Circeus Debuts an AI-Native Playbook for the Everyday Economy

LONDON – June 29, 2026 – In a significant move that signals a new chapter in software consolidation, the group behind Shop Circle today launched Circeus, an “AI-native holding company” for mission-critical software. The launch is backed by a fresh equity investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), positioning Circeus to accelerate its unique strategy of acquiring B2B software companies and re-engineering them with a centralized artificial intelligence core.

This isn't merely a rebranding. The move formalizes a strategic pivot from the commerce-focused Shop Circle—which now becomes the group’s retail software division—to a broader holding company structure. Circeus aims to acquire and permanently hold vertical software businesses that power what it calls the “everyday economy.” With 18 acquisitions completed and over 200,000 businesses served worldwide, the company is betting that the future of software value lies not in adding AI as a feature, but in using it as the fundamental operating system.

The Compounding Model: AI as an Operating System

At the heart of the Circeus strategy is a repeatable, compounding model that distinguishes it from traditional private equity and software consolidators. The company selectively acquires profitable, often bootstrapped, software businesses and connects them to a central AI engineering capability. The core idea is to build AI agents and skills once and deploy them across the entire portfolio, creating efficiencies that a standalone company would struggle to achieve.

This central nervous system allows Circeus to transform acquired assets from passive “systems of record” into proactive “systems of action.” According to the company, this transformation is already yielding impressive results. AI-enabled features are reportedly driving a double-digit share of net new bookings, and customer experience automation has reached up to 80% in several products. Perhaps most strikingly, the firm claims improvements of over 100% in developer productivity through AI-assisted workflows. These are not isolated wins but consistent outcomes across multiple businesses, suggesting a genuinely repeatable blueprint.

“As AI evolves software from passive tools into systems that act and execute, the addressable market for technology is expanding several-fold,” said Luca Cartechini, Founder and CEO of Circeus. “We are building the platform to capture this shift.”

This platform approach is powered by an internal AI operating layer, known as “SCAIL,” which connects data across the portfolio to identify patterns and drive smarter decisions. For acquired companies, this means access to sophisticated AI tools for product intelligence, helping them identify workflows ripe for automation and value creation. It also means operational leverage, with AI automating core tasks in customer support, finance, and go-to-market execution.

A New Blueprint for Software M&A

Circeus is entering a competitive M&A landscape, but its model presents a compelling alternative to founders wary of the traditional private equity playbook. While many acquirers focus on financial engineering and quick flips, Circeus champions a “permanent home” philosophy. Founders who sell are promised that their brands, teams, and customer relationships will be preserved.

“We were not running a fundraising process, as we are profitable and well capitalised, but we chose to make space for EBRD given their institutional standing and to lean further into a market that presents several attractive opportunities,” Cartechini noted, underscoring the company's financial stability and strategic approach to capital.

The value proposition for founders is clear: they gain access to world-class AI engineering and growth expertise without sacrificing the legacy they built. This approach is particularly attractive for vertical software businesses, whose deep domain knowledge and proprietary data are the very assets Circeus believes AI can compound most effectively.

“Across different businesses, we have proven that evolving a product into its AI-native form can drive a step-change in the market it can address,” explained Gian Maria Gramondi, Founder and COO. “The hard part is doing this repeatedly, and that is what we have built: a central engineering capability that turns each transformation into a foundation for the next.”

With over $220 million in total capital raised, including more than $120 million in equity and a $100 million-plus credit facility, Circeus has the resources to act decisively. “We have substantial firepower to deploy in a highly attractive acquisition environment,” stated Robin Hardt, CFO, confirming that several more deals are expected to close in the coming months.

Backing the 'Real Economy': The EBRD's Strategic Bet

The participation of the EBRD is more than just a financial endorsement; it’s a strategic alignment with a long-term vision. As one of the world’s leading multilateral development banks, the EBRD’s mandate extends beyond pure financial returns to fostering innovation and sustainable private-sector growth. Its investment in Circeus signals a belief that AI is a critical engine for the digital transformation of the real economy.

“We are backing a team bringing AI to the essential software that businesses across our regions rely on every day, and Circeus’s compounding model aligns closely with EBRD’s long-term mandate,” said Bruno Lusic, an investor at EBRD. “The market for bringing AI to the real economy is enormous, and we look forward to supporting Circeus.”

The bank’s long-term perspective—focused on decades, not quarters—meshes perfectly with Circeus’s philosophy of building enduring platforms. Furthermore, with operational hubs in London, Milan, and Sarajevo, Circeus has a footprint within the EBRD’s regions of operation, making the partnership a vehicle for driving digital adoption and innovation where it's most needed.

Closing the AI Adoption Gap

Despite the relentless hype cycle, AI adoption remains in its early stages. Recent data from Eurostat and the US Census Bureau shows that only about one in five enterprises in Europe and the United States currently use AI. This adoption gap represents a massive opportunity.

Circeus is positioning itself as the bridge across this chasm, embedding frontier capabilities directly into the mission-critical software that businesses depend on for daily operations—from managing inventory and processing sales to supporting specialized industrial workflows. By focusing on vertical software, the company targets markets where proprietary workflows and data provide a rich foundation for AI-driven improvements.

The launch of Circeus marks a calculated bet that the next generation of great software platforms will not just provide tools, but will actively execute work. By building a repeatable engine for acquiring and transforming the software of the everyday economy, Circeus is creating a new kind of technology conglomerate, one where the whole is engineered to be exponentially greater than the sum of its parts.