Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Karevo: We develop a retrofittable sorting machine for potatoes. Our solution uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to detect defects on the tubers and automatically removes unsaleable produce – completely without manual inspection.
Innovation for small and medium-sized farms
Munich Startup: But that’s been around for ages!
Karevo: True – for large industrial operations and large agricultural businesses. Small and medium-sized farms have had hardly any access to automated sorting solutions so far. Our innovation lies in making the technology so compact and modular that it can be easily integrated into existing systems – on-site and without major modifications – and at a lower cost than comparable products.
Munich Startup: What’s your founding story?
Karevo: Our co-founder Benedikt grew up on a potato farm in Donauwörth and knows the tedious sorting work from personal experience. During his master’s thesis in mechanical engineering at TUM, he developed the first functioning system for automatic sorting – that was the kickoff for our founding. The idea: if everything else is getting automated, why not potato sorting too?
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Karevo: Each phase brings its own challenges – from technical development to financing and market access. But so far we’ve managed well with plenty of motivation, teamwork, and pragmatism.
Vision: more than just potatoes
Munich Startup: Where do you want to be in one year – and where in five years?
Karevo: In five years, we see ourselves as an established player in automation and computer vision in agriculture – with solutions far beyond potatoes.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Karevo: Munich is a great place to start a company: a strong network, many support offerings, and an inspiring tech scene. Through our connection to the TUM Venture Lab Food, Agro, Biotech, we also get access to many valuable resources. At the same time, Bavarian laid-back attitudes bring a nice balance to the often hectic startup life.
Munich Startup: Outsource or do it yourself?
Karevo: We’ve tried both. For us, it works best to do much of the development – both software and hardware – in-house. Often we have no choice because available generic solutions don’t fit our use case. We outsource production and manufacturing to partners. This way we stay flexible and innovative.
