Founders

Making a significant contribution to the energy transition is the declared goal of Phytonics, a spin-off from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) based in the ZEISS Innovation Hub on Campus North. Founded in 2021 out of the Light Technology Institute (LTI), the start-up is developing an anti-reflective film for solar modules that increases energy yield while preventing glare. The film is inspired by plant surfaces and is said to improve the yield of solar modules by up to ten percent. Phytonics is scheduled for market launch in 2023. It should be possible to produce the full-width film by this summer, so that even smaller quantities can be sold to initial customers by the end of 2021.

Data analysis from machines and plants made simple: Bytefabrik.AI develops intelligent software solutions to continuously analyze high-frequency industrial data streams. Factors such as wear, operating errors or environmental conditions influence production efficiency in manufacturing. Bytefabrik.Ai’s data-driven AI application therefore uses live machine data to continuously analyze production processes in real time. With just a few clicks and without much technical effort, their software helps companies gain transparency about running processes, detect potential errors early on and make better predictions, e.g. regarding declining quality or maintenance cycles.

NeoCargo AG, a KIT spin-off from the chair of Prof. Furmanns, was founded at the end of 2021. With its neutral and digital networking platform for medium-sized forwarders, freight will be organized in the future with just a few clicks and without time-consuming searches by phone or mail. Forwarders can, for example, process their orders automatically in a network via the NeoCargo interface and thus further increase their profitability. More than 20 forwarders and 12 TMS providers are already among the pilot participants.

The start-up Aimino Tech GmbH, founded in March 2021, is working on a solution to make AI systems more robust and secure with the help of artificial image data. Their mission: missing or insufficient data must no longer be a blocker for the use of AI solutions in industry in the future. In fact, missing data that limits system performance is a problem in many AI projects. And this data gap can be closed with Aimino’s solution by producing synthetic, i.e. artificially generated, data that maximizes system performance. The founding team is convinced: data quality and quantity are the levers for improving the technical and economic added value of AI applications.

Founded in 2021, the start-up enabl Technologies develops software solutions with a focus on the (partial) automation of vehicles. Using their remote control system, it is possible to remotely control forklifts in a networked manner, regardless of location. Reduced labor costs and the networking of locations and vehicle fleets are the result, and the shortage of skilled workers can also be counteracted. Industrial Remote Driving also enables new types of business models in intralogistics: by offering forklift logistics as a service, enabl offers customers maximum flexibility at minimum cost.

The KIT spin-off “Qinu”, founded in March 2021, develops and produces high-tech cooling systems for industry and research that are characterized by high cooling efficiency, very compact design, and extremely fast cooling times. For example, Qinu systems can reach very low temperatures (0.01 °C above absolute zero), create a vacuum, as well as provide protection against electromagnetic radiation. The basis of the cooling systems are so-called dilution cryostats, which in the past were mainly used in basic research. Due to emerging quantum technologies such as quantum computing, quantum sensing and quantum communication, there is now an increasing demand for these cooling systems in new research branches as well as in the broader industry.

Knowledge directly available: The AI of respeak transforms imported documents into a dynamic knowledge base. The KIT spin-off “respeak” has set itself the task of finding solutions with which they want to revolutionize the digital accessibility of knowledge in companies. They are already doing this in three ways. First, respeak extracts information from existing documents at companies and make them accessible via natural language. Or via interactive knowledge transfer in a low-threshold learning dialogue with their chatbot. And finally, they also collect information with surveys that feel like an interview and are automatically evaluated.

They have already convinced at the NEULAND Gründerpitch 2021. We are talking about Marie Reger and Janna Kraft, the two founders of femfeel. They came up with the idea for their start-up while studying economics at KIT. femfeel is a digital platform for women in menopause. It is based on an app that focuses on the triad of nutrition, exercise, and emotional balance. It supports women in mastering this phase of life with the help of a tailored program and with concrete tasks in the three areas. In addition to the app, femfeel offers women a community and regular events as a space for exchanging experiences, as well as information and inspiration.