of Urbio's spatial datasets.
He holds a PhD from EPFL, which focused on the adoption of digital 3D geo-tools in spatial participatory planning. He developed his software development and geospatial technologies through multiple projects in industry.
Thibaud Chassin
GIS Developer
Theodor is responsible for ensuring the smooth and fast progress of business and team operations.
As a former consultant at Bain & Company, and an MSc in International Finance from HEC Paris, Theodor leverages extensive strategy, finance, and management experience to support Urbio's growth.
Theodor Aam Olsen
Operations Manager
Our tailwind
Board
Alex Stöckl
Alex is a Founding Partner at Wingman Ventures, Switzerland’s leading pre-seed fund backing breakthrough tech companies with the potential to become global market leaders. Prior to that, he invested for several years in tech startups with Creathor Ventures, one of Europe's leading early-stage venture capital funds.
At Urbio, Alex helps the company position for long-term success and exchange best practices with other deep tech and SaaS companies.
Wingman Ventures
Rokas Peciulaitis
Rokas is a Founder and Managing Partner at Contrarian Ventures, a leading European hands-on, community-focused, and founders-vetted early-stage venture capital firm focused on climate tech. Prior he was a derivatives trader at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He is the founder of EnergyTech Summit - the biggest energy tech gathering in EU, and Climate50 - the most comprehensive global climate tech investor ranking.
Rokas supports Urbio in designing a sustainable growth strategy aligned with the future needs of the energy industry.
Contrarian Ventures
Advisors
Vincent Bieri
​Vincent Bieri is lead advisor of Urbio, bringing more than twenty years of experience in technology marketing, sales, and product management.
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Vincent is the co-founder of the Swiss unicorn Nexthink. Working also most notably at Cisco Systems, Vincent holds a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Fribourg, Switzerland, and is a member of the Forbes Technology Council.
Lead Advisor, Innosuisse
Pascal Dutheil
Pascal Dutheil supports the team with independent advice and hands-on solutions regarding business expansion and market intelligence.
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Pascal is a financial advisor with 15 years of experience in venture capital and technology startups. He has supported over 120 high-tech startups, with significant financing transactions successfully completed, including client contracts, funding rounds, acquisitions, and exits.
Financial Advisor, Innosuisse
François Maréchal
​​​​Prof. Maréchal provides technical support and strategic advice to ensure the scientific validity of the product.
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EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is a world-leading technical university that specializes in climate action and engineering. The Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering (IPESE) group led by Prof. Maréchal focuses on computer aided decision support methods for the efficient use of renewable energy in cities.
Scientific Advisor, EPFL
Partners
