Nox Mobility Raises €2M to Reinvent the European Night Train

Berlin-based startup Nox Mobility has closed a pre-seed funding round of 2 million euros. The round is led by Berlin early-stage investor IBB Ventures, with participation from Italian investor Tommaso Lucca and HomeToGo co-founder Dr. Patrick Andrae. The fresh capital is set to flow into team building, the construction of a full-scale mockup, and the preparation of the first routes, which are planned to launch in 2027.

What Nox Mobility wants to do differently

The core promise of Nox Mobility is simple: every traveler gets their own private room, with no shared compartments with strangers. The startup positions itself as an alternative to both classic night trains and short-haul flights. The trains are set to depart in the evenings from central stations and arrive directly in the city center the following morning, with no airport transfer or security check.

Pricing is deliberately aligned with airfare: single rooms are to be offered from 79 euros, double rooms from 149 euros. Operationally, Nox Mobility aims to focus on simplified routes without shunting maneuvers or overnight stops, in order to keep costs low and punctuality high. The company describes its offering as a combination of the reliability of flying and the feel of a boutique hotel.

Why the night train needs to be reimagined

Night trains are currently experiencing a public renaissance, but market developments tell a different story. Between 2001 and 2019, the number of weekly night train connections in Europe fell from around 1,200 to approximately 450. Despite growing demand and record bookings on individual routes, the overall network has therefore been shrinking for decades.

From the founders’ perspective, the problem lies not with the infrastructure but with the product. Thibault Constant, who reaches more than 600,000 followers with his social media platform “Simply Railway,” describes the most common criticisms from his community as follows:

“They write to me every week about what is currently wrong with night train travel: cramped compartments shared with strangers, delays, opaque pricing. Nox Mobility is the result of years on night trains, countless conversations with passengers, and a close look at what works and what doesn’t.”

The startup sees particular potential among business travelers. In France, business travelers already account for 30 percent of night train passengers. For this target group, a night train journey replaces early departures, hotel stays, and lost working time in a single step.

A founding team with extensive experience

Nox Mobility was founded in 2025 by three founders with complementary backgrounds:

• Thibault Constant is a former engineer at Alstom and SNCF and runs the railway community “Simply Railway” with over 600,000 subscribers. He has also published a book about night trains.
• Janek Smalla brings operational experience from FlixTrain and Bolt, where he most recently served as General Manager leading the German ride-hailing business. He was involved at an early stage in the liberalization of the German railway market.
• Artur Hasselbach was a co-founder of the payment fintech orderbird, which was acquired by Nexi for over 140 million euros, and has a VC background in the mobility sector.

Investor statements

“Berlin has given rise to mobility companies that have changed travel in Europe. Nox has the team to do it again: financial backing, operational credibility, and a community that is already waiting. The infrastructure is there. What is missing is a product you actually want to sleep in,” said Roman Pimonov, Senior Investment Manager at IBB Ventures, on the investment thesis.

Angel investor Dr. Patrick Andrae, co-founder and CEO of HomeToGo, also sees Nox Mobility as an extension of his own conviction that European rail is the more sustainable travel alternative. HomeToGo states that it consistently relies on rail rather than air travel for business trips.

Next steps

With the capital raised, Nox Mobility intends to first build a full-scale mockup to make the cabin concept tangible. In parallel, preparations are underway for the first routes, which are set to begin operations in 2027. The company has not yet communicated which specific connections are planned.

Co-founder Janek Smalla summarizes the startup’s ambition as follows: “It is a good sign that many new rail operators are currently launching or growing across Europe. But we want to be more than just another rail company. Our ambition is to fundamentally change the image of the night train — toward a genuine hospitality-first experience.”