wechange

What wechange does

wechange eG is a Berlin-based German cooperative (Genossenschaft) founded in February 2016 that develops and operates UniteOS, an open-source white-label networking and collaboration platform for organizations with distributed, network-shaped structures. UniteOS combines social-network functionality (profiles, directories, maps, forums, news, chat) with collaboration tooling (groups, files, tasks) into a single configurable platform deployable under the customer's own domain, logo, and design. The technology is open source, hosted exclusively on Hetzner servers in Germany on 100% green electricity, and architected for full GDPR/DSGVO compliance with EU-only data residency — positioning the product as a sovereign alternative to US hyperscalers like Microsoft Teams or Slack. Underneath UniteOS, the cooperative also runs wechange.de, a free solidarity-financed community platform hosting 60,000-80,000 changemakers in 9,300+ groups, which serves both as movement infrastructure for the social-ecological transformation space and as a top-of-funnel lead generator for enterprise UniteOS sales.

The business model is built on two revenue streams: a one-time setup fee starting at €9,000 covering configuration and whitelabel onboarding, and a recurring monthly hosting fee starting at €450 covering German-hosted infrastructure, maintenance, support, and updates — notably with no per-user, per-project, or per-group fees, allowing platforms to scale from 50 to 50,000+ users without cost increases. Go-to-market is sales-led, with personalized consultation and live product demonstrations targeting municipalities (Kommunen), NGOs and alliances, federal associations and committees (Verbände), foundations, social organizations, and academic/research institutions — an exclusively European footprint centered on Germany. Customers include regional governments (Kielregion, Smart City Bamberg, Regionalverband Großraum Braunschweig), foundations (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung), healthcare networks (ITV.SH), energy cooperatives (Bürgerwerke), and advocacy networks (Scientists for Future, Green Teams Netzwerk). The cooperative is member-owned rather than investor-backed, operates a sociocratic governance model where employees elect board members, and is currently restructuring its membership and cooperative processes through 2025-2026.

Name

wechange

Legal name

wechange eG

Website

https://wechange.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

wechange eG is a Berlin-based cooperative operating UniteOS, an open-source, GDPR-compliant whitelabel networking and collaboration platform for municipalities, NGOs, foundations, and associations across Europe, with a free community portal serving 60,000+ changemakers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community and Collaboration Software

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Messaging-Led Community Platforms (Chat/Group Communities) (MPACAJAE)

Keywords

• White-label community platform
• Open-source networking software
• Digital sovereignty solutions
• Collaboration platform municipalities
• Cooperative civic technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. UniteOS Platform Licensing: Professional whitelabel platform solution sold to organizations. Consists of one-time setup fee for configuration, individualization, and onboarding, plus monthly fee for hosting in Germany, maintenance, support, and regular updates. No per-user licensing costs.
2. One-time Setup Services: Initial platform configuration, customization, and onboarding services. Starting at 9,000 EUR one-time payment.
3. Wechange.de Community Platform: Free open community platform for social-ecological transformation movement, financed solidaristically. Generates community adoption and brand awareness for commercial UniteOS offering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

wechange develops and operates UniteOS, an open-source white-label networking and community platform sold to organizations as a customized, self-hosted instance. Customers include municipalities, NGOs, foundations, associations, and networks across Germany and Europe, who receive a branded platform with their own domain, data ownership, and GDPR-compliant hosting on green-energy servers in Germany. A free public community platform (wechange.de) is also operated to showcase the technology and onboard new users.

