Andreas Bittner co-founded Solaris with Marko Wenthin in 2015. The platform was set up inside Finleap. They wanted the banking licence rather than a consumer app, so that other companies could rent the infrastructure through an API.
Solaris launched in March 2016 with a full German banking licence. Mastercard signed a partnership in October 2016. In February 2017 it raised €26.3 million. Roland Folz joined as CEO in 2017.
Bittner's five-year contract ended on 30 June 2020, and he stepped down. In 2022 the regulator BaFin ordered a special audit and later a €6.5 million fine, and the company renamed itself Solaris SE in November 2022.
In 2025 SBI led a €140 million Series G and became the majority owner. Bittner filed suit at the Berlin regional court to challenge that capital increase.