Recobo
Abstract
recobo is the first AI powered digital assistant for the chemical/pharma industry. Our ML models have been trained on largest chemical repository. Customers can simply connect /upload their product/process/compliance documents and ask any question(s). Recobo reads the data and can provide it digitally to other systems or provide answers/insights via search, voice or bot interfaces.
Company Name:
Recobo
Founders:
Andreas Gypser, Oliver Hehl & Pavan Ravinutala
Solution offered:
Recobo is the Google for chemical domain documents
Exit type:
Spin-in
Product or service description
Our technology makes it much easier to find answers & insights so BASF customers and suppliers do not have to manually scan through tons of documents. Additionally, our customers have been using recobo to automatize paper-based processes. RECOBO AI automatically understands & extracts the data from chemical domain documents like SDS, COA, MSDS, and product information sheets.
Who are your customers?
Operating divisions in BASF and other units like Engineering
What is your vision?
We transform industry documents. To data. To answers.
Areas of expertise
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Andreas: Chemist by training, 25 years at BASF in the EHS Department.
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Pavan: IT Department at BASF. Expertise in Artificial Intelligence.
Area of responsibility at the Venture
Andreas: Subject matter expert, Controlling & now a Marketing as a new skill
How did you come up with the idea?
As Digital Officer, I was responsible for all the IT solutions in the area of environment, safety, and health, and we also looked for new ideas on how we could use digitalization even better for BASF in the future.
We were approached by plant managers not from Ludwigshafen, but smaller sites, and they said to us: "We have so much to do with data and documents and there are so many laws and so many internal requirements and also approval documents for our plants. Can't you help us find a solution to work with these documents and data?
What were the most important achievements for you?
That we could create an AI-based SaaS product within the given time and the positive feedback we have gotten from our customers.
The entire Recobo team is proud of the fact that BASF has decided to spin in and further strengthen and roll out the product globally.
What was your biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge was to pivot our business idea when we learned that our original plan was not going to be successful.
What was your greatest learning?
Great things are possible even without money or in a narrow time slot. You just need to try.
What was your greatest success?
To pivot the business idea and get 6 operating divisions within BASF and 19 research groups as customers in BASF in less than one year.
What was your favorite moment in your Chemovator Journey?
The day when we made it through the validation pitch and we could work fulltime on Recobo from that day on.
Your advice to aspiring founders?
Be clear from the start about your product. Two years is not a long time for the journey. You should maximize the time to market and sell your product.