Munich-based Workerbase secures €10M to streamline processes in manufacturing industry

Munich-based Workerbase, a SaaS platform that streamlines processes in the manufacturing industry, announced on Wednesday that it has secured €10M in a Series A round of funding from new investors Almaz Capital, Porsche Ventures, and Bayern Kapital. Existing investor Point Nine also participated in the round.

Workerbase says it will use the funds to accelerate its next growth phase, enabling manufacturing companies to increase efficiency and flexibility.

According to CEO Norman Hartmann, the focus lies on maximising the flexibility of production processes, “Our key mission with the Series A funding is to make manufacturing processes more dynamic. Static manufacturing processes and systems are failing in the current environment. WORKERBASE combines human and machine intelligence to create a fully dynamic production environment based on real-time information. We call it Dynamic Process Execution (DPE),” he says.

Workerbase: What you need to know

Founded in 2017 by Norman Hartmann, Thorsten Krüger and Hamid Reza Monadjem, Workerbase has developed a dedicated software platform that connects people, processes, machines, and materials in real time. 

The German startup says its software prevents production-related problems by detecting inefficiencies in processes as they emerge. 

When issues pop up, the company’s algorithm analyses employee skills, location, and availability in real-time to assemble a flexible task force to fix it, leading to improved efficiency and effectiveness.

The company’s platform is already deployed at a large scale in factories of leading manufacturing companies such as Porsche, Siemens, PON.bike, and GKN Powder Metallurgy.

Investor

Almaz Capital is a global VC fund that invests in early-stage, capital-efficient technology companies in high-growth sectors. The VC focuses on disruptive deep tech companies in the B2B software space, including AI/ML and Blockchain applications, IoT and Edge Computing Enablers, and Cybersecurity. 

The fund’s investors include European Investment Fund (EIF), Cisco, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Aniruddha Nazre, Partner at Almaz Capital, says, “WORKERBASE is transforming production processes by breaking them up into small chunks of individual activities. Their Dynamic Process Execution software offers completely new opportunities to increase operational flexibility. We see a huge market need for this type of software and tremendous growth opportunities.”

Bayern Kapital is a venture capital company of the Free State of Bavaria. With 30 employees, the company currently manages twelve investment funds with an investable volume of approximately €700M. 

The VC focuses on financing the founders of Bavarian high-tech companies and young, innovative technology companies for the development and market launch of new products.

“WORKERBASE has developed a smart software platform that contributes significantly to solving fundamental problems in the manufacturing industry,” says Monika Steger, Managing

Director of Bayern Kapital. “It eliminates lengthy process structures and identifies discrepancies at an earlier stage — this strengthens the efficiency and flexibility of the manufacturing process.”

Hubert Aiwanger, Minister of Economics of the Bavarian State, adds, “With the Growth Fund Bavaria 2, we have supported young Bavarian high-tech companies in the more mature development phase for two years. WORKERBASE is one of many examples of a technology originating in Bavaria, where strong local manufacturing know-how is translated into an innovative product. We need many startups like this in Bavaria. For it is precisely they that contribute to strengthening our business location. Therefore, the growth fund is important and reliable startup financing”.

Patrick Huke, Head of Porsche Ventures Europe & Israel, says, “Digital transformation has been a part of the production environment for some time and will continue to have a significant impact in the future. However, companies must remain flexible to modify and integrate improvements at any time. WORKERBASE can disrupt the manufacturing software industry by helping companies digitise manual processes and react quickly in a constantly changing production environment. We look forward to supporting the WORKERBASE team as an investor and partner in the future.”