RIIICO secures USD 5 million seed

Investors focus on factory digitization. With new funding and prominent support, RIIICO wants to help industrial companies react faster and more flexibly to change.

Düsseldorf, June 12, 2025 - Deeptech startup RIIICO has closed a $5 million seed funding round to further expand its AI-based software for the digital planning and transformation of existing factories (brownfields). The round is led by PropTech fund Pi Labs. Other investors include seed + speed Ventures, WaVe-X, Earlybird Venture Capital and the Volvo Cars Tech Fund.

From LiDAR to the digital twin

RIIICO has developed a platform with which industrial production facilities can be digitally recorded, modeled and efficiently replanned. At its heart is a proprietary AI that automatically analyzes LiDAR scans, recognizes machines and building structures and creates a collaborative 3D model directly in the browser.

Our solution has proven its value under maximum cost pressure in the automotive industry. Now it's time to build a broader bridge between the real factory and the digital model - for greater resilience and competitiveness.

Felix Fink, CEO RIIICO

Planning that used to take weeks can now be completed in a fraction of the time and transferred directly to implementation. The solution is already being used successfully in the automotive industry. For example, in the conversion of combustion engine to e-mobility lines. Teams worked with realistic 3D twins and significantly reduced the time required.

Focus on existing factories

In contrast to many start-ups that focus on new construction, RIIICO deliberately concentrates on the digital transformation of existing factories. In an increasingly dynamic competitive environment, the aim is to enable companies to flexibly adapt existing structures to new products and processes. This does not require demolition or a new start.

RIIICO is at the forefront of a paradigm shift in factory planning. The platform is not just a digital tool, but a strategic asset for industries that want to be flexible, forward-looking and resilient.

Faisal Butt, Managing Partner of Pi Labs

The start-up was founded in 2021 by Patrick Mertens, Jan Büchsenschütz and Felix Fink at RWTH Aachen University. Based in Düsseldorf, the team develops AI-supported 3D planning tools for complex manufacturing environments. RIIICO was the first start-up to be awarded the title "Siemens Inventor of the Year".