Augmented Industries, a technology company founded by Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) alumni, has secured €4.5 million in pre-seed funding to expand its AI-driven platform that supports industrial technicians on the factory floor.

The Munich-based start-up was co-founded by Dr Elisa Roth and Dr Mirco Roth, both industrial engineers who completed their PhDs at IfM. Their flagship product, Flow Tool, combines artificial intelligence with learning-science principles to help technicians capture knowledge, create training materials and troubleshoot complex equipment more effectively. Early adopters such as Siemens, Burger Group and Mehnert report up to 29 per cent faster time-to-productivity, improved machine availability and reduced downtime.

The €4.5 million round was led by b2venture, with participation from 1st Kind by Peugeot Family, xdeck, DnA Ventures and industry angel investors from BMW, Siemens and the German Mittelstand. In addition, Augmented Industries secured a highly competitive European Union EIC Accelerator grant. The new funding will support enterprise-grade AI development and accelerate customer expansion among Europe’s leading manufacturers and industrial service providers.

Globally, more than 500 million industrial operators work in fast-changing environments where full automation is not yet feasible. As machinery becomes more complex, skilled technicians remain a decisive competitive advantage. “Current training and knowledge tools don’t meet the needs of operators and technicians,” said CEO Dr Elisa Roth. “With Flow Tool, we bridge the gap between qualification, troubleshooting and operational excellence in complex industrial environments – powered by seamless AI.”

“Our USP lies in a deep understanding of industrial workflows, a reliable and compliant AI infrastructure, and the fast delivery of new capabilities based on the latest innovations – all driven by a world-class team of engineers,” said Dr. Mirco Roth, co-founder and CTO of Augmented Industries. “I am truly excited to keep pushing the boundaries of industrial human-AI interaction, making technicians never want to work without Flow Tool again.” 

"We are thrilled to partner with Augmented Industries. Elisa and Mirco's profound expertise in industrial training, human-centric technology, and AI truly impressed us," said Anna Bosch, Principal at b2venture. "Their distinctive approach to workforce empowerment positions them exceptionally well to seize this market opportunity and establish themselves as the definitive category leader, as evidenced by their partnerships with industry giants like Siemens and Vestas."

The company’s technology draws directly on the founders’ research at IfM into industrial learning and workforce augmentation. Both have published widely on these topics and co-initiated the World Economic Forum’s Augmented Workforce Initiative. They were named to the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe – Manufacturing list in 2024.

Trusted by industrial leaders including Siemens, Vestas, BMW, ZF and Ford, Augmented Industries’ ISO/IEC 27001- and ISO/IEC 42001-certified platform integrates with Manufacturing Execution and Quality Management Systems to deliver real-time feedback and AI-assisted guidance.

For more information about Augmented Industries, visit https://augmented-industries.de.