Mobility Signage raises €1.8M to fix public transport’s fragmented IT — BVG, Deutsche Bahn, and SSB already on board

When you check a departure board at a Berlin U-Bahn station, that information has typically passed through half a dozen disconnected IT systems before reaching the screen — a scheduling tool, an operations management platform, a passenger information system, a display controller — each from a different vendor, each running on its own logic, each requiring manual coordination to stay in sync. Across Europe’s public transport networks, this fragmented IT landscape is the norm, not the exception.

Mobility Signage, a Munich-based startup founded in 2023, has built a central data architecture that ties these systems together — without requiring operators to replace any of them. The company has raised €1.8 million in pre-seed funding, led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) with participation from 2bX, a Berlin-based UrbanTech fund.

The problem that built the company

Stefan Rademacher and Dominik Nouri didn’t set out to solve a theoretical problem. Both worked together at Veomo, a Munich-based mobility software company, where they experienced firsthand how deeply fragmented public transport IT had become. Scheduling software from one vendor, passenger information systems from another, operations management from a third — each layer sitting in its own silo, with no unified logic connecting them.

The result is a daily operational burden for transport teams and a consistently poor passenger experience. Real-time information is hard to guarantee across all channels simultaneously. Construction alerts and disruption notices require manual coordination across multiple systems. And any attempt to improve one layer risks breaking its connection to the others.

“Transport operators don’t need yet another standalone tool — they need a unifying system logic. We replace the patchwork of one-off solutions with an integrated, scalable platform.” — Stefan Rademacher, Co-Founder

“Our goal is to connect fragmented IT landscapes and create a reliable data foundation for real-time information — without forcing operators to rip out their existing systems.” — Dominik Nouri, Co-Founder

How the platform works

Mobility Signage’s Data Hub acts as a central integration layer that sits above existing operator systems rather than replacing them. It ingests data from scheduling, operations management, and passenger information systems; normalises and standardises the data flows; and redistributes consistent, real-time information across every output channel — departure boards, onboard displays, mobile apps, public address systems, and digital signage.

The architecture is modular and hardware-independent, meaning it can be deployed incrementally alongside whatever infrastructure an operator already has in place. The first application modules built on top of the Data Hub automate two of the most operationally intensive processes in public transport:

The founders: industry insiders who built the solution they needed

Traction: Germany’s biggest operators, already live

For a pre-seed company founded in 2023, the customer list is unusually strong. Mobility Signage is already live with four of Germany’s most significant public transport operators:

Leading hardware manufacturers have also signed on as development partners — a signal that the open, integrable architecture is resonating across the entire supply chain, not just with operators.

Investor perspective

“Public transport operators are under pressure from skills shortages, ageing IT systems, and growing ridership. Mobility Signage addresses exactly these pain points with a modular, AI-native solution. The team has already proven real-world traction, with some of Germany’s largest operators as customers. The central data architecture is the key to making public transport fit for the future.”

— Tizian Hoppen, Senior Investment Manager, HTGF

Co-investor 2bX is a Berlin-based UrbanTech fund that backs early-stage European startups tackling urban challenges including climate, density, and quality of life in cities. Their participation alongside HTGF reflects the dual framing of Mobility Signage as both a deep-tech infrastructure play and an urban systems company.

The bigger opportunity

The global Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) market is growing rapidly, driven by a combination of urbanisation, climate policy, and rising passenger expectations. But the pace of digital modernisation in public transport has consistently lagged behind other sectors — not because operators lack the will, but because the cost and complexity of replacing legacy systems has made transformation feel impossible.

Mobility Signage’s “connect, don’t replace” philosophy directly addresses that barrier. By sitting above existing infrastructure rather than displacing it, the platform offers a modernisation path that doesn’t require operators to make a binary choice between their current systems and a better digital experience. That positioning — plus real traction with some of Germany’s largest transit authorities before raising institutional capital — makes this one of the more credible early bets in European mobility infrastructure.

Mobility Signage is based in Munich, Germany. More information at mobilitysignage.com.

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