Tentris raises €2M pre-seed to fix graph databases for enterprise AI
What's the deal? TentrisDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a graph database startup spun out of Paderborn University, has raised €2 million in pre-seed funding. Bloomhaus VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → led the round, joined by Vanagon VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, āltitudeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, 10x Value PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and angel investor Pascal WichmannDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? The Herford-based company wants to build what chief executive Alexander BigerlDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → calls a "trusted graph database for the next generation of enterprise AI." Its technology uses a compressed data structure — a hypertrie — to run complex, circular queries that slow down conventional systems.
The problem is specific: queries that trace a loop between two connected records, such as finding customers who both bought and reviewed a product. "These cyclic connections, they seem pretty simple in the human mind, but for computers and databases, they are a big obstacle," Bigerl says. A bank could use it to track suspicious transactions across millions of accounts in real time.
Why now? The funding lands as companies seek ways to make AI systems easier to explain and less prone to wrong answers. Knowledge graphs supply the context AI needs, but Bigerl says today's databases struggle as data grows. The graph database market was valued at $3.31 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $11.35 billion by 2030.
A grant came first. Unlike most startups that raise private capital early, Tentris built its first product before seeking investors, using Germany's EXIST Transfer of Research program — a federal grant for university spinouts. That funding helped it build a beta and gather customer feedback, which Bigerl says was strong enough to attract venture capital.
Bigerl founded Tentris in 2024 with Tobias RebertDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Nikolaos Karalis, and Professor Axel-Cyrille Ngonga Ngomo. The idea began about seven years earlier during his studies, when he explored tensor computation techniques to speed up graph databases. "This is much too good to be left in the drawer, like so many other research results," he says.
What could go wrong? Tentris sits in a competitive market. Bigerl names GraphwiseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s GraphDB and US-based StardogDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → as main rivals, positioning the startup in a specialised segment rather than against larger players like Neo4j.
The signal: Tentris' path — building on public money before raising VC — mirrors a deliberate policy shift in Germany and the EU toward non-dilutive, milestone-based funding for early-stage tech. Berlin has expanded state-backed innovation instruments in recent years to close the country's chronic early-stage funding gap. Using subsidised grants to reach a VC-ready stage lets founders preserve equity and potentially win better terms at their first institutional round.
Read more: Tech Funding News
Image credit: Tentris
