xelper

What xelper does

xelper is a Cologne-based, privately held software company founded in 2023 that builds an AI-powered platform for qualitative market research. Its two core products are KI-moderierte Interviews (AI-moderated chat interviews that conduct guide-based conversations with respondents, including intelligent contextual follow-up questions, and support four data collection modes: Survey, Messenger, Voice Message Focus, and Speech-to-Speech) and Analyse von Tiefeninterviews und Fokusgruppen (an AI-assisted analysis pipeline for in-depth interviews, focus groups, and open-ended responses, featuring automated transcription with speaker attribution, LLM-based topic assignment, and an interactive dashboard with 'Chat with Your Data' natural language querying). The platform runs exclusively on Microsoft Azure infrastructure within the EU and is positioned as fully GDPR- and EU AI Act-compliant, with grounding techniques designed to prevent hallucinations and trace every summary back to original quotes.

The company sells primarily through a consultative direct-sales motion with a 'Demo vereinbaren' (Schedule Demo) call to action, supported by a heavy presence at DACH market research events (succeet, planung&analyse Insights, GOR, ESOMAR Connect Germany, BVM regional evenings, DGOF). Revenue is generated on a project-based custom pricing model with a published price calculator keyed to interview volumes and recommended multi-year contracts; each study includes setup, analysis dashboard access, and professional services. The customer base is concentrated in the DACH market research ecosystem, including both research institutes (GIM, MR-S, isi, pollytix, moweb research, Best Research, Facts+Stories) and corporate research buyers in pharma (Klosterfrau), insurance (HEUTE UND MORGEN), automotive (Porsche), and medical technology (Dräger), often engaged via co-marketed joint studies with research partners such as Q Agentur für Forschung and horizoom. xelper has no disclosed external funding and remains founder-controlled by Managing Director David Ranftler and co-founder Paul Wesendonk.

Name

xelper

Legal name

xelper UG (haftungsbeschränkt)

Website

https://xelper.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

xelper is a Cologne-based AI software company that provides AI-moderated qualitative interviews and AI-assisted analysis of in-depth interviews, focus groups, and open-ended survey responses, primarily serving DACH market research institutes and corporate research departments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Qualitative Market Research Software

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration) (HDAAAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fieldwork & Data Collection (Online Panels, CATI/CAPI, Fieldwork) (MPAAALAD)

Keywords

• Qualitative market research
• AI-moderated interviews
• Qualitative data analysis
• Market research software
• AI interview platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. AI-Moderated Interview Studies: Custom project-based pricing for KI-moderierte Interviews. Pricing varies by number of interviews (recommended 100 per segment) and includes Setup & Configuration (Briefing Call, AI Moderator programming, unlimited pre-tests, optional Corporate Design), Analysis & Insights (automatic analysis, Chat with Your Data, unlimited dashboard access, segment comparisons, SPSS/Forsta export), and Service & Support (debriefing meeting, GDPR compliance, up to 2 hours Professional Services).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

xelper provides an AI-powered platform for qualitative market research, consisting of two core offerings: KI-moderierte Interviews (AI-Moderated Interviews) that use an AI chatbot to conduct guide-based qualitative interviews with contextual follow-up questions, and Analyse von Tiefeninterviews und Fokusgruppen (Analysis of In-Depth Interviews and Focus Groups) that automates transcription, topic assignment, and analysis of qualitative data. The platform supports four data collection formats (Survey, Messenger, Voice Message Focus, and Speech-to-Speech) and delivers results via an interactive dashboard with Chat with Your Data natural language querying.

