Berlin-based Zentio, which develops AI software for factory planning, has raised €1.4 million in pre-seed funding to further its work on automation and intelligent production optimization.
- Founded in 2025 by Julian Rose, Immo Polewka, and Christophe Kafrouni, Zentio develops software that uses mathematical optimisation and machine-learning pipelines to plan production processes inside factories.
- The system pulls data from operational sources and shop-floor machines, structures it, and runs calculations to propose shift schedules, production sequences, and resource allocations. It also uses agent-based automation to track disruptions and recommend adjustments in real time.
- Factories typically start with a brief proof-of-concept using their own data, followed by a pilot integration in one production area; after that, the software is rolled out across additional sites.
Details of the deal
- The investors are HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds), a leading early-stage backer of deep tech and industrial startups in Germany and Europe with over 800 investments and a fund volume above €2 billion, and SIVentures (formerly Smart Infrastructure Ventures).
“Julian, Immo, and Chris showed us that Excel and other legacy tools still quietly run much of how the world works. Zentio turns messy ERP, MES and spreadsheet data into an AI-native planning layer that factories can trust. Their mix of AI-native thinking and deep manufacturing experience is exactly what we have been looking for in this space, and we are proud to partner with them on this journey," claims Hendryk Hosemann, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF.
- The firm will use the fresh funding to advance its core mathematical optimisation systems, strengthen its ML pipelines, integrate these with UX and AI agents, deepen partnerships with pilot customers, and lay the groundwork for long-term impact across European manufacturing.
