Solaris SE Crisis
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Solaris SE (formerly Solarisbank) is a Berlin-based banking-as-a-service / embedded finance platform founded in 2015 by Andreas Bittner and Marko Wenthin. It provided white-label banking infrastructure via APIs to fintechs and brands, with clients including Trade Republic, Tomorrow Bank, ADAC and Boerse Stuttgart Group. Once a unicorn valued at over a billion euros (2021), it raised about €500 million in total.
02 / Solaris SE Crisis FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Solaris expanded aggressively in the low-rate era, then struggled as rates rose and investors turned cautious. It reported €178 million in losses for 2023. BaFin regulatory scrutiny (since 2020) raised capital requirements and restricted new-client onboarding; a Lithuanian business was closed after an €840,000 AML fine, and major parts of its UK EMI business (Contis, acquired 2021) were discontinued. By late 2024 the company urgently needed funding or a buyer: it cut 240 of 700 jobs, saw its valuation collapse to €90 million, and was rescued by a €140 million round from Japan's SBI Group, which took a controlling stake.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Solarisbank founded in Berlin; grows into Europe's leading BaaS/embedded finance platform; valued above €1 billion in 2021.
- Crisis and rescue
Solaris lays off 240 of 700 employees, discontinues major parts of its UK EMI business and urgently seeks €100–150 million or a buyer. In November 2024, SBI Group leads a €140 million rescue round (€90M equity, €25M bond, €25M deferred payments from ADAC), takes a controlling stake, and the valuation is slashed to €90 million.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
2023: net loss €178M (~US$192M at 2023 average EUR/USD 1.08).
- 02
Oct 2024: 240 of 700 jobs cut; EMI business discontinued.
- 03
Nov 2024: €140M SBI-led rescue; controlling stake; valuation cut to €90M.
- 04
Company continues under SBI; 2026: pivoting to 'AI-native bank'.