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Grafik zum prostep ivip Symposium 2025 mit dem Titel „Revolutionizing Industries with Digital Twins and AI“. Das Event findet vom 13.–14. Mai 2025 im BCC Berlin statt. Die Gestaltung ist modern mit lila und pinken grafischen Elementen auf dunkelblauem Hintergrund. Premium Partner sind Dassault Systèmes und Volkswagen.
22. April 2025

prostep ivip Symposium 2025

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From May 13–14, 2025, everything at the prostep ivip Symposium at the bcc Berlin Congress Center will revolve around future-proof processes, tools, and standards for digital product development. Karakun will be on-site at booth no. 20, showcasing the latest version of our data management solution EXOKNOX.

EXOKNOX is specifically designed for data-intensive scenarios and helps companies accelerate their engineering processes – from component development to Digital Twin integration. The solution brings order to the growing complexity of distributed development projects and promotes efficient data management in digital engineering.

Talk: FDX based Function Data Process Applied in Engineering

On May 13, from 14:20 to 14:50 PM, our expert Michael Baumann will share insights into the practical use of the FDX standard in engineering projects.

The talk will explore how the standardized FDX format improves the handling of function data – a real gamechanger for modern automotive development.

Meet our Experts

Our experts Dr. Hans-Dirk Walter and Michael Baumann look forward to meeting you – whether at our booth or in the presentation hall. Feel free to reach out and schedule a personal meeting at the event. We’re also happy to give you an individual and non-binding live demo of EXOKNOX in a virtual meeting.

Dr. Hans-Dirk Walter

Dr. Hans-Dirk Walter

Member of the Board

Michael Baumann

Michael Baumann

Head of Digital Engineering Solutions


View of Karakun’s Dortmund office on a rainy day, located in a historic brick building at the Union Gewerbehof.
9. April 2025

Karakun GmbH with new offices

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Since April 1, 2025, we have been welcoming clients, partners, and colleagues to our new premises at Kanalstrasse 25 in 44147 Dortmund.

Our new office is located on the Dortmund Industrial Campus in the Dortmund harbor. The campus also houses the Digitale Werkbank, a center focused on the digitalization of medium-sized industrial enterprises (SMEs). It also serves as the event location for our regularly hosted Hackergarten Dortmund – a gathering where developers collaborate on open-source projects and learn from each other.

Our new location brings us even closer to our existing and future clients and partners. For our team members, it offers modern workspaces, more room for innovation, and ideal conditions for our growing team in Germany.

We look forward to many inspiring encounters in our new office – on-site or virtually.


Logo von be-digital basel auf weissem Hintergrund. Neben dem Logo steht "Eine Initiative der Handelskammer beider Basel"
2. April 2025

be-digital basel Forum 2025

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We are pleased to support the be-digital basel Forum 2025 as a sponsor on April 9, 2025, at the AI Innovation Center in Allschwil. The event is held under the theme “AI – The Underrated Revolution” and provides a platform for exchanging insights on the latest developments in artificial intelligence.

During the networking apero, our experts Dr. Elisabeth Maier and Dr. Holger Keibel will showcase Karakun’s latest AI solutions at our stand. They will be available for in-depth discussions and will provide hands-on demonstrations of our technologies. Take this opportunity to learn more about innovative AI approaches and connect with industry peers.

About be-digital

be-digital is a platform dedicated to promoting digital entrepreneurship and enhancing the competitiveness of the Basel region. It strengthens the regional ICT sector and effectively supports SMEs in their digital transformation.

visit event website


Logo der Swiss NLP Days 2025: Stilisiertes Bergpanorama mit roten und blauen Farbakzenten, darüber der weiße Schriftzug 'Swiss NLP Days 2025'.
21. February 2025

Swiss NLP Days 2025

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The Swiss NLP Days 2025 is the leading event in Switzerland for anyone working with Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) – whether from a technical or strategic perspective. Karakun is not only a sponsor but also actively contributing to the organisation: We are exhibiting at the NLP Expo, supporting the organizing committee with our expertise, and are involved in shaping three NLP Crash Courses. These free events take place every two weeks and provide participants with hands-on insights into NLP, GenAI, and the underlying techniques.

Crash Course: ChatGPT – Tips and Tricks!

A highlight of our involvement is our first NLP Crash Course on February 25, 2025. The topic: “ChatGPT – Tips and Tricks.” We offer you the opportunity to learn about the latest developments, exciting use cases, and practical examples from the ChatGPT ecosystem.

Our Speakers:

  • Reto Vogt – Freelance Journalist & Author, Program Director “Digital Media and AI” at MAZ Institute for Journalism and Communication
  • Markus Stauffiger – CEO & Co-Founder at Archipanion by 4eyes GmbH
  • Sandra Wendland – Global Digital Marketing Manager at Lionbridge
  • Moderation: Elisabeth Maier, Board Member & Co-Founder at Karakun

The online event “ChatGPT – Tips and Tricks” will take place on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, from 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Participation is free. Register today at https://swiss-nlp-days-2025.org/nlp-crash-course/.

