At XAnge, we’ve always believed that Europe is home to product excellence—and today, we’re thrilled to announce the sale of our stake in Airfocus, the Hamburg-based product management platform, as it joins Lucid Software, the US leader in visual collaboration.
A Founder Who Understood Positioning Was Everything
In venture, few things matter more than clarity. And when we first met Malte Scholz, it was obvious: he wasn’t just building a product—he was building a category.
Positioning wasn’t a marketing afterthought. It was a foundational pillar of Airfocus from day one. In his own words, as shared in this interview:
“Everything is about positioning. Who are you? What’s your ICP? What’s the exact pain you’re solving? What value are you creating—and for whom?”
This level of clarity is rare among early-stage founders. But for Malte and the Airfocus team, it translated into a series of high-conviction decisions:
- Not chasing a horizontal productivity trend, but instead narrowing in on product teams as their core user base.
- Building for depth over breadth, with a modular product that adapted to the complexity of real-life roadmapping—rather than forcing teams into rigid workflows.
- Designing with user empathy, knowing that spreadsheets weren’t the enemy—they were the standard. And to replace them, Airfocus had to feel as flexible and intuitive.
- Aligning GTM and fundraising around key milestones, as Malte describes candidly in the video: “When you know a funding round is coming, you get the team aligned, you push, you postpone vacations. You make the curve go up.”
Airfocus succeeded because the product solved a clear, validated problem—but it scaled because the founders positioned it with surgical precision in a market desperate for structure, visibility, and focus.
For us as investors, it was a reminder that product-market fit is not just about traction—it’s about narrative-market fit. And Malte nailed that from the beginning.
From Hamburg to Global Scale
Over the years, the Airfocus team built one of Europe’s most promising product strategy platforms, with 800+ clients including Caterpillar, Goodyear, and Qonto.
Their latest innovation, the AI-powered assistant Oro, makes it even easier for product teams to prioritize, plan, and execute. Airfocus isn’t just replacing outdated tools—it’s reshaping how teams think about product strategy.
That’s exactly what made it such a perfect fit for Lucid Software, whose visual collaboration suite (Lucidchart, Lucidspark…) already helps 100M+ users plan and build complex projects. With Airfocus, Lucid adds a new layer: product strategy and execution.
XAnge’s Role in the Journey
We partnered with Airfocus in 2021, convinced by the vision of Malte Scholz and Valentin Firak, and excited to support a fast-growing B2B SaaS company rooted in product excellence. From the start, we saw a team that combined ambition with clarity—ready to build a modular, AI-powered product management platform tailored to the real needs of modern product teams.
In his founder interview, Malte reflects on the impact of early investors:
“Early investors helped us with things like building a financial model or understanding metrics like payback period and customer lifetime value. These are things you don’t learn in school—and without them, Airfocus wouldn’t be where it is today.”
That’s the kind of support we strive to offer every founder we back. Our team worked hand-in-hand with Airfocus to refine their strategic KPIs, structure their go-to-market efforts, and successfully expand into France—helping them land key enterprise accounts and accelerate growth across Europe.
“Airfocus stood out for its clarity of vision and modularity. The team managed to bring AI into the product workflow in a way that truly empowers users. We’re proud to have supported them from the early stages to this exciting new chapter with Lucid.”
A Strong Signal for European SaaS
With this transaction, and despite a challenging exit environment, Airfocus proves that with the right team, positioning, and product strategy, European tech can achieve global scale and impact.
Congratulations to the entire Airfocus team. We couldn’t be prouder to have been part of the journey.
