1.5 million euros for Operaize

The Cologne-based start-up receives money from High-Tech Gründerfonds, Fraunhofer Technologie-Transfer Fonds and NRW Bank.

The Cologne-based start-up has raised 1.5 million euros in its seed financing round. The money for Operaize comes from High-Tech Gründerfonds, Fraunhofer Technologie-Transfer Fonds and NRW Bank. The company, which was only founded in 2020, is dedicated to AI-supported optimization of production planning and control; so far, the technology has mainly been used in the chemical and food industries.

"With Operaize, we address the core challenges of manufacturing companies and enable them to significantly improve the effectiveness and sustainability in production, thus strengthening their overall business success while better managing climate change," explains Franz Felsmann, CEO of Operaize. He runs the start-up together with Christoph Lieth and Alexander Kouril, and it currently has 13 employees.

"Production processes are becoming increasingly complex. The right software solution can help companies maintain an overview and thus increase productivity as well as sustainability," says Michael Stölting from NRW Bank. "Operaize addresses precisely this market need, which is why we are happy to support the start-up with seed capital," he explains.