Kyrok: Berlin Startup Raises €3.1M to Build an AI Operating System for Pharma and Chemical Supply Chains

Kyrok, a Berlin-based industrial AI startup, has emerged from stealth with €3.1 million in pre-seed funding to build what it calls the first AI operating system for supply chain management in Europe’s pharmaceutical and chemical SME sector . The round was led by Speedinvest, with participation from notable industry angels and funds including the family office of pharmaceutical packaging leader Sanner, ex-SAP CPO Dr. Marcell Vollmer, Arve Capital, and the founders of enterprise AI startup Langdock .

The Problem: Legacy Systems and an Aging Workforce

Kyrok is targeting a pain point familiar to anyone who has walked through a German Mittelstand factory. A large share of European pharma and chemical SMEs still run on 1990s-era SAP R/3, Excel spreadsheets, and the institutional knowledge of an aging workforce nearing retirement . In Germany, one in four manufacturing employees is 55 or older; when they retire, decades of process knowledge walk out the door .

The consequences are measurable. Over 50% of recent critical medicine shortages in the EU were driven by manufacturing issues compounded by outdated systems . Europe's chemical sector — 31,000 companies, 97% of which are SMEs — has seen its share of global chemical production drop to 13%, while China's has reached 46% .

How Kyrok's Platform Works

Kyrok's platform does not require companies to rip and replace their existing ERP systems. Instead, it sits as an application layer on top of existing ERP systems (such as SAP S/4HANA, Microsoft D365, and Infor) . Industry-specific AI agents guide users through workflows and learn from every interaction, capturing patterns that previously lived only in employees' heads . Teams interact through a single modern interface instead of switching between ERP and other applications .

Pilot Results

Early pilot results are promising. Kyrok's system captures more than 80% of complex orders without errors on routine tasks, and users report saving over 80% of time on routine tasks with a significantly lower error rate . Christoph Staub, CEO of Swiss pharma SME Konapharma, described the human-in-the-loop approach: "The system makes suggestions, but the final call stays with the employee" .

Module Roadmap and Use of Funds

Kyrok's first module focuses on customer service (order intake and industry-specific workflows). Planned modules include production planning, material planning, and procurement . The fresh capital will be used to continue building out the operating system, develop further modules, and strategically scale the Berlin team to meet rising demand .

Founders and Founding

Kyrok was founded in 2025 by Daniel Hofinger (CEO) and Lukas Bierfreund . Both hold degrees from WHU; Hofinger is a serial entrepreneur whose prior software ventures served over 1,200 SMEs and generated eight-figure revenues .

The company's thesis is that Europe's industrial SMEs need a smarter, more resilient way to manage supply chains — and that the best path forward is to build on top of what they already have, not ask them to start over.