From Academia to Industry: Building cylib's Greener Future with Dr. Lilian Schwich

Welcome to Scaling at Speed, a monthly newsletter from Speedinvest designed to help early-stage founders strategically scale their companies – at speed.

As one of Europe’s leading pan-European early-stage venture capital funds, we know that scaling a business from Seed to Series A and beyond comes with challenges — from navigating market shifts to securing the right talent and capital.

That’s why, each month, we'll bring you exclusive insights and stories directly from the founder frontlines, curated by Callum Burroughs of our Comms team. Through expert advice, founder interviews, and sector-specific tips, we’ll help you identify opportunities and overcome the hurdles of growing a startup.

In this month's edition, we spoke to Dr. Lilian Schwich about cylib's journey from research to scaling sustainably in the battery recycling industry.

Keep scrolling to read the article, find out where you can meet our investors this month, and read their latest insights on the European tech ecosystem.

In this month's Founder Insight, we spoke with Dr. Lilian Schwich, co-founder of Aachen-based cylib. The company is a leader in battery recycling and is a strong example of university spinouts solving real-world problems using hardware and technology.

To date, cylib, which works with giants like Porsche, has raised €60+ million in funding from a range of major investors. Lillian is clear that focused execution, learning to say no, and building with purpose have been key to building a new sustainability champion in Europe.

Read on for an excerpt from Lilian's interview below 👇

cylib is not just following technological trends in the battery recycling industry, it’s leading the charge. At the core of their approach is a relentless focus on innovation, which stems from their research-driven approach and willingness to question the status quo.

“What truly sets us apart is our commitment to shaping technological advancements, not just following them,” Lilian says. “We’re constantly asking ourselves, ‘How can we do this better? How can we improve this process and make it more sustainable?’ We don’t just want to keep up with the industry—we want to lead it.”

This forward-thinking mindset is what has allowed cylib to forge valuable partnerships with key industry players like Porsche and Webasto. These partnerships have been instrumental in validating cylib’s technology on a larger scale and accelerating the company’s growth.

“We’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing partners who share our vision and have been crucial in helping us move forward,” Lilian shares. “Collaborating with industry leaders has enabled us to pilot and validate our technology, making sure we’re delivering solutions that meet real-world needs.”

Scaling Successes

Two of our portfolio companies are on Fast Company's prestigious Most Innovative Companies list!

Greyparrot made the Most Innovative EMEA-based companies list for using AI to increase recycling and curb waste across Europe. Gigs made the list of Most Innovative Business Services companies for helping businesses across multiple industries launch their own mobile phone networks.

Upcoming Events: Let's Meet!

Our team is on the ground across EMEA, hosting, attending, and speaking at events, conferences, and intimate gatherings. We would love to meet you!

• START Summit – [March 20-21, St. Gallen]: Andreas Schwarzenbrunner will join investors from Merantix, Target Global, and Point72 on stage to discuss Europe's next wave of AI companies. Hendrik Steenfadt, MD of our Health & TechBio team, and Wissam Nasreddine of our Growth team will also attend, so say hello!
• Slush Online – [March 25, Virtual]: Join our Partner, Fred Hagenaeur, for a live session on "Fundraising from VCs in the age of AI." The one-hour webinar will include practical tips for early-stage founders raising funds in the age of AI, along with plenty of time for Q&A. Join Slush Online for exclusive access.
• Test Camp Logistics & Robotics Conference – [March 26-27, Dortmund]: Leading founders, investors, and corporations will gather in Dortmund for Test Camp Intralogistics to discover and discuss the latest logistics and robotics. Our GP, Marie-Helene Ametsreiter, will be on stage and testing some of the coolest industry innovations first-hand.
• Energy Tech Summit – [April 9-10, Bilbao]: Energy Tech Summit brings together investors, founders, and government leaders to discuss the latest in climate tech. Namratha Kothapalli of our Climate Tech & Industrial Tech team will be on stage discussing how AI is revolutionizing energy management.
• FIxBE – [April 9-10, Berlin]: Ready to feel the FIBE? Berlin's leading Fintech festival will return in April 2025 with 2,000 attendees, nearly 200 speakers, and two days of networking. Olga Shikhantsova, a Partner with our Fintech team, is an official FIBE ambassador and will be on hand throughout the conference.

Worth Watching

• Want to build a tech stack like Speedinvest? Our Product & Tech Manager, Lukas Huber, is hosting a live webinar on March 20 to share how we use Affinity to unlock fundraising opportunities and connect our portfolio companies to key executives, industry experts, and more.

👉 Check out future events we'll be attending on our blog.

From the Investors' Desk

From deep sector expertise to our take on the future of tech and venture capital in Europe, here are some of our musings from social media – keeping you informed on the latest in our industry.

What value can a seed-stage investor bring to the board of a scaleup?

Our CEO & Managing Partner, Oliver Holle, recently shared more on his role as a long-term board member and advisor to our portfolio company, Inkitt, after a joint podcast appearance with Inkitt founder Ali Albazaz.

To mark International Women's Day, our GP, Marie-Helene Ametsreiter, shared why investing in women is such an important and personal mission.

Our GP, Andreas Schwarzenbrunner, recently celebrated his 2nd anniversary in our Paris office, using the big day to share how much we've already invested in France and why we're doubling down our efforts in the country.

Why don’t we currently invest in data center startups? Namratha Kothapalli from our Climate Tech & Industrial Tech team recently explained this on LinkedIn and in Sifted.

And, finally, is it time to update the definition of ARR? Fred Hagenaeur, Partner with our SaaS & Infra team, posed that question in a hot take on the recent mega success of Lovable.

👉 What else we're reading:

It’s time for Europe’s deep tech companies to go big - Financial Times

Brunch with Eileen Burbidge: 'What's happening in America is crazy' - Sifted

Could deep tech serve as Europe’s path to autonomy from the US? - TechCrunch

Thanks for reading — see you next month,

Callum

Have feedback, suggestions, or topics you'd like us to dive into? Email us at press@speedinvest.com.