Product overview

wechange eG offers a unified platform-plus-application portfolio anchored by the UniteOS core — an open-source, whitelabel networking and collaboration platform infrastructure for municipalities, foundations, associations, NGOs, and scientific institutions. Built on top of UniteOS runs wechange.de, a freely accessible, solidarity-financed community portal for the social-ecological transformation movement. Organizations can license UniteOS for a customized, branded portal with full data sovereignty, while wechange.de serves as the shared, open community application hosting tens of thousands of changemakers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UniteOS: Open-source platform infrastructure for digital networking and collaboration used by municipalities, foundations, associations, and NGOs.
• wechange.de

Products and services

• UniteOS Open-source, modular white-label networking and community platform sold to organizations as a customized, self-hosted or cooperatively-hosted instance. Provides group and member management, internal communications, event coordination, file sharing, and engagement tools under the customer's own brand and domain, with full data ownership and GDPR-compliant hosting on green-energy servers in Germany. Targeted at municipalities, foundations, NGOs, associations, and networks in German-speaking Europe.
• wechange.de Free, public-facing community and networking platform based on UniteOS, available to individuals and informal groups in German-speaking countries. Used to find collaboration, working groups, events, and projects aligned with sustainability, social, and civic topics; also serves as a live demonstration and acquisition funnel for the paid UniteOS offering.

Quantifiable outcome

• UniteOS serves 20+ platforms with 300,000 people
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and support.

• Hetzner Online GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationWeb hosting provider for wechange platforms. Servers operated on 100% green electricity. Located in Germany (Gunzenhausen), ensuring data sovereignty and GDPR compliance.
• Mailjet SASsupportTechnology or IntegrationNewsletter distribution service used for communications. Located in Paris, France. Supports email marketing and customer communications.
• M-Ds (Max-Sabersky-Allee)supportOthersAccounting services provider supporting financial operations for paid platform services.
• Heinrich-Böll-StiftungcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOperates 'Studynet' - a specialized portal on UniteOS for scholarship program participants. High data protection standards for young scholars.
• KielregioncoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerOperates regional engagement platform on UniteOS for coordination across the Kiel metropolitan region.
• Smart City BambergcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerOperates comprehensive citizen participation platform for the city of Bamberg.
• ITV.SH (Initiative Telemedizin Versorgung Schleswig-Holstein)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerHealthcare network platform connecting medical providers across Schleswig-Holstein.
• GLS BanksupportOthersCooperative bank where wechange eG holds its business accounts. Operates sustainable and ecological banking.
• Thinkfarm BerlinsupportOthersCoworking space in Berlin Tempelhof where wechange has its office. Shares values of self-organization and sustainability.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Moodle: Open-source learning platform with strong community features used heavily in education and research. Adjacent to UniteOS in scientific/research vertical use cases but oriented toward LMS rather than general networking.

Direct peers

• Open Social: Open-source community platform offering profiles, groups, events, and collaboration features built on Drupal. Closely comparable to UniteOS in feature scope and open-source positioning for organizations.
• HumHub: Open-source social network and collaboration software, headquartered in Germany. wechange explicitly positions UniteOS as a 'HumHub-Alternative,' indicating direct overlap in open-source enterprise social networking for organizations.

Broad incumbents

• Slack: Workplace messaging and collaboration platform owned by Salesforce. Named in wechange materials as a closed-system incumbent with per-user licensing, representing the typical collaboration tool UniteOS displaces.
• Microsoft Teams: Dominant collaboration platform bundled with Microsoft 365, used broadly by enterprises and public-sector organizations. Cited by wechange as a closed-source incumbent lacking data sovereignty, representing the primary competitive alternative.
• Workplace from Meta: Enterprise social network from Meta combining social feeds with workplace collaboration. Closely parallels UniteOS's social-network-plus-collaboration positioning at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Discourse: Open-source discussion and community platform with chat, groups, and forum features. Overlaps with UniteOS in community/forum functionality, though more discussion-centric than full collaboration suite.
• Nextcloud: Open-source European collaboration suite (file sync, chat, collaboration) headquartered in Germany. Strong overlap with wechange's open-source, EU-hosted, data-sovereign positioning.
• Circle: SaaS community platform for creators and organizations offering branded spaces with chat, events, and courses. Comparable to wechange.de's community model and UniteOS's networking features, though oriented toward creator/community monetization.
• Tribe Technologies: Community platform SaaS providing customizable spaces for brands and organizations to build branded communities. Similar use cases to UniteOS's whitelabel deployments, though Tribe is a venture-funded closed-source alternative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wechange-eg

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 wechange