Berlin-based
industrial AI startup Kyrok has raised €3.1 million in a pre-seed round led by
Speedinvest. The company is building an AI operating system for supply chain
management tailored to Europe’s pharmaceutical and chemical SMEs, powered by
industry-specific AI agents.
Additional
investors include Arve Capital, the family office behind Sanner, alongside
industry and tech leaders such as former SAP CPO, Dr Marcell Vollmer, BCG
Partner Dr André Heeg, TWAICE CEO Dr Stephan Rohr, the founders of Langdock,
and Rodrigo Martinez via HelloWorld.
Founded
in 2025 by Daniel Hofinger and Lukas Bierfreund, Kyrok is targeting a sector
facing mounting operational and structural challenges.
Despite
ongoing discussions around digital sovereignty, AI infrastructure and supply
chain resilience in Europe, much of the pharmaceutical and chemical
manufacturing industry continues to rely on legacy systems, spreadsheets and
institutional knowledge held by experienced employees nearing retirement.
At the
same time, both sectors are under growing pressure from supply chain
disruptions, international competition and workforce demographic shifts,
creating an urgent need for SMEs to modernise processes and preserve critical
knowledge.
Kyrok’s
platform is designed as an application layer that sits on top of existing ERP
systems, eliminating the need for costly system migrations. Instead of
switching between ERP systems and multiple applications, supply chain teams
work through a single interface where AI agents support and guide workflows.
Over time, the system learns from user interactions, helping capture
operational expertise and embed it directly into digital processes.
The
company plans to gradually expand the platform across the core functions of
supply chain management. Its first module focuses on customer service teams,
supporting order intake and industry-specific workflows. Future modules will
address production planning, material planning and procurement.
We
visit production sites where order lists are printed out in the morning,
carried into the next room and typed back into another system. The people doing
this work are extraordinary, holding disjointed systems together by hand. They
deserve tools from this century. Our goal is to make a concrete contribution to
a competitive European SME sector,
said Daniel Hofinger, co-founder and
CEO of Kyrok.
Several
pharmaceutical and chemical SMEs are already using the platform in pilot
projects. According to the company, the system currently captures more than 80 per cent of complex orders without errors. For routine tasks, AI agents have helped
reduce error rates while freeing up significant time for employees.
Kyrok
plans to use the new funding to further develop its operating system, expand
its product offering with additional modules, and grow its Berlin-based team in
response to increasing market demand.