Other Crash Courses we are planning:

  • Leveraging AI for Automated Document Processing (Tuesday, April 8, 2025)
  • Financing and Operations for NLP Projects

 

Meet us at the NLP Expo

In addition to the Crash Courses, we will also be present at the NLP Expo. Visit us and learn how Artificial Intelligence helps companies achieve process-oriented automation, innovative digital services, and business-relevant insights.

The NLP Expo will take place on May 13, 2025, at the Mehrzweckhalle Teuchelweiher in Winterthur. We look forward to engaging with you!


Logo and banner for the XP 2025 conference with a view of Brugg, Switzerland. The event takes place from June 2 to 5, 2025, with the town and surrounding landscape visible in the background.
16. January 2025

Karakun supports XP Conference 2025

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We are excited to announce that Karakun is a proud sponsor of the 26th International Conference on Agile Software Development (XP 2025), taking place from June 2 to 5, 2025, at the FHNW Campus in Brugg-Windisch, Switzerland.

As a company deeply rooted in the agile community, we recognize the significance of this premier event, which brings together researchers, practitioners, and thought leaders to explore advancements in agile methodologies.

XP 2025’s theme, “Adapt – Uncovering better ways to deliver valuable software products,” resonates with our commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in software development.

By sponsoring XP 2025, we aim to contribute to the exchange of knowledge and best practices that drive the agile movement forward.

We look forward to engaging with fellow professionals at XP 2025 and collectively advancing the future of agile software development.

For more information about the conference, including registration details and the full program, please visit the official XP 2025 website.


green Christmas balls, pine cones and a suggested Christmas tree made out of wood and green wool on artificial snow in front of a green background with sparkles.
13. December 2024

Merry Christmas

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The holiday season is a perfect opportunity to pause and say thank you. We look back on 2024 with great appreciation for your support, ideas, and collaboration, which have been instrumental in our success.

As we enter the new year, we wish you and your loved ones all the best: good health, exciting projects, and moments of rest to recharge. We look forward to continuing our journey together in 2025, exploring new paths and celebrating shared achievements.

With this in mind, we wish you happy holidays and a fantastic start to the new year!

Warm regards from Basel,
The Karakun Team


Picture with some software engineers in the back and the logo of "Digitale Woche Dortmund" in the front. Picture taken at the latest Hackergarten meetup in Dortmund.
4. September 2024

Diwodo 2024

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Why seek far and wide when the good is just around the corner – like digitalization and innovation? Everyone needs something different, but ultimately, everyone needs the same: creative minds on the same level, competence, and efficiency.

The solution for all companies looking for inspiration and contacts in the digital economy can be found right on their doorstep: The Digitale Wocke Dortmund (short: #diwodo) will take place from September 23-28, 2024. Our experts have prepared the following presentations (all in German):

man and woman talking into megaphone in front of yellow background. Karakun logo is on the lower right.

Was dein Browser über dich verrät

Unsere Browser, die wir täglich verwenden, geben beim Besuchen von Webseiten viel mehr Informationen preis, als wir denken. Damit wird es Webseiten leicht gemacht, uns als Besucher eindeutig zu identifizieren und das auch ohne Login. Versuchen wir uns zu schützen, könnte das dazu führen, dass wir es dadurch den Webseiten sogar noch leichter machen.

In diesem Vortrag geht es darum aufzuzeigen, was die verschiedenen Browser den Webseiten, die wir besuchen verraten und was wir dagegen tun können (oder auch nicht).

Kann Generative AI die Aufgaben der Softwareentwicklung wirklich verstehen?

KI-basierte Dienste wie ChatGPT und Copilot versprechen, die Qualität und Effizienz der Programmierung zu steigern. Solche Tools können einen großen Einfluss darauf haben, welche Informationen Entwickler konsumieren und wiederverwenden – und damit unser Wissen, unsere Überzeugungen, Entscheidungen und Handlungen beeinflussen.

In diesem Vortrag werden wir zunächst einen Überblick über die Grundlagen der Generativen KI geben. Anschließend werden wir die Toolchain und die Auswirkungen von KI auf die Praxis der Softwareentwicklung und die Arbeits- und Denkweise von Softwareentwicklern diskutieren.

Suchen und chatten – das Beste aus beiden Welten

Generative KI-Chatbots wie ChatGPT und die ihnen zugrunde liegenden Large Language Models (LLMs) liefern beeindruckende Ergebnisse beim Verstehen und Generieren von Texten in menschlicher Sprache. Wir haben solche Chatbots nahtlos mit den Suchfunktionalitäten unserer HIBU-Plattform kombiniert, um das Beste aus beiden Welten zu erhalten.

