The archive · Money & Fintech · Strategic decision · 2015–2026
Solaris's BaaS bet nearly died at a €90M rescue; SBI pivots it to an AI-native bank
Germany's white-label banking unicorn fell from €1.6B to a €90M rescue valuation, then rewired its API platform as Europe's first 'AI-native bank'.
Solaris
What the business is
Berlin fintech holding a German banking licence that sells white-label digital banking, cards, lending and KYC through APIs to companies that do not want to become banks themselves.
Starting capital：Solaris raised hundreds of millions from investors including Visa and BBVA and reached a ~$1.6B unicorn valuation in 2021; a €140M Series G in February 2025 led by SBI Group and Börse Stuttgart left SBI with more than 80% and reportedly valued the company near €90M.
How it started
Founded in Berlin in the mid-2010s by Marko Wenthin and Andreas Bittner, Solaris built a modular banking platform around its own German banking licence and was once touted as Europe's largest embedded-finance platform, supplying white-label banking infrastructure to fintechs like Trade Republic and Tomorrow Bank. Investors included Visa and BBVA, and the company was valued as a unicorn at around $1.6B in 2021.
What happened
The model began to crack as German regulator BaFin raised capital requirements and restricted new partnerships, and Solaris reported €178M in losses for 2023. CEO Carsten Höltkemeyer, in place since October 2022, cut roughly 240 of 700 jobs, and Solaris sued Binance for €144M in guaranteed fees after their Visa card partnership ended. In February 2025 SBI Group and Börse Stuttgart led an urgent €140M Series G that made SBI the majority shareholder at a reported valuation near €90M. New CEO Steffen Jentsch, hired from broker Flatex at the start of 2026, then cut about 80 of 400 roles, closed subsidiaries in Italy, Spain and France, and repositioned Solaris as Europe's first 'AI-native bank', with AI agents handling operational processes while humans keep control and governance.
How it ended up
Still operating under SBI ownership, Solaris is betting the pivot restores growth: ADAC and Börse Stuttgart now make up around 80% of revenue, profitability is pushed out to 2028, and BaFin must still approve new clients.
Background
Solaris is a Berlin-based fintech that holds a full German banking licence and sells white-label digital banking, card payments, lending and KYC through APIs, so other companies can offer regulated financial products without becoming banks. Co-founded by Marko Wenthin and Andreas Bittner, it was once touted as Europe's largest embedded-finance platform, counting fintechs such as Trade Republic and Tomorrow Bank as clients and investors including Visa and BBVA.
The founding bet was that banking-as-a-service could scale: any brand, not just a licensed bank, would be able to embed finance, and Solaris would earn from the volume. That bet carried it to a unicorn valuation of around $1.6B in 2021, but the underlying costs were hostile. German regulator BaFin had been scrutinising the company since 2020, raising capital requirements and restricting new partnerships, and Solaris reported €178M in losses for 2023.
The near-death moment came in February 2025, when Solaris raised an urgent €140M Series G led by Japan's SBI Group and Börse Stuttgart. SBI became the majority shareholder with more than 80%, and the company's valuation was reported to have collapsed to around €90M. The round followed deep job cuts under CEO Carsten Höltkemeyer and a €144M lawsuit against Binance over guaranteed card-programme fees.
In 2026 new CEO Steffen Jentsch, hired from broker Flatex, turned the company toward what it calls an 'AI-native bank': about 80 of 400 staff were cut, subsidiaries in Italy, Spain and France were slated for closure, and AI agents took over operational processes such as transaction monitoring while humans keep control and governance. Two anchor clients - ADAC, Germany's largest motor association with about 23M members, and Börse Stuttgart - now generate roughly 80% of revenue, and Solaris targets profitability in 2028.
What has to be true
- Holding the banking licence made Solaris responsible for every partner's compliance, so small partners cost more than they earned once scrutiny tightened.
- Two giant enterprise clients create a lock-in effect that stabilises revenue while the company rebuilds its cost base.
- Automating a modular, API-first bank is far cheaper than trying the same AI rewrite on legacy core banking systems.
- A majority owner with patient capital (SBI) made a painful but orderly rescue possible instead of liquidation.
What can be applied
A platform that sells regulated products to many small partners accumulates compliance cost faster than revenue; surviving meant concentrating on a few giants and automating the bank itself.
Aftermath
As of early September 2026 Solaris operates under SBI as majority shareholder, executing the 'AI-native bank' strategy announced in March 2026: AI agents handle operational processes such as anti-money-laundering checks while humans keep control and governance, with new services being built for ADAC and Börse Stuttgart, which together represent about 80% of revenue. It has cut roughly 20% of its 400-strong workforce, plans to close subsidiaries in Italy, Spain and France, and pushed profitability from 2027 to 2028. BaFin restrictions remain, and Visa and BBVA no longer hold stakes.
Sources
- Solaris raises urgent €140M to stay afloat: Can Germany's BaaS giant survive the fintech storm?
- German fintech Solaris to axe 20 per cent of 400-strong workforce, as becomes 'AI-native bank'
- 'Huge wave coming over financial services industry,' says boss of 'Europe's first AI-native bank'
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card