Phantasma Labs
Entrepreneur First '18Berlin, DE · Founded 2018 · 9 employees on LinkedIn · 5 known investors
Phantasma Labs builds industrial-grade AI software using Reinforcement Learning to create models without large datasets, applying simulations to areas such as production planning for factories and navigation for autonomous vehicles. It targets manufacturers and enterprises of any size, aiming to make AI adoption accessible regardless of digital maturity.
Also known as Phantasma · Phantasma Labs GmbH
Founders & leadership
Phantasma Labs was founded in 2018 by Rama Nanjundaiah and Maria Meier.
Investors · 5
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Phantasma Labs GmbH is a Berlin-based software company that develops industrial AI for manufacturing planning. Its main product, AiPS, ingests data from a customer's ERP system to build complete, optimized production schedules across machines, shifts and constraints, and to replan automatically when conditions change. Schedules are optimized against goals such as on-time delivery, throughput and setup time, and each schedule is reported with metrics including on-time delivery rate, machine utilization and makespan. The product also supports side-by-side what-if scenario comparison (for example an added shift, a changed priority, or a machine outage) so planners can evaluate options before committing changes on the shop floor.
The company describes itself as one of few firms globally building industrial-grade AI software using reinforcement learning, an approach it says allows models to be created without large datasets by leveraging simulation. It has applied the same underlying technology beyond manufacturing: earlier public material describes a simulation platform that emulates complex human behaviour to train autonomous vehicles, working with automotive OEMs and suppliers, and the company's About page still references an automotive product. Creative Destruction Lab describes Phantasma Labs as developing AI models for creating operating plans in manufacturing, generating plans up to 200 times faster than competing solutions to reduce downtime and improve resilience to disruptions.
AiPS connects to standard ERP and MES platforms through APIs and file exports, with stated integrations to partners Vectotax and MKW and claimed connectivity to systems such as SAP and Infor. The company states typical deployment in four to six weeks and return on investment within about six months.
Founding story
Co-founders Ramakrishna Nanjundaiah (CEO) and Maria Meier (CTO) met through the Entrepreneur First talent investor programme; both are technical founders, with Nanjundaiah moving to the business side and Meier leading technology. Meier holds a computer science bachelor's from the Technical University of Munich plus a master's degree, and has said the pair iterated through several ideas before market research pointed them toward autonomous driving. The company states it was founded with the mission of making AI accessible to enterprises lacking the expertise or budget for it, based on the insight that AI models could be built without large datasets by using simulation and reinforcement learning.
Business model
Phantasma Labs sells AI production planning and scheduling software (AiPS) to manufacturers, and also distributes indirectly by having ERP and MES vendors embed its planning capability into their own products so end customers do not have to change systems. Sales motions described on the site include booking a 30-minute live demo, an ROI calculator, and a free schedule preview generated from a sample of a prospect's real production data. The sources do not state pricing or contract structure.
Traction
Public evidence of traction consists of named ERP/MES embedding partners Vectotax Software GmbH and MKW GmbH, whose representatives provide testimonials about integrating Phantasma's AI scheduling; selection into the Creative Destruction Lab 2024/25 Manufacturing stream in Seattle; and October 2024 investments from Momenta and RunwayFBU as announced on the company's news list. The About page lists seven named team members plus six advisors. Website performance claims (85% less time on manual scheduling, 15% more capacity without CapEx, 96% on-time delivery in an illustrative scenario) are vendor-stated and not independently sourced.
Latest developments
The current website centres entirely on AiPS for production scheduling, advertising go-live in six weeks and ROI in six months, ERP/MES integrations with Vectotax and MKW, and a free schedule-preview offer. The most recent dated items available are the December 2024 "Startup of the Week" feature, the October 2024 investment by Momenta and RunwayFBU, and participation in the Creative Destruction Lab 2024/25 Manufacturing cohort.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions itself as one of few companies globally producing industrial-grade AI software based on reinforcement learning, and as making AI planning accessible to factories regardless of digital maturity. Creative Destruction Lab positions the plan-generation speed advantage (up to 200x faster than competing solutions) as its differentiator. Dealroom-sourced Berlin startup map data lists no known external funding, so public evidence of scale is limited.
