Enrico Ohnemüller (bunch): Strong foundations first

Enrico Ohnemüller, co-founder and CEO of bunch, explains why infrastructure must come before A.I. in fund operations and what brought the Berlin company to Luxembourg. Interview.

Luxembourg’s fund product works. We should champion it and champion the innovation that will carry it forward.

Can you present bunch in a few words?

We are building an A.I.-native operating layer for fund operations, focused on private markets in Europe. Fund managers often ask for services or for A.I., but infrastructure tends to be overlooked. If your data and infrastructure are not in order, it is difficult to let A.I. take on more responsibility. Agents can only act within a clear framework of rules, and infrastructure provides that framework. A fund’s LPA is a rulebook, not a PDF. The CFO is responsible for all of it: NAV, accounting, investor, fund and portfolio data. Even when parts are outsourced, the CFO should own that data. The CFO becomes the architect and the quality gate everyone else builds on. We work directly with asset managers and GPs, and we combine technology with fund services under one roof, because the people who make the decisions want one partner accountable for the result. The cost of a mistake is very high: an investor report is either correct or it is not.

bunch was founded in Berlin in 2021. What brought you to Luxembourg?

We were always focused on the largest markets, and Luxembourg is the centre of the European fund industry. Germany was an important place to learn, but we always knew we wanted to be here. To operate in Luxembourg, you cannot be a technology company alone; you need great people, embrace regulation and earn trust. Building that from scratch takes years. In 2025, we asked ourselves whether we could partner with a full-service provider with an excellent client base, great people and the right licence. We found the perfect match in Luxembourg Fund Services (LFS) and its founder, Massimo Longoni, who has built a company grounded in relationships, service culture and local expertise. With CSSF approval, bunch has now acquired a majority stake in LFS. Our teams have already been working closely together in order to prepare our integrated offering in Luxembourg. Seeing our Berlin, London and Dutch colleagues alongside the LFS team in Luxembourg makes me very proud. For LFS clients, the team and the service they know stays the same. What they gain is the infrastructure underneath: their data in one place, and A.I.-powered workflows on top.

Which risks and opportunities do you see for bunch and for Luxembourg?

Europe has exceptional talent and significant capital, and we need to connect the two. In alternatives, that connection runs largely through Luxembourg. Today, we serve 150 clients and 500 structures, mostly invested in Europe. The greatest risk is becoming risk-averse and assuming everything should remain as it has been for the past 20 years; others would then move ahead, and the investments with them. Strong licences rightly protect European markets, but regulation must strike the right balance between protection and innovation. Luxembourg has built its fund product over the past 40 years. As a German, I can say that when you propose a German structure to an investor, the answer is often that they would rather go to Luxembourg. Luxembourg’s fund product works. We should champion it and champion the innovation that will carry it forward, and then I see only opportunities.