What Plus10 does

Plus10 (plus10 GmbH) is a German AI software company founded in 2019 as a spin-off from Fraunhofer IPA after five years of applied research under Prof. Thomas Bauernhansl. The company provides continuous productivity optimization for highly automated production lines, serving manufacturing operators across pharma & medtech, automotive, consumer goods, electronics, and machinery/plant engineering. Headquartered in Augsburg with a second office in Stuttgart, Plus10 operates with a team of approximately 14 international staff and is led by three co-founders — Felix Georg Müller (CEO), Thomas Hilzbrich (CTO), and Pablo Mayer (COO) — all former Fraunhofer researchers.

The core product is a modular AI suite consisting of DataCollector (high-frequency data acquisition layer capturing millisecond-level signals from PLC, NC, and robot controllers), Shannon (operative shopfloor assistance delivering real-time troubleshooting recommendations to operators via mobile devices and browsers), Darwin (analytics for cycle time trends and bottleneck identification at signal level), and Hopper (live-learning quality optimizer for injection molding processes). The platform addresses all three OEE loss categories — technical availability, performance rate, and quality — and is differentiated by its alignment with EU GMP Guide Annex 22 for regulated manufacturing environments.

Plus10 generates revenue through enterprise SaaS subscriptions priced per machine or production line (with pricing dependent on controller count and complexity), plus one-time onboarding packages covering installation, configuration, and go-live support. All sales are direct and quote-based, targeting plant operators and machine builders globally. The company maintains named enterprise deployments with Schott, Haselmeier, Ypsomed, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche, Vetter, ZAHORANSKY, Continental, Siemens, AUMOVIO, PERI, ebm-papst, Schwarzkopf/Henkel, and Freudenberg/Vileda, among others, and is actively expanding into Czech, Romanian, and Serbian megafactories.

Name

Plus10

Legal name

plus10 GmbH

Website

https://plus10.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Plus10 is a German AI software company that provides continuous productivity optimization for highly automated production lines, serving manufacturers in pharma/medtech, automotive, consumer goods, electronics, and machinery with live-learning AI across OEE loss categories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial AI Analytics Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

End-to-End MLOps & ML Platform Suites (HDAAABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Control System Integration & Engineering Services (Design, Commissioning, Retrofits) (IMAGABAK), On-Device Inference Runtimes & SDKs (mobile/embedded) (HDAAAJAB)

Keywords

• AI production optimization
• Manufacturing analytics software
• Industrial OEE software
• Shopfloor assistance software
• Injection molding optimization

Headquarters

HQ city

Augsburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Subscription: Annual subscription license for software services, including updates and standard support. Priced per machine or production line depending on number and type of integrated machine controllers and complexity. Plus one-time onboarding package covering initial installation, configuration, and go-live support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Plus10 provides AI-based analytics software for continuous productivity optimization of highly automated production lines. Its modular suite (Shannon, Darwin, Hopper, DataCollector) ingests millisecond-sampled data from PLCs, NC controllers, and robot controllers, applies live-learning behavioral models, and delivers real-time troubleshooting, cycle-time bottleneck analysis, and quality parameter optimization for manufacturers. The offering is sold as SaaS subscriptions priced per machine or production line, bundled with a one-time onboarding package.

Product overview

Plus10 is a Fraunhofer IPA spin-off offering a modular AI software suite for continuous productivity optimization of highly automated production facilities. The platform consists of four integrated products: DataCollector serves as the foundational high-frequency data acquisition layer; Shannon provides operational shopfloor assistance with situational troubleshooting recommendations; Darwin delivers analytics for identifying cycle time trends and bottlenecks; and Hopper acts as the quality optimizer for injection molding processes. The software is delivered as a service (SaaS) on Microsoft Azure, with deployment options including customer-specific cloud or on-premise infrastructure. The platform addresses all three OEE loss categories—technical availability, performance rate, and quality—across industries including automotive, electronics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, machinery, and consumer goods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shannon: Operative Shopfloor-Assistenz with situational problem-solving suggestions to increase technical availability
• Darwin
• Hopper
• DataCollector

Products and services

• Shannon Operative shopfloor assistance system that uses AI to detect, localize, and prioritize machine faults and disturbances, delivering real-time situational troubleshooting recommendations to operators via Android, iOS, Apple Watch, and web browsers. Designed for machine operators, shift leaders, maintenance teams, and production engineers running highly automated lines.
• Darwin Analytics tool that identifies cycle time trends and bottlenecks to optimize performance rate in chained and automated process chains or fleets of at least 6 identical machines, providing root cause analysis down to signal level. Used by operations and continuous improvement teams in highly automated manufacturing.
• Hopper Live-learning quality optimizer for injection molding that reduces scrap through real-time setting parameter optimization. Generates validated parameter recommendations for injection speed profiles, mold temperature, holding pressure profiles, and plastification settings (up to 60 adjustment values), always within validated parameter windows. Targeted at injection molding operations, including GMP-regulated medical device and pharmaceutical production.
• DataCollector High-performance data infrastructure for production that captures high-frequency data from all integrated machine controllers (PLC, NC, robot controllers) of a production machine or line. Supports manufacturer-specific PLC protocols with continuous addition of new controller types. Serves as the foundational data layer for Shannon, Darwin, and Hopper deployments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hopper reduces scrap and cycle times by up to 20% in injection molding applications
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

