Robotics software startup Olivaw from Munich receives EUR 1.2 million in pre-seed financing
- Business angels and companies are participating in the pre-seed financing round, including from the BayStartUP investor network, as well as the early-stage venture capital fund Plug & Play.
- With its open skill store concept & multi-cloud platform, Olivaw defines the future standard for professional service robots.
Munich, April 8, 2024. Robots that resemble humans and work seamlessly with them have captured the imagination of entire generations. This also applies to the fictional robot Daneel Olivaw from the science fiction cult novel “The Caves of Steel”, after which the Munich startup Olivaw named itself. But what Olivaw has in mind is anything but science fiction: Olivaw connects professional robots with their skill platform. Robots from different manufacturers can be controlled, monitored and equipped with skills via the Olivaw platform. Simple transport or cleaning robots can autonomously perform tasks in hotels, airports, hospitals, shopping centers and offices, for example by using elevators. The startup received a seven-figure amount for this concept in pre-seed financing, which was also brokered by BayStartUP. The investors are experienced business angels and successful entrepreneurs with different backgrounds, including Sebastian Winkler from Mohrenfels from the renowned BayStartUP investor network. A well-known early-stage venture capital fund from Plug and Play (P&P) also participated in the round.
Automation is advancing, driven by the aging society and the increasing shortage of skilled workers. The increasing prevalence of professional service robots taking on tasks in hotels, restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, offices and airports is a clear sign of this. Despite the rapid growth in this area, there are currently no standardized interfaces and guidelines for service robots. On the contrary: individual solutions from robot manufacturers make collaboration with systems such as doors, elevators, building management and payment service providers more difficult and slow down the introduction of robot technologies.
The Olivaw cloud platform simplifies the management of different robot fleets from different manufacturers on one platform, thereby reducing complexity and costs. Fleet managers can more efficiently manage larger fleets by using the Olivaw platform. The platform enables service robots to seamlessly connect to various systems, thereby offering scalability advantages. The connection of the Olivaw platform to, for example, property management systems, payment service providers or logistics management systems only needs to be done once. It is then available to all robots connected via the platform.
Barbara Dombay, head of the BayStartUP investor network, says: “The use of service robots in areas such as transport or cleaning is increasingly urgent given the increasing shortage of skilled workers and is a rapidly growing market. Olivaw is expanding this market even further by upskilling service robots. This means they can be used even more extensively. Thanks to its manufacturer-independent use, Olivaw has the potential to become the central, intelligent hub for all topics relating to service robots.”
Theodora Preda, Ventures Director at STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play, said: “Olivaw removes the barriers associated with widespread adoption of mobile robots in professional service industries such as hospitality and healthcare. The startup cleverly enables the orchestration and management of robot fleets across multiple manufacturers and, most importantly, uses AI to solve the existing problems of robot integration in complex environments.”
Sebastian Winkler von Mohrenfels, business angel from the BayStartUP investor network, says: “Professional service robotics is a clear trend and efficient fleet management is becoming increasingly important. Olivaw has a good chance of becoming a European champion with its vendor-independent platform. The business and technology concept is convincing and has scaling potential. The founding team brings the right drive, extensive robotics expertise and experience from international corporate structures and successful company start-ups in the past.”
The Olivaw cloud platform is aimed at robot manufacturers, distributors and companies in the facilities management, cleaning, security, hotels, hospitals and airports sectors that operate their own robot fleets. In the last few months, several robot manufacturers and fleet managers have been won over to the platform, meaning that five different types of service robots from three different manufacturers have already been successfully integrated. The first customers, including distributors and facility managers, are already using the platform to operate test fleets.
App store for robots
The Olivaw platform also offers manufacturers and developers the opportunity to develop skills for various robot applications and distribute them via a so-called skill store, similar to an app store for mobile phones. The robots can be optimally configured for the respective application by adding various platform services and skills – a process that Olivaw calls “upskilling”. A practical example is automatic fill level reporting, which is already being used successfully at Munich Airport, or a weather skill that allows cleaning robots to clean more frequently.
Experienced founding team with passion for robots
The team around the two founders Oliver Stahl and Thomas Donle combines many years of experience and a wide range of expertise. They have been working together in the dynamic field of professional service robotics for several years.
Oliver Stahl is an experienced serial entrepreneur and has been working with robotics for many years. His passion for programming robots began at the age of 15 and robotics has stuck with him ever since. Thomas Donle has 25 years of experience in various sales roles in the technology sector and has extensive experience in building sales and partnerships. Most recently, he successfully managed the sales organization of a German provider of IoT and platform solutions in Singapore.
Oliver Stahl, CEO of Olivaw, says: “This year we plan to attract additional robot manufacturers and equip the platform with additional services and skills. We also want to win large fleet managers, such as facility management companies, as customers. There will also be another round of seed financing to drive our rapid growth. Last but not least, we are looking for a rock star product manager who is detail-oriented and at the same time strong in human (customer) interaction.”
The Olivaw team is joined by other key personnel including Igor Likhomanov, Technical Lead for Cloud Development and AI Suite; Deni Begaj, full-stack software developer; Dr. Albert Diosi, expert in mobile autonomy and skill development; and Sigune Choe, responsible for fundraising and growth strategy.
About BayStartUP
BayStartUP is the Bavarian startup network for founders, investors and companies as well as a partner of the “Gründerland Bayern” initiative of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs. With the Bavarian business plan competitions, an extensive coaching offering and Europe’s largest investor network, it supports startups in optimizing their strategy, building their company and finding start-up and growth capital. BayStartUP ensures a qualified deal flow for private and institutional investors and offers startup insights at exclusive business angel meetings and investor conferences. With nationwide startup-industry matching and conceptual offerings, BayStartUP advises established companies on developing suitable strategies for working with startups. Through BayStartUP, founders have the opportunity to contact over 400 active business angels and more than 200 institutional investors. Since 2015, BayStartUP has brokered 546 million euros in capital in 513 actively managed financing rounds in the pre-seed, seed or Series A phases. The BayStartUP success stories include Flixbus, eGym, Magazino, Exasol, Voxeljet, numares, Transporeon, the va-Q- tec AG, VIA Optronics and many others.