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Interview
"The set of potentially relevant technologies is constantly evolving. "
Experte: André Nowak | 02/25/2025 | Teilen auf in
Zièd Bahrouni is the founder and CEO of Motius GmbH. With his multidisciplinary team, he helps companies leverage cutting-edge technologies early in R&D – and invests in industrial startups.
Mr. Bahrouni, at the INDUSTRIAL FUTURE DAY, you will outline ways for companies to identify and adapt future-relevant technologies to optimize processes and drive business growth. How does Motius contribute to this, and what makes your approach unique?
Zièd Bahrouni: The scope of relevant technologies has expanded dramatically for companies. For example: in the past, an automotive manufacturer only needed to keep an eye on a few developments in vehicle technology. That has fundamentally changed. Today, almost any new technology can potentially be business-relevant. Moreover, the technological landscape is constantly evolving. It is no longer enough to create a one-time overview; companies must continuously stay ahead of developments.
This is where we come in: we help our clients integrate the most promising technologies at an early stage. Our core team consists of 100 permanent employees, complemented by a dynamic pool of over 900 experts, including researchers, PhD candidates, and developers, many with technical backgrounds. This allows us to provide the expertise and flexibility companies need to stay at the forefront of technological advancements.
Around two-thirds of DAX-listed companies and many medium-sized businesses are among our clients. Our work falls into two main categories: on the one hand, we help increase productivity, typically through automation, robotics, and AI. On the other hand, we support the development of products enabled by new technologies and help bring them to market maturity. Our value lies in developing and implementing solutions, from software and hardware integration to optimizing entire systems. This sets us apart from pure consulting firms and technology scouts.
Can you share some examples of projects and the value you have created with your clients?
ZB: In the highly precise production process of a client in the aerospace industry, each component needs to be identified up to 15 times to ensure traceability, quality control, and compliance with regulatory requirements. Until now, this was done manually using magnifying glasses and special lighting, a time-consuming, error-prone, and strenuous task for employees.
We developed an AI-powered smartphone app that reliably recognizes serial numbers even under challenging conditions. In addition, we designed a custom smartphone attachment module, implemented edge-based AI inference, and integrated third-party systems. To optimize the system, we simulated thousands of variations using synthetic training data, increasing accuracy to nearly 100%. As a result, our client was able to enhance product traceability, reduce employee workload, and significantly boost efficiency, saving over 300 workdays per year.
For our client Hilti, we supported the improvement of quality assurance. The key challenges were a complex manufacturing environment, where multiple interdependent indicators determine quality, and the detection of defects that are nearly invisible to the human eye. We developed an AI solution that monitors the process and quality while providing real-time information to workers on the production line. Additionally, the system helps quality management teams implement targeted corrective and preventive measures. This enabled Hilti to reduce defect rates and associated costs by 15%.
What challenges do you currently observe in the market, and how can companies address them with technology?
ZB: We are currently seeing a shift toward a more de-globalized and fragmented world, for example, through rising tariffs in the U.S. For export-oriented companies, this means they increasingly need to manufacture within their target markets. However, this challenge cannot simply be solved by replicating existing factory structures. The key issue is the availability of skilled labor, such as trained production technicians and experienced middle management. To ensure quality and productivity under these changing conditions, companies need technological efficiency and automated processes.
We observe a similar trend in the heavy machinery sector, such as cranes, excavators, and mining equipment. The average age of machine operators is over 50, and the shortage of skilled workers continues to worsen. Here, too, autonomous or remotely operated machines are the only sustainable solution.
Please give us a brief preview of your presentation at INDUSTRIAL FUTURE DAY 2025. What can participants look forward to?
ZB: We believe that the industrial sector, and especially smaller technology companies, are and will continue to be the growth engine in the DACH region. That’s why, alongside Motius, we have launched a venture capital fund designed to bridge the gap between mid-sized companies' R&D activities and the startup ecosystem. From this perspective, we will present case studies of R&D projects in both large corporations and medium-sized enterprises, highlighting their tangible value. Additionally, we will showcase success stories of industrial startups and spin-offs.