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

• ZAHORANSKY AGflagshipImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025Collaboration on MedTech production optimization using AI tools Hopper and Shannon on ZAHORANSKY's PRIMA Z syringe production line for COC/COP staked needle syringes. ZAHORANSKY is a Freiburg-based special machine builder for healthcare and consumer goods. Joint case study demonstrated 20% ramp-up time reduction and 10–17% scrap reduction. Project presented at ISPE Europe Annual Meeting in London.
• AUMOVIOflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Collaboration within the DIAZI project deploying Shannon on AUMOVIO's Edge2Cloud platform across megafactories in Czech Republic (Brandýs), Romania, and Serbia for large automotive display production. AUMOVIO is a spin-off from Continental's automotive division (September 2025). Shannon integrated into AUMOVIO's scalable edge-to-cloud IT infrastructure. Led to up to 5% availability increase.
• SKZ Kunststoff-Zentrum (Plastics Center)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024SKZ awarded plus10 its first 'Premiumpartner Forschung' (Premium Research Partner) recognition. Plus10 collaborates with SKZ on the DarWIN project researching new AI-based optimization tools for injection molding machines. SKZ is a major German plastics technology research institution.
• Fraunhofer IPA (Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Plus10 was spun off from Fraunhofer IPA in 2019 after five years of applied research and development under the leadership of Professor Thomas Bauernhansl. Fraunhofer IPA provided the foundational research, team, and IP for the company's formation. CEO Felix Georg Müller was previously a group leader for autonomous production optimization at Fraunhofer; CTO Thomas Hilzbrich was formerly a Fraunhofer project leader for data-driven production optimization; COO Pablo Mayer was formerly a Fraunhofer researcher for automation systems.
• Cyber ValleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner on the company website. Cyber Valley is Europe's largest research consortium for machine learning and AI, based in the Stuttgart/Tübingen region.
• Arena2036minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner. Arena2036 is a research campus for intelligent automation technologies in vehicle manufacturing.
• Medical MountainsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner. Medical Mountains is a cluster organization for medical technology companies in southern Germany.
• FabOSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner. FabOS is an AI-based operating system for smart factories.
• DZS (Deutsch-Französische Zusammenarbeit / German-French Cooperation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner. DZS refers to German-French cooperation in science and technology.
• Augsburg GründetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner. Augsburg Gründet is a regional startup initiative in Augsburg.
• fischertechnikminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner on the company website.
• Weltzentrum der Medizintechnik (World Center for Medical Technology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a cooperation partner on the company website.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Augury: AI-based machine health and process optimization vendor; overlaps with Plus10's Shannon availability/MTTR use case, especially in regulated and high-throughput manufacturing.
• Falkonry: Time-series AI platform for industrial operations that competes in the same 'AI on machine control data' category as Plus10's Darwin/Shannon, focused on anomaly detection and predictive operations.
• Seeq Corporation: Manufacturing analytics platform for process engineers; overlaps with Plus10's cycle-time/bottleneck analytics use cases (Darwin) in pharma and continuous/discrete manufacturing customers.
• SparkCognition: Industrial AI vendor offering anomaly detection and predictive maintenance on operational data, addressing similar root-cause-on-machine-data use cases to Shannon/Darwin across manufacturing.

Direct peers

• Sight Machine: US-based AI/analytics platform purpose-built for discrete and process manufacturing, with comparable OEE, root-cause and yield optimization value propositions targeting similar factory operator personas.
• Braincube: French industrial AI/analytics SaaS for production optimization, including injection molding lines, with comparable 'connect machines and optimize OEE' positioning and an enterprise SaaS commercial model.
• Uptake (Uptake Technologies): Industrial AI software company selling asset-performance and production analytics into heavy industry and manufacturing — closely comparable product category (AI on machine data) and enterprise sales motion.

Broad incumbents

• Siemens (Industrial Edge / Insights Hub): Listed Plus10 reference customer and a broad incumbent bundling AI-driven production optimization (Industrial Edge, Insights Hub, Opcenter) into its automation stack — a key competitor and potential channel partner.
• C3.ai: Enterprise AI platform with dedicated manufacturing/industrial process optimization applications that compete for the same 'AI on machine data' wallet in regulated industries.
• PTC (ThingWorx): Industrial IoT and analytics suite competing for the same 'AI on factory-floor data' budget at discrete manufacturers, with broader portfolio reach but less specialized OEE optimization depth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Plus10