TGFS invests in Zepta Technologies GmbH, a pioneer in digital pest control

04. April 2025

Der TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen beteiligt sich gemeinsam mit der bm‑t aus Thüringen, Chemovator und Gimic Ventures aus Karlsruhe, an der Zepta Technologies GmbH. Zepta ist eine Ausgründung aus dem Chemovator, welcher als Business-Inkubator der BASF das Gründerte am seit 2 Jahren in der Produkt- und Geschäftsmodellentwicklung unterstützt. Das Start-up ist spezialisiert auf digitale Lösungen und Nachhaltigkeit in der Schädlingsbekämpfung. Durch Echtzeitüberwachung reduziert Zepta manuelle Prozesse, minimiert Umweltbelastungen und macht den Markt effizienter.

The company was founded and is led by CEO Martin Cirillo-Schmidt, CSO Lukas Deuscher and CPO Nick Leiding. The aim is to become the industry leader in digital pest control. Its customers are pest controllers and companies from the food industry with their own pest control resources.

The need is great and growing: advancing urbanization is causing the population of rats and other pests to increase exponentially — they are still spreading diseases, destroying infrastructure and endangering agricultural harvests. At the same time, toxic baits are being regulated more and more strictly. Companies urgently need environmentally friendly, low-maintenance alternatives — and this is precisely where Zepta comes in. The market is facing a massive transformation and will become much more important in the future.

Zepta offers an IoT-based, data-driven solution that replaces traditional and environmentally harmful methods. Instead of checking baits manually on a regular basis, Zepta enables 24/7 monitoring in real time. Thanks to the smart monitoring system, the active ingredient-containing baits are only used when necessary. Manual checks for baiting are reduced by up to 90 percent. This saves companies high costs and minimizes the industry’s ecological footprint. Lukas Deuscher, co-founder and CSO of Zepta: “I became interested in pest control at an early age, as my father was in the same industry. We have now launched a product on the market that only combats rats in the event of an actual infestation and does not use active ingredients preventively. This is super-efficient and therefore good for humans and animals — just not for rats and other unwanted rodents.”

TGFS has been supporting start-ups based in Saxony with venture capital since 2008 and is investing a seven-figure sum in Zepta together with bm‑t, Chemovator and GIMIC. The funds from the seed round will be used to further develop the product at the Dresden and Mühlhausen sites, accelerate growth and acquire customers. Sören Schuster, Managing Director of TGFS, on the current transaction: “Zepta has a strong team, has already won over its first customers and is a great example of the innovative strength of the region, showing that technology from Saxony is in demand worldwide. We look forward to supporting the company in its development.”

Your contact person
Sören Schuster | Managing Director TGFS
M +49 172 2001097
soeren.schuster@cfh.de

TGFS deal team
Sören Schuster and Marie Grund