Engineering Intelligence Firm Key Ward Raises €1M in Funding

Berlin-based Key Ward, a deeptech company specializing in engineering data management and AI integration across various industries, has emerged from stealth mode with €1 million in pre-seed funding. The investment round was spearheaded by Swedish venture capital firm Wellstreet, with additional participation from prominent industry leaders and notable figures from global giants such as Siemens, Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes, Ansys, Altair, and Hexagon.

Key Ward offers an innovative no-code SaaS platform designed to enable engineering teams to seamlessly integrate AI and manage complex data without the need for extensive coding skills or costly in-house development. The platform leverages AI to extract and structure complex datasets from historical simulations, allowing engineers to create custom AI models that predict design performance in mere seconds. This contrasts sharply with traditional simulation methods, which can be resource-intensive and time-consuming, often taking days to complete. By accelerating the design process and bridging the gap between proof of concept and operational production, Key Ward aims to address the common challenges associated with moving from experimental stages to practical applications.

The idea for Key Ward was conceived by co-founder and CEO Hoss Habib during his tenure at Porsche, where he identified inefficiencies and high costs in traditional car simulations and wind tunnel testing. Driven by the need for a more efficient solution, Habib, along with Maxime Bunel, Asparuh Stoyanov, and Lyuben Vodenicharov, founded Key Ward. Since then, the company has successfully piloted its technology in the automotive and aerospace industries, demonstrating its potential to revolutionize these sectors. The platform's versatility has since expanded to include industries such as packaging, bio-medicine, and marine, proving its capability to manage complex simulations and geometrical data across a wide range of applications.

The €1 million pre-seed investment will enable Key Ward to scale its technology on an international level and establish itself as a leading platform for engineers seeking to enhance their design processes. The company plans to use the funds to further develop its technology and expand its global reach.

Hoss Habib, CEO of Key Ward, emphasizes the company's commitment to making AI accessible to all engineers, not just data scientists. "At Key Ward, we believe that managing data is the key to successful AI. Our platform empowers teams across various industries to integrate AI seamlessly into their workflows, reducing complexity, costs, and time. Whether in automotive, aerospace, or bio-medicine, our solver-agnostic solution allows engineers to focus on innovation while maintaining full control over their data and AI models."

Jessica Rameau, Partner and Fund Manager at Wellstreet, highlights the strategic alignment between Key Ward and Wellstreet Ventures Fund II. She notes, "Despite the AI ‘hype,’ the adoption of AI tools in traditional industries has been slow. Key Ward is addressing early adoption challenges, such as data readiness and skill gaps, positioning itself to play a pivotal role in advancing AI integration in engineering sectors. This is precisely what we seek in AI/ML-related investments."

With this funding, Key Ward is poised to continue its growth trajectory and make significant strides in transforming engineering practices through advanced AI and data management solutions.