Founder & GP @MerantixCapital - AI Venture Studio & VC.
Berlin, Germany
Joined December 2007
- Tweets1.9K
- Following648
- Followers1.3K
- Likes1.4K
AI Breakfast: Materials Discovery
From battery breakthroughs to biotech and semiconductors - the next industrial revolutions hinge on discovering and designing new materials.
AI is quietly transforming this high-stakes domain: accelerating simulations, navigating chemical search spaces, and enabling entirely new modes of discovery. But how far along are we really? Are we just speeding up existing R&D workflows — or on the verge of automating science itself?
youtu.be/e1iuwjCwgF8?si=lSWl…
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AI’s biggest impact will be in how it enables change in our physical world and the design of matter itself.
At @MerantixCapital, we see materials discovery as one of the most transformative frontiers in AI, whether that’s protein creation or rare-earth alternatives. Thanks to AI, we can now design, validate, and scale new materials with unprecedented efficiency and better take on the world’s biggest sustainability challenges.
Check out this deep dive on Substack on why I like the space and what founders ideating in materials discovery need to know: news.merantix-capital.com/p/…
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![AI Tinkerers Meetup August 13 [AI Tinkerers - Berlin]](https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/2119976556911284224/T8CRRbh6?format=jpg&name=420x420_2)
Join the Hacker Room
🛠️ 4-month onsite residency
📍 Berlin, Merantix AI Campus
👥 Surrounded by top technical minds
🗓️ Limited spots — apply now → merantix-aicampus.com/hacker…
💬 Know someone who belongs here? Send them this.
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We're spotlighting the boldest early-stage AI startups in #Munich!
Alongside Ellipsis , 10x Founders, TUM Venture Labs, and Motive Partners, we are continuing our Road to Slush’d series with a pitch contest in Munich on August 20th. The format is simple: 5 minute pitch, 5 minute Q&A, with instant feedback from our jury.
Apply here if you are interested in pitching (takes just a few minutes): lnkd.in/e66EvtAw
Join our next AI Breakfast on the topic of Materials Discovery:
From battery breakthroughs to biotech and semiconductors - the next industrial revolutions hinge on discovering and designing new materials. AI is quietly transforming this high-stakes domain: accelerating simulations, navigating chemical search spaces, and enabling entirely new modes of discovery.
But how far along are we really? Are we just speeding up existing R&D workflows — or on the verge of automating science itself?
Joining me on the panel are Jaqueline Hess (Engineering Lead, Cambrium), Alexander Hammer (Co-Founder & MD, Dunia) and Jonas Köhler (Member of Tech Staff, CuspAI).
Thursday, August 21st, 9am at our Merantix AI Campus.
Sign up here: lu.ma/qicduy78
Why we invested in @Droidrun to scale mobile-native AI agent infrastructure.
Well, here’s why I'm personally excited for what they do:
When you look at the AI agent landscape, things are moving quickly with desktop and web workflows. But mobile, the dominant user interface, is still untapped. We’re soon going to be looking at a world where you don’t need to switch between six apps to check flights, book a hotel, file your expenses, and update your calendar and colleagues. You’ll tell your agent to “book my trip to Berlin next week for the client meeting.”
That’s what Droidrun is building, and the company has already gone viral for its open-source efforts, with 900+ developers signing up for the framework in 24 hours, collecting 3,300+ GitHub stars and becoming the fastest-growing mobile agent project - and just last week they hit the No. 1 Product on @ProductHunt .
I sat down with CEO Christian Ninstel, to talk about the deep industry applications ahead for DroidRun, what their growth plans are and how they built such virality over GitHub and ProductHunt: lnkd.in/ewsHpFuJ
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There's an AI agent that can control your apps and phone.
What will you build first?
Go check it out and give the team a like: lnkd.in/e2scgiMS
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If you’re building agents, testing frameworks, or automation tools, you’ll want to play around with this:
producthunt.com/products/dro…
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The Road to Slush'd begins here - and we're bringing the spotlight to the boldest early-stage AI startups in #Zurich!
