While traditional engineering simulations are still plagued by time-consuming manual processes and slow computational speeds, Emmi AI is taking a bold step to rewrite the rules. With its cutting-edge AI-powered simulation technology, the Austrian startup is addressing one of the most significant challenges in industrial product development: how to dramatically accelerate and scale complex simulations without compromising accuracy.
Now, Emmi AI has raised a €15 million seed round, the largest ever for an Austrian startup. The round was led by 3VC, Speedinvest, Serena, and PUSH, reflecting growing investor confidence in Europe’s deep tech ecosystem.
With this capital injection, Emmi AI plans to accelerate hiring, particularly of top researchers and engineers across Europe, enhance product development, and scale commercial deployments. The company is already engaged with customers whose contracts reach seven-digit Annual Contract Values (ACV), signalling strong early traction in production settings.
Tackles the simulation bottleneck
Industries such as aerospace, automotive, semiconductors, and energy rely heavily on simulations to design, test, and optimise products before they hit the real world. Traditionally, these simulations require months of work using handcrafted solvers, complex mesh generation, and significant computing power. But Emmi AI is changing this paradigm by introducing AI digital twins that deliver real-time, high-fidelity simulations in milliseconds.
Trio of visionary founders
Emmi AI was founded in 2024 by a trio of visionaries: Johannes Brandstetter, Dennis Just, and Miks Mikelsons. Together, they bring a mix of deep technical expertise and entrepreneurial experience to one of the most ambitious engineering problems of our time. While the founding team’s backgrounds were not detailed in the funding announcement, their ability to raise such a sizable seed round speaks volumes about their credibility and vision.
The company’s name, a nod to Emmy Noether, the legendary mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern physics, underscores its mission: to bring clarity, speed, and intelligence to the complex systems that underpin our modern world.
What makes Emmi AI different?
Inspired by how AI has transformed fields such as weather prediction, Emmi AI utilises deep learning models to simulate fluid dynamics, multiphysics systems, and solid-state mechanics, all without the need for manual preprocessing. The system can handle simulations with hundreds of millions of mesh cells in real-time, a previously unthinkable feat in computational engineering.
What makes Emmi’s approach unique is its shift from numeric-based models to AI-enabled simulation engines, which offer not just speed but unprecedented scalability and precision. This positions Emmi AI as a key player in the evolving field of Physics AI, where AI meets the laws of the physical world.
What’s next for Emmi AI?
The startup is not just aiming to be a European success story, but wants to have a global impact. By continuing to attract top talent and building out its customer base in industrial sectors, Emmi AI is poised to become a cornerstone of the next generation of engineering technology. As deep tech continues to rise in Europe, Emmi AI’s record-breaking seed round signals a strong vote of confidence in its mission to fundamentally transform industrial engineering through AI.
“We set out to tackle real engineering bottlenecks – the kind that slow down innovation in high-stakes industries,” said Dennis Just. “This funding allows us to move faster, grow our team, and deliver a scalable simulation platform that fits the pace and complexity of modern industry.”
“We are very proud of the work done by the simulation group at NXAI and are delighted that it is now becoming a company in its own right, having raised EUR 15M from international investors” explained Albert Ortig, CEO of NXAI. “The investment is also a great signal for Linz and Austria. We can break boundaries in industrial AI and are well-positioned, thanks to JKU Linz and Prof. Dr. Sepp Hochreiter’s institute.”
Investors’ views
“What excites us most about Emmi AI is their capacity to tackle previously unsolvable engineering challenges. By delivering ‘GPT Moments’ in industrial simulations, they’re empowering engineers to push the boundaries of what’s possible.” said 3VC General Partner Peter Lasinger.
Speedinvest General Partner Andreas Schwarzenbrunner stated, “The cutting-edge research being conducted by Johannes, Dennis, Miks, and the Emmi team represents the next frontier in AI, with the potential to fundamentally reshape how industrial engineering processes work. We’re incredibly excited to support them as they drive unprecedented efficiency and innovation across industries globally, while boosting Austria’s position as a deep tech hub.”
“At Serena, we look for founding teams capable of delivering foundational breakthroughs with the potential to reshape entire industries. We’ve all seen how AI is transforming language, but what Emmi AI is doing for the physical world is just as profound. Their research enables real-time simulation of complex systems governed by physics. This is a massive game changer for industrial design and operations,” noted Guillaume Decugis, Partner at Serena.
“At PUSH VC, we look for founders bold enough to tackle the toughest technical challenges — and Johannes, Dennis, and Miks are doing exactly that with Emmi AI. What they’ve built is a game-changer for industrial engineering: real-time simulation of complex physical systems that dramatically cuts iteration time and boosts efficiency across the board. It’s a major leap forward, and we’re proud to support them as they redefine what’s possible in the physical world,” said Christopher Raithle, Investment Manager at PUSH VC.
