What Urbio does

Urbio SA is a Swiss software company headquartered in the Energypolis technology park in Sion, Canton of Valais, founded in January 2020 as a spinoff of EPFL's climate-tech ecosystem. The company builds an AI-powered district heating planning platform that combines a curated, georeferenced plug-and-play data layer (covering building characteristics, energy demand, heating systems, and emissions across 10 European countries) with an intuitive geospatial digital twin, an optimization engine for AI-powered network design (pipe routing, sizing, thermo-hydraulic simulation, and techno-economic evaluation), and automated stakeholder reporting. The platform is sold as SaaS on tiered annual subscriptions (Free, Starter, Pro, Enterprise) with add-on modules including an External API for bi-directional CRM integration (Salesforce, Freshsales, SAP, customer websites) and a Spatial CRM module.

Urbio serves four primary customer segments: utilities (Romande Energie, CKW, Oiken, EKT), engineering and energy consultants (e-con, Resolia, Intep, LGMV), district heating network developers, and the public sector (municipalities executing heat planning mandates such as Germany's BEW and WPG). Go-to-market blends a product-led growth motion (free self-service signup with preloaded datasets) with an enterprise sales motion targeting larger utilities, supplemented by a certified partner channel for municipal implementation and event-driven demand generation (UKDEA Heat Networks Expo 2026, E-world 2026). The company has executed over 200 projects across more than 200 cities and reports 50+ utility customers.

The business is venture-backed: a USD 2,000,000 round was closed in September 2021 led by Contrarian Ventures and Founderful Ventures (formerly Wingman Ventures), alongside Third Sphere, URBAN-X, AcceliCITY, Foundation for Innovation and Technology (FIT), Innosuisse, The Ark, and the Solar Impulse Foundation. Leadership comprises three co-founders — Sébastien Cajot (CEO), Nils Schüler (CTO), and Nicolas Sommer (CCO) — with board representation from Founderful and Contrarian Ventures and scientific advisory from EPFL's Prof. François Maréchal. In 2026, Urbio was recognized as a Digital Shaper by Bilanz and received the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label, and is GDPR-compliant with data hosted in Germany.

Name

Urbio

Legal name

Urbio SA

Website

https://urb.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urbio is a Swiss SaaS company that provides AI-powered district heating planning software for utilities, engineering consultants, network developers, and municipalities across Europe, combining curated georeferenced datasets, a geospatial digital twin, an optimization engine for network design, and bi-directional CRM integrations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Planning Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Geospatial (GIS) & Network Digital Twin Analytics (EUAJALAM)

Keywords

• District heating planning
• Energy network design
• Thermal network optimization
• Heat decarbonization software
• AI urban energy planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Sion

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software Subscription: Tiered subscription plans (Starter, Pro, Enterprise) with add-ons for extended functionality. Free version available for self-service. Enterprise plan includes multi-user and team collaboration features.
2. Training Services: Personalized training sessions available remotely or on-site for onboarding and advanced usage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Urbio sells an AI-powered software platform for planning, designing, and simulating district heating (thermal) networks. The platform combines curated plug-and-play geospatial data, an intuitive digital twin, an AI optimization engine that auto-generates pipe routing and system sizing, thermo-hydraulic simulation, automated reporting, and an External API for CRM and website integrations. It is delivered as a SaaS subscription with Free, Starter, Pro, and Enterprise tiers plus add-ons, and is used by utilities, energy consultants, network developers, and public-sector municipalities across Europe.

Product overview

Urbio is a unified AI-powered district heating planning platform built around four core integrated capabilities: (1) Plug-and-Play Data Factory providing curated, traceable datasets covering building characteristics, energy demand, and emissions; (2) Intuitive Digital Twin enabling geospatial visualization of heat density and infrastructure without GIS expertise; (3) AI-Powered Design Engine that automatically generates and optimizes network layouts, pipe sizing, and heating systems through Action Cards interface; and (4) Automated Reporting for stakeholder communication. The platform offers tiered pricing (Free, Starter, Pro) with add-on modules. Additional capabilities include an External API enabling bi-directional CRM integrations (Salesforce, Freshsales, SAP), spatial CRM functionality, thermo-hydraulic simulation, and collaborative multi-stakeholder workspaces. The platform is available across Europe (Switzerland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, Austria, Poland, UK) with customers including utilities (CKW, Oiken, Romande Energie), consultants (LGMV, Intep, e-con), and municipalities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urbio Platform One-stop-shop AI-powered district heating planning software that centralizes plug-and-play data, an intuitive digital twin, AI-powered network design, thermo-hydraulic simulation, and automated reporting. Sold to energy utilities, consultants, network developers, and municipalities across Europe as SaaS subscriptions (Free, Starter, Pro, Enterprise).
• Urbio External API Standalone API product that enables bi-directional integrations between the Urbio platform and external CRM systems, websites, and data sources. Supports automated lead generation, real-time customer quotes on utility websites, and synchronized planning/commercial data with Salesforce, Freshsales, and SAP.
• Spatial CRM Built-in spatial Customer Relationship Management tool within the Urbio platform that lets utilities capture and manage customer interest, surveys, and connection requests directly on georeferenced maps, replacing standalone CRM workflows with a geographic view.
• Thermo-Hydraulic Simulation

