VARM has secured Series A funding to scale its workforce model for home insulation, training career changers as certified installers to address labour shortages and accelerate energy-efficiency upgrades across Europe.
Berlin-based climatetech startup VARM has raised €17.5 million in a Series A funding round led by ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund and co-led by GET Fund. The round also included participation from Aurum Impact, alongside existing investors Emerge Partners and Pale Blue Dot.
The funding comes as Europe faces mounting pressure to improve the energy efficiency of its building stock. In Germany alone, millions of homes remain poorly insulated, highlighting the scale of the challenge.
While insulation technologies are widely available, the shortage of qualified workers remains one of the biggest barriers to large-scale deployment. The challenge extends across Europe, where countries are working to meet their 2030 building-efficiency targets.
VARM is addressing this workforce gap through what it calls a “Cloud Installer” model. The company trains career changers from outside the construction sector, including former logistics and retail workers, to become certified insulation specialists within weeks. It then deploys them through regional teams, manages quality control in-house and provides customers with fixed-price quotes before installation begins.
The model is designed to simplify and accelerate home insulation projects. According to the company, a standard single-family home can be insulated in around six hours.
The company was founded by Christian Grüner (CEO), a mathematician and former Siemens Advanta executive, and Sebastian Würz (COO), who previously co-founded housing platform Homefully, later acquired by Habyt.
With the new funding, VARM plans to expand its operations and further scale its workforce model to support growing demand for energy-efficiency upgrades across Europe.