Durch die Anwendung von Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) leitet die Chatmaschine ihre Antworten aus dem in den relevanten Dokumenten eingebetteten Wissen ab – anstatt sie zu erfinden.

Hackergarten Dortmund: September Edition

Der dritte Dortmunder Hackergarten findet im Rahmen der DiWoDo statt. Lasst uns zusammenkommen, um in einer unterstützenden und kollaborativen Umgebung etwas zu schaffen, zu lernen und zu wachsen. Es ist egal, ob Du Anfänger oder Experte bist. Diese Gruppe richtet sich an alle, die Spaß am Ausprobieren von Technologien und Diskussion über diese haben.

As always, all events are free. To register, you need to sign up on the platform https://diwodo.de. Of course, we are also happy to provide individual consulting. Send us an email or give us a call!

visit diwodo platform
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give us a call


Man working on laptop and mobile phone searching for documents.
29. August 2024

AI Chat Meets Document Search

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Generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT and their underlying Large Language Models (LLMs) have taken the world by storm, with their powerful capabilities to understand and generate human language text. Despite this hype, the field is still exploring the best ways to leverage LLMs productively while avoiding their problematic tendency to produce hallucinatory outputs.

We primarily investigate the benefit of AI chatbots in conjunction with a widespread problem: searching for documents or relevant information hidden within them. We have implemented numerous customer projects in this area, leading to the development of our HIBU platform. This platform already includes countless features and enables the rapid and cost-effective development of custom search solutions.

A seamless integration of chatbot and search engine combines and extends the individual strengths of both systems, as demonstrated by the following use cases we have implemented:

  • Users search for documents (or content elements), open one of the search results in an integrated document viewer, and use the chatbot to ask questions about that document. All of this happens within the same UI without any context switching.

  • Users search for documents and then use the chat function to ask questions across all search results. Again, the user remains within the search UI and does not have to deal with context switches.
    With search terms and domain-specific search filters, the user can narrow down the set of search results with ease and accuracy such that the chat engine looks for answers only within the relevant documents.

  • Users chat with the entire document repository. In this use case, the chat functionality effectively also serves as the search engine, giving the user great flexibility in meeting their information needs.

All these use cases rely on Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). This method ensures that the chat engine does not invent answers. With this approach, the LLM can fully leverage its strengths in understanding and generating language, but it is not expected to also provide the relevant expert knowledge. Instead, this knowledge is found within the relevant documents.

In each of these cases, our chat functionality is enriched with a range of convenience features that boost user experience and productivity. For example, chat responses are linked to the most relevant document sections supporting these answers. This is a substantial step towards “explainable AI” (XAI).

The HIBU Chat in Practice

  • Get the best of both worlds: Search and Chat
  • Run HIBU either in the cloud or on-premise.
  • Choose wether to use an LLM by an external service (e.g., OpenAI) or a self-hosted LLM (data privacy!).
  • Either way, HIBU integrates chat in a cost-effective way (minimizing data traffic with the LLM).

Karakun – Your AI Partner

For running AI systems productively and generating value with them, AI knowledge alone is not enough. Suitable knowhow in engineering, DevOps, language technology and others are also critical. Karakuns offers all these competences in combination.

And, despite the hype, chat is not the best AI option for all use cases.

Let us consult you as to how AI can help to automate some of your business processes and support your knowledge workers in their daily tasks.

Contact us by email
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Karakun CEO Markus Schlichting in front of the entrance of the Karakun office in Basel.
2. July 2024

Markus Schlichting appointed as CEO

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At the end of 2022, the management of Karakun AG initiated a transformation process to reconstitute the leadership team. The goal of this process is to realign with future challenges and to engage in proactive succession planning. In this context, Christoph Erb joined the management team in January 2024 (review news item). As of July 1, 2024, Markus Schlichting has been appointed the new CEO.

Markus Schlichting is a founding member of Karakun AG and, therefore, is highly familiar with the company and its employees. After completing his computer science studies in Stuttgart (Germany), he worked successfully with several other founders at the predecessor company of Karakun AG. At Karakun, he initially worked as a Senior Software Engineer and Software Architect. Over time, Mr. Schlichting increasingly took on additional responsibilities in Key Accounting and Business Development. Being a technically oriented expert with extensive industry knowledge in financial services, insurance, pharma, and automotive sectors, Markus Schlichting now takes on a central role in the leadership team of Karakun AG. He succeeds Dr. Elisabeth Maier in this position.

Dr. Elisabeth Maier and Markus Schlichting in front of the entrance of Karakun office in Basel.

