Aureka

What Aureka does

Aureka (aureka UG, Berlin) builds AI-powered software for knowledge-driven organizations that work with audiovisual and textual collections. Its core offering is a web-based research platform that combines automated transcription with speaker recognition, semantic (meaning-based) search across languages, user access management, and collaborative tooling for archivists, academics, and journalists. Underlying the platform is a multi-agent LLM architecture that pairs retrieval-augmented generation with a graph-based knowledge store (GraphRAG), an expert-system layer for sensitivity detection, and a Model Context Protocol server for orchestrating external tools and knowledge bases.

The product portfolio is modular. The flagship AI Research Assistant handles transcription and semantic search; Lupai is a customizable multilingual chatbot (German, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian) deployed for civic applications such as migrant advisory services; the Metadata API exposes automated indexing and summarization as a usage-based service ($0.30 per 1,000 words for keyword assignment, $0.10 per 1,000 words for summarization); and 'aureka for Media' extends the core platform with quote extraction and production-assistant features for journalists. The company also offers digitalization consultancy, custom AI development, and capacity-building services.

Aureka generates revenue through a combination of freemium SaaS subscriptions with transcription/translation credits, pay-as-you-go API usage, and professional services engagements. Customers to date are concentrated in German-speaking cultural heritage, academia, and civil society — including Stadtmuseum Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, University of Wuppertal, Axiell, and several NGOs. The company was founded in 2020 as a spin-off of Freie Universität Berlin and has been funded entirely through non-dilutive German government grants (Berlin Startup Stipendium, EXIST-Gründerstipendium, Prototype Fund, digital.engagiert, MIZ Babelsberg, Civic Innovation Platform), with no disclosed equity investment to date. All data processing is GDPR-compliant with Frankfurt-only residency on AWS.

Name

Aureka

Legal name

aureka UG (limited liability)

Website

https://aureka.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aureka is a Berlin-based AI software provider offering transcription, semantic search, and customizable chatbots for cultural heritage institutions, academic researchers, media producers, and civil society organizations in German-speaking markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI research and media analytics software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Voice Assistants & Voice UI (VUI) (HDAAAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Translation, Language Accessibility & Reading Support Tools (e.g., TTS, Captions, Immersive Reader) (EDAFAOAL), AI & Automation in Customer Service (Chatbots, Agent Assist) (EDABACAO)

Keywords

• AI research assistant
• Audio transcription software
• Semantic search platform
• Automated metadata indexing
• Qualitative analysis tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. AI Research Assistant Subscription: SaaS platform offering free trial with credits for transcription and translation, followed by paid subscription with full feature access. Revenue generated from subscription fees for ongoing platform access.
2. Metadata API Services: Usage-based API pricing: $0.30 per 1,000 words for keyword assignment, $0.10 per 1,000 words for summarization. Volume discounts available for large collections. This represents a per-usage revenue stream.
3. Consulting and Custom Development: Digitalization consultancy, website/application development, AI development, and capacity building services provided as professional services engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Aureka sells an AI-powered research assistant web platform that automates transcription, speaker recognition, semantic search, user access management, and qualitative analysis of audio and video recordings for archivists, academics, and journalists. The platform is extended by a customizable multilingual chatbot (Lupai), a usage-based Metadata API for controlled-vocabulary indexing, and an aureka for Media module for production workflows. The company also offers digitalization consultancy, web and AI development, and capacity-building services to cultural heritage, media, public sector, and civil society organizations.

Product overview

Aureka offers a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on its AI Research Assistant web application. The core product provides automated transcription, semantic search, and collaboration features for audio/video research. Additional modules include Lupai (customizable chatbot for knowledge assistance), the Metadata API (programmatic indexing service), and aureka for Media (production assistance). Services include digitalization consultancy, AI development, and capacity building for knowledge-driven organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lupai: A multilingual AI-powered chatbot designed to help migrants and individuals navigate bureaucratic systems in Germany. Developed jointly by aureka and Bildungszentrum Lohana Berkins, funded by the Civic Innovation Platform of the Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs. Supports questions in German, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, drawing from a curated database of expert-reviewed sources on migration and labor rights.
• Metadata API