Product overview

xelper offers a platform of AI-powered solutions for qualitative market research, consisting of two core products: KI-moderierte Interviews (AI-Moderated Interviews) and Analyse von Tiefeninterviews und Fokusgruppen (Analysis of In-Depth Interviews and Focus Groups). The AI-Moderated Interviews product enables guide-based chat interviews conducted by an AI interviewer with contextual follow-up questions, supporting four distinct data collection formats: Survey Mode, Messenger Mode, Voice Message Focus Mode, and Speech-to-Speech Mode. The Analysis product provides AI-assisted analysis of qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus groups, featuring automated transcription, intelligent topic assignment, and interactive dashboards with Chat with Your Data functionality. Transcription and Analysis of Open-Ended Responses are supporting services within this platform. Both products share common infrastructure including the analysis dashboard, data export capabilities (SPSS, Foresta), and the Human in the Loop approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KI-moderierte Interviews (AI-Moderated Interviews) AI-moderated chat interviews combining qualitative depth with quantitative reliability, guiding respondents through customizable interview guides with contextual follow-up questions. Supports multiple data collection formats (Messenger, Survey, Voice Message Focus, and Speech-to-Speech modes) and delivers results through an interactive dashboard. Targets professional market researchers and corporate insights teams.
• Analyse von Tiefeninterviews und Fokusgruppen (Analysis of In-Depth Interviews and Focus Groups) AI-assisted analysis platform for qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus groups, featuring automated transcription with glossary support and speaker attribution, LLM-based topic assignment, automated sentiment analysis, topic clustering, and an interactive analysis dashboard with Chat with Your Data natural language querying. Delivers 50-80% time savings in reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50-80% time savings in reporting for analysis of Tiefeninterviews and Fokusgruppen
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MCM KlosterfraucoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2026Strategic collaboration on the 'Scaling Qualitative Depth' project awarded the GOR Impact & Innovation Award 2026. Joint validation study comparing AI-moderated interviews with classical surveys in OTC pharma research, demonstrating how qualitative depth and quantitative reach can be methodically combined.
• Q Agentur für ForschungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2026Co-development partner in multiple studies including the award-winning Klosterfrau validation study and joint webinar presentations. Oliver Tabino from Q Agentur für Forschung co-presented findings at webinars and events.
• horizoomcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2026Strategic partner in OTC pharma research study with Klosterfrau and Q Agentur für Forschung. Malte Freksa from horizoom co-presented at VMÖ Sommerfest 2025 on 'KI-moderierte Kurz-Interviews' with case examples and validation study results.
• PorschecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Joint study on usability testing with Userlutions, nominated for GOR Impact and Innovation Award 2026. Demonstrates xelper's application in automotive usability research.
• isi sensory futuresminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 October 2025Demonstrated at DGOF KI Forum Pitch 2025 how AI-moderated interviews can be applied in gustation/degustation research.
• pollytixminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2025Conducted qualitative eigenstudy on conscription reintroduction in collaboration with pollytix and Bilendi. Study identified three central conflict lines for the societal debate.
• BilendiminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 September 2025Cooperation partner in conscription study with pollytix. Bilendi serves as panel/distribution partner for respondent recruitment.
• Best ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 July 2025Joint study examining how consumers use AI in the purchasing process. Focus on purchase-related applications and strategic implications for marketing and brand management.
• DGOF (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Online-Forschung)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2025Corporate member of DGOF since June 2025. Active participation in DGOF events including Research Plus series, GOR conferences, and DGOF KI Forum. xelper sponsors and presents at DGOF events.
• moweb researchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2025Collaborated on 'Kompass Gen Z' study published with Initiative für echtes Leben e.V. Results from approximately 200 AI-moderated interviews provided insights into the life circumstances of Gen Z in Germany.
• BVM (Berufsverband der Markt- und Sozialforscher)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBVM membership displaying association logo on website. Active participation in BVM regional evenings and events including sponsorship of BVM Pharma Fachtagung 2025. Company featured in BVM Jahrbuch der Marktforschung.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider for xelper's entire platform. All data processed and stored exclusively on Microsoft Azure servers in the EU. Microsoft is xelper's only sub-processor. Enables compliance with high security standards and GDPR requirements.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Qualtrics: Large enterprise experience management platform with qualitative text analytics and AI research assistants; a broad incumbent that could bundle AI-moderated interviews into its existing research stack.
• Forsta: Enterprise research technology platform (formerly Confirmit) with deep DACH roots; xelper's SPSS/Forsta export integration signals ecosystem overlap and competitive overlap in market research.

Direct peers

• Listen Labs: Direct competitor offering AI-moderated qualitative interviews and AI-powered consumer research, pursuing the same 'qual at scale' thesis for enterprise and research buyers.
• Discuss.io: Enterprise qualitative research platform offering video interviews, focus groups, and analysis tooling with a DACH and global research-institute customer base.
• UserTesting (now part of UserZoom): Human- and AI-assisted usability and qualitative testing platform; comparable to xelper's usability testing work with Porsche/Userlutions and Speech-to-Speech mode.
• Remesh: AI-augmented qualitative research platform with live and asynchronous conversation capabilities, serving market research and employee insights use cases.
• Outset: AI-moderated research interview platform aimed at enabling qualitative research at scale, directly competing with xelper's KI-moderierte Interviews product.

Emerging players

• Maze: Rapid user research platform with AI-assisted analysis of qualitative feedback; competes for the same corporate UX and product research budgets.
• Sprig: AI-powered insights platform for in-product user research with qualitative analysis features; adjacent to xelper's customer-feedback and usability use cases.

Others

• Userlutions: Usability testing specialist; partnered with xelper and Porsche on a GOR-nominated study, positioning it as a complementary service rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/xelper

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 xelper