Solsten built an AI that actually does. The Minneapolis-based team just locked in growth funding from Decathlon Capital Partners this September, structured as revenue-based financing. That’s not your usual VC cookie-cutter round, it’s capital without dilution, control, or compromise. The kind of move that shows co-founders Joe Schaeppi and Bastian Bergmann aren’t chasing flash, they’re building something designed to last.
The heart of Solsten is a psychological database that isn’t about surface-level clicks or likes. We’re talking clinical-grade assessments measuring more than 250 validated traits, scaled into 400,000 synthetic audiences that map to over 3.4 billion people. It’s the largest psychological dataset in existence. That foundation powers insights that explain not just what people do, but why. The proof? Partners like EA, Peloton, LEGO, MobilityWare, Mythical Games, Wooga, and Supercell are using Solsten to craft richer engagement. Supercell alone saw daily sessions climb 22 percent and time spent rise 18 percent after implementing Solsten’s intelligence. That’s not a bump, that’s a shift in player behavior.
The origin story matters. Schaeppi, a clinical psychologist turned UX leader, and Bergmann, a former Boston Consulting Group strategist and venture builder, reconnected years after high school with a vision to make technology more human. They launched in Berlin, then scaled operations across Minneapolis, Manhattan Beach, Berlin, and Luxembourg. Today, Solsten’s 75 employees span 25 nationalities, proof that diversity of perspective is embedded in the company’s design as much as in its data.
September also marked the debut of Elaris, Solsten’s flagship psychological AI platform. Elaris goes beyond analytics to creation: generating brand strategies, campaigns, and product concepts with emotional intelligence hardwired into every output. Pair the precision of a psychologist with the horsepower of AI, and you get a tool that doesn’t just predict audience resonance, it builds it.
This latest funding will push Elaris into overdrive, expand Solsten’s psychological database, and fuel experiments in healthcare digital therapeutics, where real games can act as treatments in clinical trials. That’s a natural extension for a company whose mission is healthier, more engaging digital experiences.
This is the kind of milestone that makes the market pay attention. Congratulations to Joe Schaeppi and Bastian Bergmann for securing a deal that keeps the company independent, ambitious, and on track to redefine how industries understand people.
