CAPS & COLLARS: Agentic AI Enterprise Platforms Hamburg

We build companies and products at the intersection of AI, automation and agentic systems. Cross-industry, compliant and scalable.

Hamburg, Germany

Learn more
  • Three years running a corporate joint venture
  • Three active ventures: HIVE, KLARSTAND, POLI8
  • An ecosystem of ARIC, HQIC, DEEPTECH Campus Circle and 12MIN.ME
About Us

We build what AI can truly deliver in the enterprise

AI, automation, agentic systems: we master the technologies that are transforming businesses right now. Not at slide level, but in code, architecture and live operation. We develop production-ready systems that are compliant, run securely and meet corporate governance standards.

Deep technology meets industry expertise

We immerse ourselves rapidly and deeply in new domains. What sets us apart: the ability to see across industry boundaries. An AI model from the automotive aftermarket becomes clinical decision support. Image recognition from agriculture becomes industrial quality control. This transfer is not coincidence, it is method. And we integrate new technologies into existing system landscapes, because real digitalization starts where legacy software ends.

Operational depth, not outside advice

Our team comes from strategic consulting at executive level, from the corporate world and from building companies of their own. We take on management roles, assemble teams and carry operational responsibility. Not as external advisors, but as part of the team. We help our partners understand and deploy new technologies, but the focus is on the outcome, not the workshop.

Sovereignty is an architecture question

The best AI comes from many houses and changes every quarter. Committing to a single model means handing over cost, data and speed. So we build for interchangeable models and keep control inside the company: harness AI instead of being harnessed by it. That is what HIVE stands for, our sovereign AI operating layer for enterprises and critical infrastructure. Frontier models, European providers or local operation on your own systems, chosen by task, protection level and cost. Built around GDPR and the EU AI Act, without lock-in. European sovereignty to us is not isolation but freedom of choice that still holds tomorrow.

The name

Caps stands for the bold move forward: curiosity, ambition, the willingness to challenge the status quo. Collars for the foundation: experience, proven structures, entrepreneurial substance built over years. We are convinced that the most impactful ventures emerge where these two worlds meet. Where the established opens up to the new. And where the new brings respect for what has stood the test of time.

Ecosystem as multiplier

Over more than a decade, we have built a network connecting science, industry and the public sector. AI competence centres, quantum technology hubs, a community of more than 100,000 members across over 70 cities as of 2026, a dedicated innovation space in Hamburg. These connections have grown organically and open doors for our ventures that money cannot buy. Behind this ecosystem are Alois Krtil, co-founder of ARIC and HQIC, and Oliver Rößling, founder of 12MIN.ME and the DEEPTECH Campus Circle.

Our Focus

GDPR compliant
AI Act ready
EU Hosting
On-Premise capable
100% European solutions
Enterprise Security

What We Master

How We Work

From Idea to Scale

No rigid framework. Every project is different. But our approach follows a clear principle: understand, build, secure, scale.

Ventures

Our Ventures

Previous Venture Projects

Venture

AHEAD Automotive GmbH

CEO (Sept. 2022 to May 2025)

Joint venture of four international corporations (ZF, Hella, Niterra, Clarios). Oliver Rößling as CEO, CAPS & COLLARS as technology partner. Two products built from zero to market readiness and rolled out in the aftermarket.

  • Qira: AI-powered workshop software for vehicle diagnostics and repair →
  • ProPoints: Loyalty program for workshops with 8 manufacturers and 14 product brands →
AHEAD Automotive GmbH →
Venture

Haufe Group

Project Lead (Nov. 2022 to May 2023)

Mixed reality platform for onboarding and training. Desktop, VR headset or AR glasses. Multi-tenant capable, with structured tutorials and training programs. Rolled out internally for several hundred employees.

Venture

AgriTech: Seed & Drones

Project Lead (2023)

Autonomous drone flights for seed manufacturers and agricultural companies. AI models for pest detection and targeted treatment. Optimization of breeding cycles through machine learning for better products and reduced crop failure.

Ecosystem

Our Ecosystem

DEEPTECH Campus Circle

Heimhuder Straße 56, 20148 Hamburg

Exclusive innovation hub in an Art Nouveau villa in Harvestehude. Startups, research and industry under one roof. Its own format: the Autonomous Intelligence Forum.

