{"id":545275,"date":"2026-09-07T14:25:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T12:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T14:25:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T12:25:21","slug":"btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/en\/btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business\/","title":{"rendered":"BTU: Using Digital Twins to Start a Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 25%;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.pblzr.de\/dacbb27c-1270-4041-b681-e2b95f06f8a1\/2026\/09\/btu-logo-400x300_TEXT.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>With Machinespace, Jannis Werner and his business partner and longtime friend Bj\u00f6rn Hansen provide machine manufacturers with digital twins that consolidate technical knowledge in a machine-centric manner directly within the 3D model and make it accessible via AI-powered machine agents. Building on this, international sales and service throughout a machine\u2019s entire lifecycle are automated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the end customers\u2019 native languages. This is possible on any device\u2014whether a PC, laptop, smartphone, or directly on the machine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNowadays, it\u2019s no longer enough for machine manufacturers to simply sell the machine,\u201d explains Jannis Werner. \u201cDigital business models enable new revenue streams for the manufacturer while simultaneously reducing costs for the operator\u2014a factor that often determines whether a machine is purchased or not.\u201d&#038;<\/p>\n<p>The startup founders are receiving a boost from the new EU Machinery Regulation 2023\/1230 and ISO 9001:2026, which place a particular focus on knowledge management.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\">Federal Funding for a New Digital Business Model with a Future<\/h3>\n<p>Jannis Werner is 27 years old. Born in Forst and raised in Cottbus, he studied mechanical engineering as a bachelor\u2019s student at the BTU\u2019s main campus in Cottbus. Even while he was a student, he pursued several startup projects. In the process, his interest in the intersection of mechanical engineering and computer science grew, as did his interest in sales and business management.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After graduating, he co-founded the startup Machinespace with Bj\u00f6rn Hansen in D\u00fcsseldorf in May 2026, right next to their first pilot customers, in order to further develop the software based on feedback from the industry. As early as August of this year, they secured a customer\u2014a machine manufacturer in Saxony\u2014whose machines are also used at the BTU. The first projects with companies from Lusatia and Berlin are currently getting underway.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Immediately after graduating, Jannis Werner also applied for the exist startup grant, which he has been receiving since May 2026 to support his innovative startup idea. For one year, the fellowship covers his living expenses and allows him to invest in building out Machinespace\u2019s server infrastructure in both D\u00fcsseldorf and Cottbus, where Jannis Werner is affiliated with the BTU through a fellowship agreement. The young company is growing out of two hubs: the Ruhr region and Lusatia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Business partner Bj\u00f6rn Hansen brings two decades of professional experience in series and custom machine manufacturing and most recently served as a business unit manager. Within the Machinespace team, thanks to his extensive expertise in industrial 3D data, he is primarily responsible for the graphical user interface (front-end development) and the automated processing and conversion of highly complex CAD data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI, on the other hand, focus on training and fine-tuning machine-specific AI models (backend development),\u201d Jannis Werner continues. \u201cBasically, I\u2019m picking up right where I left off with my thesis\u2014developing generative and predictive AI systems for mechanical engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The project at BTU is supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ingo Schmitt, holder of the Chair of Database and Information Systems, as an academic mentor, and by the university\u2019s startup service under the project leadership of Dr. Viktor Zakar.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\">New Team Members Warmly Welcomed<\/h3>\n<p>The startup Machinespace offers technically skilled individuals the opportunity to contribute to the project and gain valuable hands-on experience. \u201cWe\u2019re generally looking for students and alumni from all STEM fields,\u201d emphasizes Jannis Werner, \u201cparticularly artificial intelligence, computer science, and mathematics\u2014as interns, working students, and founding engineers. Theses are, of course, also possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\">Contact<\/h3>\n<p>Jannis Werner<br \/>wernejan(at)b-tu.de<br \/>T +49 211 92326822<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/machinespace.ai\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/machinespace.ai\/<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"\">Related Links<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.b-tu.de\" target=\"_blank\">\ud83d\udc49 www.b-tu.de<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Photo: Machinespace, Bj\u00f6rn Hansen<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 31, 2026. Jannis Werner successfully completed his mechanical engineering degree at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) in March 2026. Through his startup, Machinespace, he is now receiving funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) via the exist startup grant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4809],"tags":[1944,2043,1954,2016,1989],"class_list":["post-545275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entrepreneurship","tag-digital-twins","tag-digitalization","tag-research-development","tag-software-development","tag-startups"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BTU: Using Digital Twins to Start a Business - Silicon Saxony<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/en\/btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BTU: Using Digital Twins to Start a Business - Silicon Saxony\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 31, 2026. Jannis Werner successfully completed his mechanical engineering degree at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) in March 2026. Through his startup, Machinespace, he is now receiving funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) via the exist startup grant.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/en\/btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Saxony\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-07T12:25:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.pblzr.de\/dacbb27c-1270-4041-b681-e2b95f06f8a1\/2026\/09\/btu-logo-400x300_TEXT.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"publizer2silisax\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"publizer2silisax\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/en\/btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/en\/btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"publizer2silisax\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/098cd473f5dd7707320dd1e252e15ac6\"},\"headline\":\"BTU: Using Digital Twins to Start a Business\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-07T12:25:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/en\/btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business\/\"},\"wordCount\":621,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/silicon-saxony.de\/en\/btu-using-digital-twins-to-start-a-business\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.pblzr.de\/dacbb27c-1270-4041-b681-e2b95f06f8a1\/2026\/09\/btu-logo-400x300_TEXT.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Digital Twins\",\"Digitalization\",\"Research &amp; 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