BarnVentures & AngelME Ventures acquire USECON
BarnVentures (formerly MoonHolding) and AngelME Ventures have successfully acquired the renowed consulting firm USECON GmbH, forging a significant alliance for innovation.
This strategic partnership marks a milestone in the corporate development of USECON GmbH and aims to create synergies to drive groundbreaking projects.
Filip Zganjer, CEO of BarnVentures, emphasizes: “As announced, we will strengthen our focus on Human Centered Technologies and digital humanism. With the massive use of AI, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between human and machine. We are excited about the new partnership with USECON and the opportunities that will arise, especially in the area of AR/VR and digital resilience strengthening.”
USECON brings its impressive expertise in innovation and research projects in the field of complex digitalization topics, including AR/VR training and virtualization of resilience and mental health apps in this alliance.
Markus Ertler, CEO of AngelME Ventures, is convinced: “By combining our competencies, USECON will once again become one of the top three consulting and implementation agencies in Austria. AngelME Ventures’ collaboration with USECON and BarnVentures is an ideal and complementary addition to AngelME Ventures’ existing 35 investments.”
USECON’s core competencies, such as consulting on innovations in the digitalization environment as well as setup and consulting for research projects, will be continued and expanded in order to design and implement groundbreaking projects together with companies from the BarnVentures portfolio.
BarnVentures will coordinate activities, provide technical consulting and closely monitor the market for new technologies. The group will support USECON’s evolution in new areas such as innovation management and consulting. In addition, BarnVentures will actively work to identify, create and participate in promising startups and promote spin-offs.
USECON has realized impressive projects in the recent past that underline underline its innovative spirit. The MED1stMR project deals with mixed reality training technology for medical first responders, while the
EU-funded research project SHOTPROS developed a virtual reality training solution developed for police officers. USECON coordinated the project SHOTPROS, which was awarded the prestigious Austrian eAward for digitalization and even after the end of the project is regularly invited by the EU as a prestigious project at events such as the Open Day at the Commission building or events on security research. When it comes to research, USECON focuses on linking technology, science and users:in interaction with marketable solutions.
The newly created partnership promises to increase innovation and growth opportunities for both companies. Founder and previous CEO, Prof. Manfred Tscheligi, recognized expert in the fields of user experience and human-computer interaction, will join the Advisory Board to efficiently guide the strategic direction of the companies.
This alliance opens exciting perspectives in the world of human centered technologies and digitalization of resilience strengthening and underlines the joint commitment to foster innovation and excellence.
About BarnVentures
BarnVentures, formerly known as MoonHolding, was founded in 2014 by Florian Bauer and Filip Zganjer. Based in Vienna, Austria, the company is a pioneer in creating and incubating digital companies that shape the online landscape. Its portfolio includes companies in advanced technology, e-commerce and deep tech. In 2022, BarnVentures recorded two significant exits: IT service provider Moonshiner and AI startup MoonVision were sold to two well-known investors. Currently, BarnVentures employs around 65 people at its Vienna location Alpenmilchzentrale and in the TechSpaceTirana.
About AngelME Ventures
The CEO of AngelME Ventures – Markus Ertler, CBA – is one of Austria’s digital pioneers. Already in 1982, at the age of ten, he started writing his first computer programs. In spring 1994, he and his brother founded the world’s first digital real estate platform – Immobilien.NET – and made the portal the market leader. With its sale, he landed Austria’s largest Classifieds exit of 2014. Since then, he has pursued his passion as an enthusiastic entrepreneur and business angel, supporting numerous young entrepreneurs through his passionate coaching. Markus Ertler is a Certified Business Angel (CBA), Super Angel of the Year 2015 (formerly AAIA, now Invest Austria), Business Angel of the Year 2019 (AWS), holds several supervisory board mandates and is currently involved in 35 active startups.
About USECON
USECON is an internationally operating full-service technology company headquartered in Vienna. For more than 20 years, the company has been a strategic partner for its customers, supporting them in digital transformation processes and interactive system design.
In terms of content, USECON focuses on user experience design, customer experience as well as tech experience development. The ongoing development of new technologies to meet industry-specific challenges, together with the methodological, professional and technological expertise of its employees, ensures sustainable customer success in the digital transformation.
