German industrial AI startup deeplify has secured €2 million in pre-seed funding to tackle how critical infrastructure is inspected and maintained. The round was led by D11Z Ventures, with participation from Vanagon Ventures, EWOR, and a group of strategic angels.
The newly raised capital will be used to strengthen the platform’s infrastructure and expand deployments across energy, oil and gas, chemicals, and transportation.
Built to resolve a hidden problem
deeplify was founded by 2014 by Christoph Siemer, Jan Löwer, and Felix Asanger in Germany.
For years, CEO Jan Löwer worked on deploying advanced AI tools in industrial settings, only to encounter a recurring bottleneck. While digital innovation surged elsewhere, inspection workflows remained stuck in the past, spread across spreadsheets, disconnected PDFs, analogue imagery, and handwritten reports.
Europe’s chemical sector alone spans roughly 31,000 companies, many operating with ageing assets. Meanwhile, facilities generate more images, sensor readings, and reports than ever before, making it harder to maintain accuracy and consistency.
The result is a widening gap between the complexity of industrial systems and the tools used to monitor them.
Rebuilding the inspection workflow from scratch
deeplify has developed a platform that connects the entire inspection process, from raw sensor inputs and imagery to defect identification and final reporting, within a single environment.
The system can reduce conventional inspection time by up to 70% while cutting reporting errors by 66%. It also helps avoid unnecessary repairs and introduces full digital traceability, allowing every step to be tracked and audited.
Further validation came through pilots with Swedish industrial giant SKF. Today, the platform is used by multiple inspection firms working with global energy leaders, including Shell.
As industries grapple with ageing assets and shrinking expertise, deeplify is positioning itself at the centre of a long-overdue transformation in how infrastructure is inspected and managed.
Competitors shaping the non-destructive testing landscape
A mix of AI-first startups and established inspection players define Deeplify’s competitive field.
Dutch startup RESONIKS develops AI-powered acoustic inspection systems that detect metal defects using sound-based analysis, offering a fast and scalable alternative to traditional testing methods. It is a direct rival, as both companies leverage AI to modernise non-destructive testing workflows.
UK’s TeraView builds terahertz imaging systems used for advanced material inspection across sectors like semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Its technology enables deep, non-invasive analysis, positioning it as a high-end player in industrial quality assurance.
