SAP has completed its acquisition of Prior Labs, a startup from Freiburg. The deal was first announced in May 2026, and SAP plans to invest over €1 billion in the company during the next four years.
Prior Labs was founded just 18 months ago and became a leader in tabular foundation models, a type of AI that analyses spreadsheets and databases rather than text.
Before being acquired, Prior Labs had only raised €9 million, making this one of the quickest exits in European AI. SAP has not shared the purchase price, even after the deal closed.
Usually, European AI startups spend years proving their models before getting noticed outside academia. Prior Labs did things differently. They published a paper in Nature, started a company based on their research, and were acquired by SAP, all in just 18 months.
A research paper turned into a company, which was soon acquired
