Futurail raises €7.5 million to bring autonomous trains on track
Futurail drives the next era of rail innovation across Europe and the US
Strasbourg & Munich, September 23, 2025 – Futurail, the European deep-tech startup developing an autonomy stack for self-driving trains, announced the closing of a seed round, bringing total funding to €7.5 million. The round was co-led by Asterion Ventures (Paris) and Leap435 (Munich), joined by EIT Urban Mobility and U.S. investors Zero Infinity Partners and Heroic Ventures.
Founded in 2023, Futurail is led by former Tesla, Argo AI, and Edge Case leaders, who previously shaped the rise of autonomous driving in the automotive sector. Now, they are bringing that expertise to rail with a clear mission: to make trains the most attractive mode of transportation. “
While leading the Autopilot team at Tesla, I saw how autonomy can completely transform an entire industry,” said Alex Haag, CEO and Co-Founder of Futurail. “We founded Futurail to bring that same revolutionary potential to rail, turning a 200-year-old industry into the backbone of sustainable mobility.” As of today, Futurail is already working with customers in Europe and the US, integrating and testing their system.
Building the first certified system for driverless trains
Futurail is using their world-leading AI technology to tackle one of rail’s biggest challenges: a growing shortage of train drivers limiting the expansion of rail services and driving up operating costs.
Governments are under increasing pressure to offer flexible, cost-efficient and sustainable mobility for citizens and industries alike, which they can only achieve by shifting both passengers and freight from road to rail. Futurail meets this urgent demand head-on with automated train operation that allows operators to run more services at lower cost while boosting reliability, flexibility, and safety. Its autonomy stack, FUTURAILDriver, can be integrated into new trains or retrofitted onto existing fleets. Importantly, it also enables full use of secondary lines and the reopening of previously unprofitable routes, strengthening regional connectivity and unlocking new capacity across the network.
The startup already benefits from strategic early partnerships: in Europe with Lohr Group, a French global specialist in the design and manufacture of transport systems, including in railways; and in the United States with Parallel Systems, an automated, battery-electric freight rail vehicles startup founded by former SpaceX engineers.
“What excites our partners is that autonomy unlocks both growth and efficiency,” said Maximilian Schöffer, CCO and Co-Founder. “Operators can run more trains, more often, at lower cost. That is a complete game-changer.”
At scale, this shift will move millions of passengers and tons of freight from road to rail, avoiding more than 10 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually.
“This is not a fancy research project,” added Dr. Patrick Dendorfer, CTO and Co-Founder. “It is about the serious ambition to build a certified, safe system that holds the expectations to redefine how people and goods move.”
Autonomy unlocks a new era of growth and innovation
Investors see in Futurail a unique opportunity to lead the train autonomy market. “[Futurail] combines deep technical expertise and long-term vision with proven commercial traction to establish global relevance,” said Alexandre Sauvage, Partner at Asterion Ventures. “Their technology has the potential to transform rail into the backbone of sustainable mobility in Europe and beyond.”
Dr. Matthias Kempf, Founding Partner at Leap435 added: “Just as electric traction replaced steam and defined a new era, autonomy is the transformative technology of this century for the rail. Futurail is delivering this leap and ensuring Europe’s industry stays ahead.”
Futurail accelerates next phase of growth with fresh funding
With €7.5 million in funding, comprising €5.5 million in seed investment, €1 million in public grants, and €1 million from a pre-seed conversion, Futurail will accelerate team expansion, drive key projects with leading train OEMs and operators, and obtain regulatory approval for its first use case: depot autonomy.
About Futurail
Futurail is a leading technology startup and autonomy powerhouse based in France and Germany, developing the technology to make self-driving trains a reality. Its holistic autonomy stack powers the future of autonomous rail transportation, enabling operators to deliver a superior experience for passengers and more efficient, seamless movement of goods. The company’s mission is to make trains more attractive by offering frequent, reliable, cost-effective, and low-carbon transportation—contributing to the broader transition from road to rail. Founded in 2023 by Alex Haag, Dr. Patrick Dendorfer, and Maximilian Schöffer, the Franco-German startup brings together deep expertise in autonomous driving, AI and rail, with a clear commitment to shaping the future of rail mobility.
About Asterion Ventures
Based in Paris and Amsterdam, Asterion Ventures is redefining what venture capital can be. In just four years, the firm has mobilized nearly €60M into 30 early-stage startups – four already scaling into Series A/B with top-tier funds, and one successful exit. Its difference: scale with purpose – a community of 800+ entrepreneurs and executives investing as business angels, backing founders not only through capital but also through experience, networks, and conviction. Beyond financing, Asterion has built dedicated programs for excited founders and entrepreneurial families. One of the few European VCs truly committed to staying at founders’ side far beyond the first round, Asterion is designed for patient, long-term support. https://www.asterionventures.com/en
About Leap435
Leap435 is an early-stage VC fund from Germany, backing outlier founders in mobility and logistics and the tech that powers it. Combining entrepreneurship experience, deep tech and industry expertise, and an actively supporting network of c-level innovators, Leap435 is the go-to partner to win big in the space. https://www.leap435.vc/
About EIT Urban Mobility
EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, is Europe’s most active early-stage investor in sustainable urban mobility. EIT Urban Mobility backs impactful startups at pre-seed and seed stage and helps them scale through a powerful network of 1,000+ partners, including cities, academia and industry leaders. https://www.eiturbanmobility.eu/
About Zero Infinity Partners
ZIP is pioneering the infra-tech investing category. ZIP invests in founders and companies looking to deploy innovative technologies and business ideas in the global infrastructure sectors, including energy, power, mobility, logistics, data, water, and waste. Learn more at www.zeroinfinitypartners.com.
About Heroic Ventures
Heroic Ventures is a leading early-stage venture capital firm investing in heroes – the passionate and purposeful entrepreneurs solving real problems in huge markets. Heroic Ventures is based in Palo Alto, CA. https://www.heroicvc.com