Claimed differentiators are the ability to train AI models via simulation and reinforcement learning without large historical datasets, plan generation up to 200 times faster than competing solutions, rapid deployment (live in four to six weeks) with ROI within roughly six months, and integration into existing ERP/MES stacks rather than replacement of them.
Technology
The core technology is reinforcement learning combined with simulation, which the company says lets it build AI models without large datasets. Applied to manufacturing, the models generate complete production schedules respecting machine, shift and constraint limits, optimize them against selected objectives, replan on change, and support scenario testing. Creative Destruction Lab cites plan generation up to 200x faster than competing solutions. Earlier automotive work used a simulation platform placing real humans in virtual worlds to emulate human behaviour for autonomous-vehicle training, with team backgrounds spanning 3D art, classic simulation, machine learning and the Unity game engine. Integration is via APIs and file exports to ERP/MES systems.
Go-to-market
Direct outbound and inbound sales via the website (demo booking, contact and free trial calls to action, ROI calculator, whitepapers, webinars, case studies and a newsletter), combined with an indirect channel through ERP/MES partners such as Vectotax Software GmbH and MKW GmbH, which embed Phantasma's AI planning into their products.
Manufacturers of varying size and digital maturity that run complex production scheduling, plus ERP and MES software vendors who embed the planning engine for their manufacturing customers. Historically the company also served automotive OEMs and suppliers for autonomous-vehicle simulation.
Geography
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany (Am Nordbahnhof 3, 10115 Berlin), with the product marketed as "built in Germany." The company participated in Creative Destruction Lab's Seattle site for the 2024/25 cohort. Automotive customers cited in earlier coverage were European automotive OEMs and suppliers.
History
The company began as a simulation platform emulating complex human behaviour to train autonomous vehicles, working with automotive OEMs (Audi is named in one interview) and suppliers, while stating it did not define itself as an automotive company but as one applying reinforcement learning and simulation to hard problems. It subsequently focused on manufacturing, launching AiPS for AI production planning and scheduling and building ERP/MES embedding partnerships. In October 2024 Momenta and RunwayFBU invested; in December 2024 it was featured as a "Startup of the Week"; and it joined the Creative Destruction Lab Manufacturing stream (CDL-Seattle) for the 2024/25 cohort. It is registered as Phantasma Labs GmbH at Amtsgericht Charlottenburg under HRB 205639 B.
Risks & controversies
Publicly available financial information is thin: the Dealroom-based Berlin startup map records no known external funding, and no round sizes or valuations are disclosed in any source. Most performance claims (200x faster planning, 85% reduction in manual scheduling time, 15% more capacity, six-month ROI) originate from the company or its accelerator rather than independent verification. The team appears small (seven named members) and the business has pivoted its application focus from autonomous-vehicle simulation to manufacturing scheduling, which introduces execution and market-fit risk. One retrieved source about post-acquisition startup shutdowns does not concern Phantasma Labs and was disregarded.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsVectotax Software GmbH embedded Phantasma's AI planning into its ERP, and MKW GmbH integrated AI-powered scheduling into its MK|Ware product, per testimonials from both partners on the company website.
AiPS builds optimized production schedules from ERP data, replans on change, reports on-time delivery, machine utilization and makespan, and supports what-if scenario comparison; marketed as live in six weeks.
Phantasma Labs news item titled "Startup Of The Week: Phantasma Labs"; publisher not stated in the source.
Company news item announcing investment from Momenta and RunwayFBU; amount not disclosed.
Phantasma Labs listed as a company in Creative Destruction Lab's Seattle site, Manufacturing stream, cohort year 2024/25.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Phantasma Labsphantasma.global · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Phantasma Labs do?
- Berlin company selling AiPS, a reinforcement-learning AI system that builds and rebuilds factory production schedules.
- Who founded Phantasma Labs?
- Phantasma Labs was founded by Rama Nanjundaiah, Maria Meier in 2018.
- Who are Phantasma Labs's investors?
- Phantasma Labs's investors include Entrepreneur First, IT-Farm Corporation, Linden Capital, Momenta Ventures.
- Where is Phantasma Labs headquartered?
- Phantasma Labs is headquartered in Berlin, DE.