In 2008, Benedikt Sauter and Claudia Sauter founded the company under the name embedded projects GmbH. At first, it sold computer hardware. In the early 2010s, the couple developed an in‑house ERP service based on open‑source technology to support their hardware business. This system laid the foundation for what would later become Xentral ERP.[4][5]
On 23 November 2018, the company rebranded as waWision, shifting focus from hardware to software and setting the stage for the ERP product’s market rollout.[6]
In early 2018, Xentral received its first external funding from Frank Thelen and his firm Freigeist Capital.[7][8]
In March 2020, Xentral released version 20.1 of its on‑premise software, featuring integrated interfaces for Shopware 6, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Gambio. This update introduced mobile optimization and a redesigned user interface.[9][10]
By January 2021, Xentral had grown to serve around 1,000 SMEs and secured a US$20 million Series A investment led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Visionaries Club.[11][12]
In August 2021, the company raised a $75 million Series B funding round led by Tiger Global Management and Meritech Capital, with continued participation from Sequoia, Visionaries Club, and Freigeist Capital. This brought Xentral’s total known funding to approximately $95 million.[13][14]
In December 2022, Benedikt Sauter was awarded the Gründergeist Award 2022 by Hochschule Augsburg,[15][16] and Xentral won the Best Omnichannel Solution award at the E‑commerce Germany Awards 2022.[17]
At the end of 2023, Domenico Cipolla joined as Co‑CEO to support the company’s scale‑up phase, allowing Benedikt Sauter to focus more on product development and customer engagement.[18][19] In 2023, Xentral reported processing €3 billion in commercial transactions.[20]