Quality assurance (QA) in manufacturing is often a painstaking and fragmented process. Engineering, production, and QA teams tend to work in isolation, relying heavily on outdated methods like paper drawings and Excel spreadsheets for documentation. As much as 30% of these issues can be traced back to poorly designed or misunderstood technical drawings.
In response to these challenges, CERPRO, a German startup established in 2023, developed QualiSpec, a cloud-based, AI-driven software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. QualiSpec automates the extraction and interpretation of details from technical drawings, empowering manufacturers to generate inspection plans in mere minutes rather than hours, accelerating QA processes by up to 80% while markedly reducing the risk of human error.
Today, CERPRO secured approximately €2 million in pre-seed funding, led by seed + speed Ventures, with D11Z co-leading and contributions from EIT Manufacturing and Techstars. This capital will fuel product development, expand sales and engineering teams, and broaden CERPRO’s presence in European industrial hubs.
Fixing a long-standing bottleneck in factories
CERPRO was founded by Frederik Frei (CEO), Sascha Müller (CTO), and Henrik Pitz (COO), all hailing from Germany’s industrious southern region. Their backgrounds span Industry 4.0 innovations, software engineering, and strategic consulting at top-tier firms like Roland Berger and Ernst & Young.
Recognising the urgent need to modernise QA workflows, the founders set out to design a technology solution that standardises and streamlines inspection planning. Their mission is to build a unified quality benchmark that bridges the divide between Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and contract manufacturers, fostering greater collaboration and transparency across the supply chain.
Pitz tells TFN,”When we started CERPRO 2 years ago, we saw that quality teams were still stuck in manual workflows, even as everything else in manufacturing evolved. With today’s technology, it’s possible to build software that helps companies move from manual, paper-based work to AI-enabled processes without complex change projects or long rollouts. We wanted to make that transition simple, fast, and valuable from day one.”
CERPRO’s key offering is QualiSpec, which harnesses sophisticated artificial intelligence to identify and decode essential drawing elements (dimensions, tolerances, drill holes, and more) across multiple file formats, including PDF, JPG, and DXF.
Tailored for complex, small-batch industries such as aerospace, medical devices, and mechanical engineering, QualiSpec sets itself apart by connecting OEMs and suppliers on a centralised cloud platform. This integration serves as a single source of truth for quality data, facilitating seamless data exchange, production-ready digital drawings, and AI-supported quality forecasts.
Since launching QualiSpec in December 2024, more than 100 manufacturing companies in five European countries, including those in aerospace, medical devices, and mechanical engineering, have adopted the software.
What’s next?
Looking ahead, CERPRO plans to grow its customer ecosystem by onboarding OEMs to create a connected, collaborative quality environment. The company intends to execute pilot projects that unite OEMs and contract manufacturers on its platform, fostering shared transparency.
Alexander Kölpin, Managing Director of seed + speed Ventures, says, “We’re investing because CERPRO delivers not only speed but reliability: upload a drawing, and you get clear, error-free inspection reports. The result for industrial manufacturing is inspection documentation and processes that integrate seamlessly into existing systems. This ensures that first parts pass on the very first try, reducing scrap and complaintsm, all while saving valuable work time. That’s sustainable growth through quality.”
Tom Villinger, Managing Director D11z, adds, “CERPRO’s artificial intelligence is setting new standards in quality assurance. The software not only reduces costs but elevates the entire inspection process to a new level. Its powerful combination of precise analysis and outstanding user experience convinced us as investors. CERPRO has the potential to become the leading technology in industrial quality assurance.”