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 days of work replaced by 5 minutes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability6 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EPFLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder Nils Schüler holds PhD in computational methods from EPFL. Prof. François Maréchal serves as scientific advisor. IPESE group provides technical support and strategic advice for scientific validity of the product. Urbio is a spinoff from EPFL's climate-tech ecosystem.
• The ArkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss innovation hub supporting technology startups. Partner in Urbio's ecosystem for startup support and growth.
• EnergypolisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation campus in Sion, Switzerland where Urbio is headquartered. Part of HES-SO Valais-Wallis.
• RaySunminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on digitalization initiative addressing challenges of deploying decentralised energy systems (DES) within power grids. Project focuses on grid stability and efficiency using AI-driven tools to identify energy communities and optimize renewable energy distribution. Primarily in Walloon, Belgium, with scalable efforts across Europe.
• SIG (Services Industriels de Genève)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneva utility and one of the founding research partners in the European programme that led to Urbio's spinoff.
• Solar Impulse FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFoundation promoting clean technologies. Awarded Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label to Urbio for meeting sustainability and profitability criteria.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Danfoss Leanheat: Danfoss Leanheat provides AI-driven optimization software for district heating operations, demand forecasting, and network efficiency. It is the closest large-scale software competitor to Urbio's network planning and optimization platform, serving European utilities with similar AI-and-data value propositions.
• PlanEnergi: PlanEnergi is a Danish engineering consultancy that develops planning tools and methodologies for 100% renewable energy systems, including district heating networks. It competes with Urbio in the planning and feasibility study segment for European municipalities and utilities.

Broad incumbents

• COWI: COWI is a large international engineering consultancy with a substantial district heating and energy planning practice serving utilities and municipalities across Northern Europe. It is a comparable buyer and producer of district heating planning deliverables that Urbio's software aims to digitize and automate.
• Ramboll: Ramboll is a global engineering, architecture, and consultancy firm with deep district heating and urban energy transition expertise across the Nordics and beyond. It overlaps with Urbio in serving the same utility and municipal clients for heat planning, feasibility studies, and decarbonization strategy.
• AFRY: AFRY (formerly Pöyry) is a European engineering and design consultancy with one of the largest district heating and cooling advisory practices globally. It competes with Urbio for municipal heat planning and utility network design mandates, while also developing internal planning tools.
• Esri (ArcGIS): Esri's ArcGIS is the dominant geospatial information system used by utilities and municipalities worldwide. Esri provides the underlying GIS capabilities that Urbio abstracts and augments with AI, and represents a potential competitor or partner depending on how it extends into vertical energy planning applications.
• Siemens Smart Infrastructure: Siemens offers energy management, grid planning, and district energy solutions to utilities and cities, including digital twin and simulation capabilities. It overlaps with Urbio in serving utility customers seeking digital tools for energy network planning and decarbonization.
• Schneider Electric (EcoStruxure): Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure platform provides energy management, monitoring, and optimization for buildings and utilities. It is a broad incumbent serving many of the same utility and municipal customers that Urbio targets, with overlapping analytics and digital twin capabilities.
• Trimble: Trimble provides geospatial, engineering, and infrastructure design software widely used by utilities and engineering consultancies. Its solutions serve as an incumbent platform that competes with Urbio for the design and planning stages of utility network projects.

Emerging players

• Enverid: Enverid is an emerging clean-tech company providing energy efficiency and indoor air quality solutions for buildings, with adjacent analytics for building energy demand. It represents an emerging player using data and software to reduce building energy use, a theme adjacent to Urbio's decarbonization mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urb-io

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urbio