From a startup to a global software provider

The starting point for PI is a specially developed method in the field of machine learning, which overcomes known problems of artificial neural networks. From the outset, there were inquiries from well-known German companies for various development projects, plus several research projects analysing the application of artificial intelligence in the fields of medicine, chemistry and aviation, which would keep us busy for some time.
The original aim of PI was to offer “AI for everyone”, since, in our case, no prior knowledge of machine learning is required to use the algorithms. In the STOCHOS software package, all methods are combined in a universally applicable tool and, unlike neural networks, the ML methods themselves do not need to be adapted to each new problem. Unfortunately, we were quickly faced with a chicken-and-egg problem: our contacts in the companies that carried out the evaluation of STOCHOS were usually the very people who typically came from classic neural networks and often had no interest in introducing other methods. One exception to this was Bosch, which, as is well known, began investing in artificial intelligence on a broad front at a very early stage.

At the Ansys WOST conference in Weimar at the end of June 2023, CADFEM became aware of us in its search for partners in the field of artificial intelligence. After that, things actually happened very quickly. Since the end of 2023, we have been a member of the group and, thanks to the long-standing and intensive customer relationships of CADFEM, we are now able to talk directly to potential users of AI in companies. So far, the feedback has been amazing. Perhaps the current AI hype has prompted many leading companies that already use simulation in development to test several solutions, where they have now quickly recognized the benefits of STOCHOS.
Participating in several CADFEM conferences was another important step and we are extremely pleased that we have since been able to talk to the engineering and AI specialists of many international market leaders at eye level about the implementation of ML in their work processes. In fact, we have since been able to conduct a wide range of PoCs on simulation and experimental data as well as combinations of both in areas such as component optimization, process control, chemical simulations and many other applications. We have consistently received positive feedback that implementing AI with STOCHOS is extremely easy and that companies can quickly and independently incorporate it into further internal development.

Since the beginning, our international team of employees has always had a strong interest in projects with companies outside the D-A-CH region. With the help of the many branches of the CADFEM Group, we have now been able to start projects with companies in Europe, the USA, India and Southeast Asia in just a few months, which
we are extremely pleased about.
Looking back after six months, we can confidently say that, thanks to support from CADFEM, we have made the leap from software startup to the world stage of artificial intelligence in a very short time and are certain that probabilistic methods will continue to prevail.