Zurich’s manufacturing floors are a patchwork of incompatible systems. A Siemens PLC here, an ABB robot there, each brand speaking its own language. The cost is measured in downtime, waste, and a stubborn productivity gap with Asia. Forgis, a pre-seed startup founded last year, is betting $4.5 million that a unified AI layer can make those machines talk. The goal is not just connectivity, but an autonomous factory that reconfigures itself in real time.
The interoperability wedge
Forgis avoids building new hardware. Its software sits at the edge, connecting existing industrial machines, PLCs, and robots into a single intelligent system [forgis.com, November 2025]. The initial wedge is integration. By solving the vendor lock-in problem first, the company aims to create a substrate for higher-order functions: predictive failure, dynamic production scheduling, and guided operator interventions. Early pilot results, cited by the company, claim reductions of up to 60% in waste, 30% in downtime, and a 20% increase in throughput [Venturekick, November 2025]. These are the kind of numbers that get a procurement officer’s attention in automotive and advanced manufacturing, Forgis’s stated target sectors.
Why redalpine wrote the check
A $4.5 million pre-seed is a substantial opening round, especially in European deeptech. The lead investor, Swiss venture firm redalpine, is known for its technical diligence. They were joined by Massimo Banzi, the co-founder of open-source hardware pioneer Arduino, whose presence signals a belief in the platform’s potential to become a new standard [Venturekick, November 2025]. The founding team’s pedigree likely factored in. CEO Federico Martelli (Google, Bain), CPO Camilla Mazzoleni, and CTO Riccardo Maggioni (IBM) are all alumni of ETH Zurich and the University of St. Gallen, and were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in the AI category for 2026 [unibo.it, 2026]. The round also included a CHF 150,000 grant from Swiss accelerator Venture Kick [Venturekick, November 2025].
| Founder | Role | Key Background |
|---|---|---|
| Federico Martelli | CEO | Google, Bain & Company, ETH Zurich |
| Camilla Mazzoleni | CPO | University of St. Gallen |
| Riccardo Maggioni | CTO | IBM, ETH Zurich |
| Table: Forgis founding team background [EU-Startups, November 2025][unibo.it, 2026]. |
The path to enterprise scale
The strategic playbook is clear. Start with pilot projects to prove the integration and ROI case, then convert to enterprise SaaS contracts scaled by production line or machine count. Forgis has already secured pilot commitments from unnamed Fortune 500 companies and announced a partnership with IBM, a crucial ally for enterprise credibility and sales channel potential [Venturekick, November 2025]. The real test begins now. The capital is for scaling the engineering team and moving from successful pilots to paid, multi-year deployments. The risks here are not trivial.
- Proof at scale. Pilot results are promising but unproven across hundreds of machines in a live, 24/7 production environment. The leap from a controlled pilot to a plant-wide rollout is where many industrial software solutions stumble.
- Competitive landscape. While no direct competitor is named in sources, the space for industrial IoT and AI is crowded. Incumbents like Siemens and Rockwell Automation have their own ecosystem plays, and a host of startups are attacking discrete problems like predictive maintenance. Forgis’s bet is that its agnostic, unifying layer is a unique position.
- Sales motion. Selling seven-figure software into heavy industry is a long, relationship-driven game. The team’s blend of consulting and tech experience is strong, but the track record for landing and expanding such accounts is yet to be established.
What to watch in Zurich
With the pre-seed closed and pilots underway, the next twelve months are about translation. Can Forgis convert its Fortune 500 commitments into publicly referenceable customers? Will the IBM partnership yield tangible co-sold deals? The $4.5 million from redalpine and Banzi buys the runway to answer those questions. For European manufacturers staring down a productivity deficit, the promise of a 20% throughput lift is a powerful lure. The question for 2026 is whether Forgis can deliver that lift not just in a pilot, but on a factory-wide bill of materials.
Sources
- [forgis.com, November 2025] Forgis - Industrial Intelligence | https://www.forgis.com/
- [Venturekick, November 2025] Forgis secures USD 4.5 million | https://www.venturekick.ch/Forgis-secures-USD-45-million-to-bring-AIpowered-intelligence-to-European-factories
- [EU-Startups, November 2025] Swiss startup Forgis raises €3.8 million | https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/11/swiss-startup-forgis-raises-e3-8-million-to-automate-industrial-machines-as-europe-confronts-asias-manufacturing-lead/
- [unibo.it, 2026] Forbes Under 30 Europe 2026 Artificial Intelligence | https://www.unibo.it/en