According to EU-Startups, Milano-based automotive SaaS provider MotorK has secured an additional €3 million tranche of financing from its existing lender, Atempo Growth. The fresh capital, secured in April 2025, will be used to strengthen the group’s financial position and support general corporate purposes. The funds come under similar terms to the original facility from Atempo, which just announced the first close of its €300 million second fund. MotorK, founded in 2010 and listed on Euronext Amsterdam since November 2021, develops integrated digital solutions like its SparK platform for car manufacturers and dealers. The company, which employs nearly 310 people across eight countries, also saw a leadership shift last June, with co-founder Marco Marlia moving to President and Executive Chairman Amir Rosentuler becoming interim CEO.
Debt, not equity
Here’s the thing that stands out: this is a debt facility, not an equity raise. That’s a significant signal. MotorK just did a €4.8 million reserved capital increase (that’s equity) in March of last year. Now, less than a year later, they’re tapping their debt line for another €3 million. This move to “strengthen the financial position” often translates to extending the runway without further diluting shareholders. For a publicly listed company like MotorK, that’s a careful balancing act. It suggests they need the capital to keep operations smooth, but they’re betting on their own future cash flow to repay it, rather than selling more of the company.
The tough auto retail space
So why might they need that runway? Look, selling SaaS to automotive dealers is a notoriously tough grind. You’re dealing with an industry that has historically been slow to digitize. MotorK’s promise is big—integrating marketing, sales, data, and ops into a single platform, their SparK ecosystem. But rolling that out across EMEA, with all the localization and compliance headaches, is brutally expensive. They boast the “largest R&D department” in the European automotive digital sales sector. That’s a massive cost center. This debt injection probably helps cover those hefty operational costs while they work to convert more dealers onto their platform and increase recurring revenue. It’s a race against burn rate.
Leadership in flux
And you can’t ignore the leadership change. When a founder-CEO steps into a President role and the Executive Chairman becomes interim CEO, it’s rarely just a simple reorganization. The announcement says Marco Marlia will focus on biz dev and strategic partnerships—the external, forward-looking stuff. Meanwhile, Amir Rosentuler, as interim CEO, is likely holding the fort internally, managing the day-to-day financial and operational execution. This kind of split often happens when a company needs to simultaneously chase growth *and* tighten up operations. This €3 million in debt financing gives the new/old leadership team some breathing room to execute their plan, whatever that may be. The pressure is on, though. Public markets and growth debt lenders aren’t known for their patience.
