SweepMe!: Saxon software sets new standards – bundling several measuring instruments in one program

Every day, we use various devices to measure our lives: The fitness tracker on our wrist records our heart rate, our cell phone records our daily screen time and with smart home apps we can even control the temperature in our home remotely. How practical and time-saving would it be if we could view all the data collected via a central software application without having to open several programs? This is exactly what Dresden-based SweepMe! GmbH makes possible in an industrial environment. The two founders, Dr Axel Fischer and Dr Felix Kaschura, have developed software at TU Dresden that brings together data from a wide range of measuring devices and visualizes it on a standardized dashboard.

The SweepMe! software offers a real efficiency gain for research institutions and development departments. Until now, they had to set up their own programs as soon as they wanted to combine two or more measuring devices. Each device usually comes with its own proprietary software. With its manufacturer-independent software solution, SweepMe! is already attracting great interest not only from users, but also from investors. TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen – represented by MBG – has now invested in the young company as part of a first round of financing. Together with the three business angels Boris Habets, Henry Flack and Jens Drechsel, TGFS provided the necessary seed capital to take SweepMe! to the next level of scaling. Ronny Timmreck remains involved in SweepMe! as a former private investor.

As complex as the algorithms that run in the background of the SweepMe! software are, the program is simple and intuitive to use for its users. From an extensive list of common measuring devices such as multimeters or laboratory power supplies, they can put together their individual device pool using drag & drop and display the measurement results centrally with just a few clicks. No programming knowledge is required. If a measuring device is not yet listed, the SweepMe! developers integrate the relevant device drivers into their software. SweepMe! founder and CEO Dr. Axel Fischer explains: “Every new integration request provides us with valuable information about customer needs. By constantly expanding the list of supported measuring devices, the benefits and therefore also the attractiveness of SweepMe! for future users are constantly growing.”

He and his co-founder developed the very first version of the software to meet their own needs: During their studies at the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) at TU Dresden, they were themselves faced with the challenge of evaluating measurement data from different sources and standardizing measurement protocols. The software was originally developed as an auxiliary tool for their research work and was soon also used by fellow students. Through word of mouth, it quickly spread beyond Dresden. This was followed by inquiries from other universities and research institutes – and finally the founding of SweepMe! GmbH in 2021 in order to be able to commercially exploit the application on a larger scale.

Even today, national organizations such as the Max Planck Institute or Infineon use the SweepMe! software. It is used for test measurements in the field of research and development as well as for the quality control of finished and manufactured products. With its customer-centric approach, SweepMe! also convinced the TGFS, as Investment Manager Vincent Kretzschmar notes: “The fact that the two founders succeeded in inspiring numerous paying customers with their software right from the start and without significant marketing measures confirms the market demand at an early stage. The investment from TGFS offers the founding team the opportunity to structurally develop and expand their marketing and sales activities and to exploit the full potential of the software solution.” A new employee has already been hired to drive market development. In addition to direct customer contact, the company is also focusing on online marketing measures such as search engine optimization and advertising. The freshly raised capital will also be used to establish a subscription model on the market – because this also requires a financial cushion. In contrast to the previously dominant project business, which was characterized by one-off payments, the subscription-based billing model generates lower amounts in the short term; in the long term, however, it generates higher recurring income. The overarching goal of the financing round is to systematically transform the SweepMe! solution into a scalable business model and thus make it sustainably successful.

SweepMe! already has relevant use cases and references in the growing semiconductor production market. In Silicon Saxony, a number of existing and potential customers from the chip industry are right on the software company’s doorstep. This is because every microchip that is developed and manufactured undergoes extensive testing before it is delivered to the customer. Various product parameters such as currents and voltages must be checked at a defined temperature to ensure compliance with strict standard specifications. A range of specialized measuring instruments are used for this purpose. Considering that each chip on a semiconductor wafer has to be tested individually, the amount of testing required can be roughly estimated. The added value of the SweepMe! solution for chip manufacturers is correspondingly high – and founder Dr. Axel Fischer’s forecast seems realistic. He expects SweepMe! to have a four-digit number of registered computer setups by the end of 2025. He has an even bigger vision for the more distant future: “We want to develop SweepMe! into a solution platform that brings together measuring device manufacturers, distributors and users of our software. On the platform, they will find tried-and-tested measurement workflows for a wide range of test scenarios.” The TGFS investment has at least created the financial basis for turning this vision into reality and SweepMe! into a digital system integrator.

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Further links

👉 https://sweep-me.net/ 

Photo: SweepMe! GmbH