*Apply here* if you are up to pitch:
lnkd.in/eF8E5bNA
*Grab your ticket* if you want to join the event for some inspiring pitches and great networking with the AI builders and investors scene in Zurich:
lu.ma/kdw1loz6
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The news is out: @MerantixCapital has led @droid_run's €2.1M pre-seed round.
We backed Droidrun because while the AI agent space is evolving quickly on web workflows, mobile is the dominant user interface in all of our lives. That space has been left largely untouched, and Droidrun is building the infrastructure layer that allows AI agents to interact with mobile apps.
A more in-depth article on our thesis and investment rationale will follow a bit later this month.
AI founders, let's talk.
Models, data, and compute are becoming commoditized. The real strategic advantage is moving up the stack.
Your next defensible moat? Owning the interface where your users make decisions.
Here's why this is AI's next frontier 🧵
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The interface
is the control point. It’s where users generate the feedback that improves your system, and it’s where value is ultimately captured.
The shift to passive, embedded interaction is already here. OpenAI's $6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive's hardware studio is a clear signal of what's next: ambient AI.
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New podcast episode is out
Seeing your entrepreneur friends succeed is a fantastic feeling, especially if you invested 😂
We recently recorded a new podcast episode about remote/decentralized work, retreats, team culture and where to build a business.
We’re a group of longtime friends called Club Wasserdicht.
The crew:
– Marc P. Bernegger (Usgang.ch, Amiando, Cryptо Finance Group, CfC St. Moritz, Maximon)
– Adrian Locher (DeinDeal, Merantix)
– Dr. Tobias Reichmuth (SUSI Partners, Cryptо Finance, The Singularity Group, Maximon)
– And me 😄
Once a year, we do a fun panel at START Summit. Then we decided to turn it into a podcast episode.
We talk about investing, longevity, AI, routines, and whatever else we’re obsessed with that week, kind of like an ALL IN podcast, but ordered on Temu 😂
🎙️ Watch the full video here (Swiss German).
youtube.com/watch?v=lzoR1K33…
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What if your obsession with workflows could help create life? Ovom is hiring a Head of Operations (path to COO).
Join Ovom Care to build an AI platform that replaces outdated clinics with better patient outcomes. Reach out: tinyurl.com/ovom-care
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Most "Agentic AI" is just hype. The real breakthroughs are quietly solving massive problems in industries like finance, healthcare, and cybersecurity.
Think:
- AI paying for services on its own
- Autonomous systems running entire scientific experiments
- AI fleets finding security exploits 24/7
See what's happening beyond the buzz: tinyurl.com/4j5huffw
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Ready to scale a company that truly matters?
Ovom Care is hiring a Head of Operations (Path to COO) to help build Europe's first AI-native fertility platform.
They're replacing outdated, analog clinics with a system built for better outcomes. You'll be obsessed with workflows, KPIs, and scaling clinics in London, Lisbon & beyond.
Apply & build the future of fertility care: tinyurl.com/ovom-care
#Hiring #Startups #AI #COO #Operations
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🚀UI/UX Designer Needed (Freelance)
Libra has grown to 1.2M ARR in just 5 months and is looking for a stellar UI/UX designer to elevate a cutting-edge legal AI tool to maximum fluency and polish.
Your task is to jump in, enhance the existing design, and create an exceptionally intuitive experience.
📌 Freelance, immediate start
🎯 State-of-the-art Legal AI product
💡 Clear instructions provided—just dive in and refine!
DM @BoTranberg, comment if interested, or feel free to tag someone amazing!
#UIUX #LegalTech #AI
AI doesn't build itself. Behind every breakthrough is a builder. 👩💻👨💻
This is for you.
Announcing Merantix DevDay 2025: A day to connect, learn, and dive deep into the real work of building applied AI. #MerantixDevDay
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Merantix DevDay 2025 is back! 🚀
Built for builders, by builders. Join us on Aug 29 for a deep dive into the real-world challenges of applied AI.
From infra & research to deployment & ethics - let's build the future, together.
#MerantixDevDay #AI #MLEng #DevCommunity
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Watch out for what's next
I'm now the best Mobile Agent in the game!😎
Don't believe me?
See for yourself at droidrun.ai/benchmark
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