Products and services

• aureka AI Research Assistant (web application) A web application providing automated transcription with speaker recognition, semantic search, user access management, and customizable functionality for archivists, academics, and journalists working with audio and video recordings.
• Lupai multilingual AI chatbot A customizable chatbot (supporting German, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian) that provides answers based on public information or an organization's internal data, designed for privacy and built on selected expert-curated sources.
• Aureka Metadata API A pay-per-use API for automated indexing, keyword assignment, controlled-vocabulary mapping (Library of Congress, GND, BISAC, WGS), and document summarization targeted at developers and cultural heritage or publishing organizations.
• aureka for Media module A module for journalists and media producers providing AI-powered semantic search across collections and a production assistant for cutting audio/video fragments in multimedia workflows.
• Digitalization, AI, and web consulting services Professional services including digitalization consultancy, accessible website and web application development, custom AI development, capacity building and training, data analysis and visualization, and support for funding applications for digitalization projects, provided to knowledge-driven organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free trial with credits available for immediate user onboarding

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Schule ein Gesicht gebenflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Development partner for AI assistant to improve access to student representation knowledge base. Project includes automated ingestion of materials and enrichment with expert-selected sources. Assistant launching October 2025.
• Bildungszentrum Lohana BerkinscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint development partner for Lupai, the AI-powered assistant for migrants. Bildungszentrum Lohana Berkins provides domain expertise on migration and labor rights, contributing to the knowledge base and ensuring the AI meets real-world needs of migrant communities.
• Panorama-BminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMedia station developers who collaborated with aureka on the BerlinZEIT exhibition AI image generation system for Berlin City Museum.
• Stadtmuseum Berlin (Berlin City Museum)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner for BerlinZEIT exhibition's epilogue room featuring AI-generated images depicting possible futures of Berlin. Aureka developed the AI image generation system. Proof of concept for automated indexing was first tested with this museum.
• Handbook Germany : TogetherflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent partner whose materials from the multilingual migration information platform are used to power the Lupai AI assistant for migrants navigating German bureaucracy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Trint: AI transcription and semantic-search platform for journalists and media teams. Directly comparable to Aureka's Research Assistant and aureka for Media modules on transcription accuracy, semantic search, and editorial workflows.
• Otter.ai: AI meeting and conversation transcription with semantic search and collaboration features. Competes head-to-head with Aureka on automated transcription, speaker recognition, and searchable knowledge bases.
• Sonix: Automated transcription, translation and semantic search SaaS priced on usage. Closely matches Aureka's freemium-to-paid transcription and multilingual pipeline (Lupai's translation layer).
• Descript: AI-powered audio/video editing driven by transcripts with semantic navigation and quote extraction. Overlaps Aureka's quote export, transcript-synchronized playback, and Media module production assistance.
• Rev: Hybrid AI + human transcription, captions and subtitles with API access. Comparable to Aureka on automated transcription quality, .srt export, and developer/API monetization (Aureka's Metadata API).
• HappyScribe: Transcription and translation platform supporting European languages with semantic search. Closely mirrors Aureka's multilingual chatbot and transcription/translation pipeline serving researchers and creators.
• Speechmatics: Speech-to-text and speaker-recognition technology vendor serving media, public sector and enterprise. Direct technical peer for Aureka's transcription with speaker-ID and European-language coverage.

Broad incumbents

• Deepgram: Developer-focused speech AI platform offering transcription, NLP and voice APIs at scale. A broader incumbent offering overlapping capabilities (transcription, semantic APIs) that Aureka's Metadata API competes with.
• AssemblyAI: Speech and audio AI API platform with transcription, speaker diarization and content understanding. Competes with Aureka's transcription and metadata-extraction stack via a more developer-focused, broad-market motion.

Emerging players

• Cognigy: Enterprise conversational AI platform for customer-service automation. Comparable to Aureka's Lupai chatbot product in providing multilingual, knowledge-grounded virtual agents for organizations and public-sector inquiries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aureka_ai
• Facebookfacebook.com/aurekaai
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aureka-ai

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aureka