DEEPTECH Campus →

THE FORGE

The critical-infrastructure vertical of the DEEPTECH Campus Circle. Resilience, sovereignty and dual use. Its own format: the Resilience Forum. The questions raised there turn into our ventures.

THE FORGE →

DEEPTECH DEEPTALK

The podcast about tomorrow's technologies: quantum tech, AI, cybersecurity, dual use and geopolitics. Co-host: Alois Krtil. More than 40 episodes as of September 2026.

Listen on Spotify →

AUFBRUCH.Hamburg

Regional innovation strategy for the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Built with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Innovation (BWI). Connecting science, industry and the public sector.

AUFBRUCH.Hamburg →

ARIC Hamburg

Artificial Intelligence Center Hamburg. Co-founded by our CIO Alois Krtil. The central hub for AI competence in Northern Germany.

ARIC Hamburg →

HQIC

Hamburg Quantum Innovation Center. Also founded by Alois Krtil. Bridging quantum research and industrial application.

HQIC →

12MIN.ME

Europe's leading meetup movement. More than 1,500 meetups, 6,000 speakers, 70 cities and 100,000 people in the community as of 2026. Built by Oliver Rößling since 2013.

12MIN.ME →

nextReality.Hamburg e.V.

Ecosystem for immersive technologies and XR media. Built with Hamburg's Creative Authority and nextMedia.Hamburg.

nextReality →
Team

Leadership

Why CAPS & COLLARS
Cross-industry technology transfer: recognize patterns, translate, scale
Integrating cutting-edge AI into existing systems and legacy landscapes
Regulation and compliance: AI Act, GDPR, data protection and cybersecurity are integral to our work
Automating complex processes with measurable business outcomes
Operational responsibility on the founding team, not just external advice
Open Application

Join Our Team

We grow deliberately. Not through job postings, but through people who convince us.

If you don't just use technology but truly understand it. If you don't manage projects but drive them forward. If you don't just lead teams but build them. Then we should talk.

We are looking for individuals with operational excellence, strategic vision and the ambition to deliver lasting results in record time.

Apply now
Questions

Frequently asked

What does CAPS & COLLARS actually do?
We build companies and products at the intersection of AI, automation and agentic systems. We do not advise from the outside: we take on management, build teams and carry operational responsibility. Out of that come our own ventures and systems that run in production at partner companies.
What is HIVE?
HIVE is our sovereign AI operating layer for enterprises and critical infrastructure. It decides which model runs, where the data stays and what it costs. Frontier models, European providers or local operation on your own systems are interchangeable, without lock-in. Built around GDPR and the EU AI Act, with governance, audit trails and one central view of cost.
What is KLARSTAND?
KLARSTAND is an AI-powered data layer for the independent automotive aftermarket. One interface brings together catalogue, technical data, diagnostics and workshop system and makes them searchable by AI. API-first, white-label ready, built for the EU Data Act and the Right to Repair. KLARSTAND runs on HIVE.
What is POLI8?
POLI8 is clinical guideline intelligence for tumour boards. It checks recommendations against current guidelines, highlights deviations and delivers transparent, referenced suggestions. The decision stays with the clinicians. It starts in prostate oncology.
How do you work with companies?
In six steps: understand and advise, build the team, build the technology, secure it for regulation, scale, operate. Depending on the project we co-found, take on leadership, or bring in focused expertise without holding equity.
Where do your systems run, and how do you handle GDPR and the AI Act?
On-premise, in an EU cloud or hybrid, depending on the protection required. Role-based access, audit trails, end-to-end encryption and zero data retention are design principles, not afterthoughts. Risk-based approvals and red teaming happen before anything goes live.
Which industries do you know well?
Automotive aftermarket, medtech, defense and dual use, and the public sector. Transfer between those fields is method, not coincidence: a model from the aftermarket becomes clinical decision support, image recognition from agriculture becomes industrial quality control.
How does working together start?
With a conversation. Write to us through the contact form or at [email protected]. It usually turns into one clearly scoped first step: a validation, a pilot or a concrete system project.
Contact

Get in Touch

If you believe we are a good fit, we look forward to hearing from you.

Office & MeetingsHeimhuder Straße 56, 20148 Hamburg
DEEPTECH Campus · Harvestehude

Postal AddressGeschwister-Scholl-Str. 23, 20251 Hamburg

+49 160 3460316

[email protected]