Europe needs AI champions to share in the next wave of AI value | Alexander Rinke, Co-CEO of Celonis
Welcome to the new episode of the TNW Podcast, the show where we discuss the latest developments in the technology ecosystem and feature interviews with some of the most influential people in the industry.
In today’s episode, we’re happy to present an interview with Alexander Rinke, co-founder and co-CEO of Celonis, the leader in process intelligence, which gives AI the context it needs to understand how a business gets work done. Alex explains why Europe needs its own AI champions to share in the value AI will create, and why AI only works when companies reinvent their processes.
We dig into what sovereign AI means for companies and countries, why Celonis built an x-ray machine for business processes, its acquisition of MIT spin-off Ikigai Labs, and the 5 years it spent bootstrapping. He also shares how to tell real product-market fit from the kind that only exists on a slide for VCs.
Feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions at contact@thenextweb.com.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:35 What Celonis does
01:21 How Celonis started 15 years ago
02:55 Why Celonis acquired Ikigai Labs
04:24 The purpose behind Celonis
04:52 Sovereign AI and Europe's AI champions
06:55 How Celonis helps companies own their AI
08:10 Challenges of scaling for 15 years
09:54 What's next for Celonis
10:56 Starting Celonis straight out of university
12:03 Advice for first-time founders
14:29 How to tell real product-market fit
16:16 Should founders raise or bootstrap?
17:27 A co-CEO's day at Celonis
In today’s episode, we’re happy to present an interview with Alexander Rinke, co-founder and co-CEO of Celonis, the leader in process intelligence, which gives AI the context it needs to understand how a business gets work done. Alex explains why Europe needs its own AI champions to share in the value AI will create, and why AI only works when companies reinvent their processes.
We dig into what sovereign AI means for companies and countries, why Celonis built an x-ray machine for business processes, its acquisition of MIT spin-off Ikigai Labs, and the 5 years it spent bootstrapping. He also shares how to tell real product-market fit from the kind that only exists on a slide for VCs.
Feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions at contact@thenextweb.com.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:35 What Celonis does
01:21 How Celonis started 15 years ago
02:55 Why Celonis acquired Ikigai Labs
04:24 The purpose behind Celonis
04:52 Sovereign AI and Europe's AI champions
06:55 How Celonis helps companies own their AI
08:10 Challenges of scaling for 15 years
09:54 What's next for Celonis
10:56 Starting Celonis straight out of university
12:03 Advice for first-time founders
14:29 How to tell real product-market fit
16:16 Should founders raise or bootstrap?
17:27 A co-CEO's day at Celonis
