Hamburg-based startup PANDA GmbH, which specializes in enabling industrial factory floors for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, reports the successful completion of a financing round of around half a million EUR. The main operating facility will be relocated to Schleswig-Holstein.
Investors are MBG Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein mbH and five business angels from Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lower Saxony. As part of the capital increase, PANDA has relocated its main operating facility from Hamburg to Norderstedt in Schleswig-Holstein. The already profitable company will use the fresh capital to handle further new business and continue to grow. Investors from the Baltic Business Angels Schleswig-Holstein e.V. (BBA-SH) circle alone have now invested more than EUR 1.5 million over several financing rounds.
Ingo Kaiser, managing partner and founder of the company, is pleased about the continued trust of investors and the growth prospects thus offered: „It is remarkable that a medium-sized investment company participates ‚openly‘, i.e. with equity instead of loans or convertible loans, in early-stage startups to such an extent.“ This documents that PANDA is obviously on the right track with its business model, he said. Georg Banner from the Schleswig-Holstein MBG commented that in the future it will participate even more than before with equity in promising target companies.
PANDA digitizes machine, camera and sensor data using its own open source-based software and hardware, which it also developed itself, and makes the data obtained directly from the machines available to AI applications. This is done in a way that allows algorithms to start learning from this data immediately. Expensive and time-consuming additional data engineering becomes unnecessary with PANDA. Industry costs for classic industrial AI applications such as automated quality management, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis or automated machine monitoring could be reduced by more than half in some cases with PANDA’s tools, Kaiser explained. The beneficiaries are AI solution providers, system houses, and machine and plant manufacturers, in addition to the industry, which, notwithstanding the current AI hype, is still rather reluctant to introduce AI applications for cost reasons.
Claus Ruhe Madsen has been Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Labour, Technology and Tourism since 29 June 2022. He was born in Copenhagen on 27 August 1972; he is married and has one daughter.
Claas begann seine Karriere in der Old Economy bei „AEG und Electrolux Group“, wo er seine Leidenschaft für aufstrebende Industrien entdeckte. Das ist es, was ihn bis heute antreibt. Nachdem er bei „American Heritage Management Corp.“ an der Wall Street war und in den 1990er Jahren an den ersten internetbasierten Börsengängen teilnahm, wurde seine Leidenschaft für Technik und disruptive Technologien immer stärker. Er ist Mitgründer von „New Commercial Room“, einem VC-Unternehmen mit Sitz in Hamburg, mit dem er ein Portfolio von High-Tech-Wachstumsunternehmen verwaltet, das von medizinischen Geräten über Medien bis hin zu SaaS, IT und Cybersecurity reicht. Als Angel Investor investierte er sowohl privat in Unternehmen als auch mit dem „btov Investor-Network“. Er betreut aktiv zahlreiche deutsche StartUps, Accelerator-Programme und ist Scout im Norden für den „High-Tech Gründerfonds“ (HTGF). Dadurch hat er Zugang zu erstklassigem internationalen Deal Flow und Investoren. Darüber hinaus hat Claas mehrere Aufsichtsratspositionen inne und ist Live-Musiker mit der „Soul Lounge Connection“.
As a serial entrepreneur, investor and business angel, Julian has been involved in the German start-up and venture capital scene since 2003. He focuses on helping selected early-stage start-ups and their founders to turn their ambitions into reality. Investments are typically made in early-stage B2B technology companies with an initial track record. Julian’s current focus is on Industrial IoT, data analytics, B2B platform tools, e-health and 3D. He is particularly keen on spin-offs originating from research foundations and organisations or technical universities, but is also open to other opportunities. The best way to find out more about Julian is to visit his Website and here in the Interview.
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