“I am honoured to take on the role of CEO at Karakun and look forward to shaping the company’s future together with the entire team,” says Markus Schlichting. “In an era where digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) are redefining entire industries, Karakun will continue to provide its customers with sustainable and scalable solutions that offer genuine added value. In doing so, we will harness the power of open collaboration and forward-looking technologies in line with our passion for open source.”

“In the past six years since we founded Karakun, we have specialized in our core business, the development and maintenance of custom software, for various industries such as finance, insurance, and the public sector. At the same time, we have successfully positioned ourselves with products in the automotive and Swiss electrical industries. And, our self-developed AI platform HIBU solves many different use cases for our customers,” summarizes Elisabeth Maier. “With this portfolio, our four locations in Switzerland, Germany, and India, and the personnel changes, we are ready for the next growth step.”

Elisabeth Maier will continue to work predominantly in her area of expertise, artificial intelligence, where she focuses on the positioning and further development of the portfolio. Additionally, she will remain closely connected to Karakun as a member of the Board of Directors.

Download Press Release (German)
LinkedIn Profil M. Schlichting


company logo of "Leverage Experts"
29. May 2024

New partnership: Leverage Experts

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Karakun announces a new strategic partnership with Leverage Experts AG, a consulting company based in Zurich, Frankfurt, and Dubai. Together, we aim to offer our clients exceptional value through the combination of cutting-edge technology and top-tier consulting services in business transformations.

Key Benefits of the Partnership

  • Custom-Tailored Solutions
    By closely collaborating, our teams create solutions precisely tailored to your needs, ensuring fast time-to-market and optimal results.
  • Integration of Business and IT
    Our holistic approach to digital transformation enables organizations to effectively manage change and create a competitive edge. Our partnership enables us to provide integrated consulting in management, business, and IT, iteratively moving into implementation and rapidly generating value for our customers.
  • Comprehensive Expertise
    Our customers always benefit from a single point of contact who understands their concerns and operates on the same level. This ensures efficient and targeted communication. The seamless integration of our teams enables direct and clear communication without the need for lengthy translation processes between subject matter experts.
  • Strong Support and Noticeable Relief for Your Resources
    Our joint offering provides comprehensive support that relieves your internal resources. You can concentrate on your core business.

Karakun-CEO Elisabeth Maier comments: “We are very excited about the partnership with Leverage Experts. By combining our technological innovations with Leverage Experts’ profound consulting expertise, we can offer our customers holistic solutions that optimize their business processes and promote sustainable growth.”

Claude Egli, Principal Digital Transformation at Leverage Experts, adds: “The collaboration with Karakun enables us to underpin our consulting services with state-of-the-art software technology. This allows our customers to quickly move from strategy to implementation and significantly enhance their efficiency and profitability with modern solutions.”

Visit Leverage Experts Website


Car engineer standing in a server room looking at a tablet, with a holographic projection of a car in front of him
22. May 2024

ATZ Article about EXOKNOX

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ATZ (Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift) is the specialist magazine for technology-orientated management in the automotive industry. It reports on advances in automotive technology in a technically and scientifically profound and exclusive manner and serves as an indispensable source of information for all engineers in automotive engineering worldwide.

In issue 04/2024, the magazine published an exclusive article on Function Data Management for Virtual Vehicle Development.

Coverpage of the reprint of the article

In the article, the authors discuss the particular importance of data for describing the function of components in vehicle development. Function data defines requirements for new components and is a prerequisite for model-based systems engineering (MBSE). The article describes the efficiency gains based on an application example of integrated functional data management using the FDX standard (Functional Data eXchange) and its reference implementation EXOKNOX.

Further areas of application

Functional data is not only relevant in vehicle development. Every company that develops mechatronic systems benefits from the possibilities offered by EXOKNOX. These include the aircraft industry, rail vehicle manufacturers and wind turbine manufacturers – to name only a few.

Get in touch with us. We will be happy to advise you on how you too can take the decisive step towards virtual development.

Download Article
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EXOKNOX Website

Portrait of Chur, a city in the canton of Graubuenden in Switzerland, combined with the Logo of SwissText and the dates of the conference
10. May 2024

SwissText 2024

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On June 10-11, 2024, text analysis experts from industry and academia are meeting at the SwissText conference at the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden in Chur. Karakun is the main sponsor of the two-day event, emphasising its commitment to this industry.

In addition to our sponsorship, we support SwissText in terms of content. As chair of the workshop committee, Karakun CEO Elisabeth Maier played a vital role in defining the exciting workshop schedule. Our experts Holger Keibel and Hannes Prozent are also actively contributing to this with their workshop Grounding generative AI models.

Workshop: Grounding Generative AI models

One fundamental shortcoming of generative AI systems such as ChatGPT is that they tend to produce hallucinatory outputs which the human user might easily take to be facts, with potentially disastrous consequences. In principle, it is the responsibility of the user to fact-check any generative AI output before relying on it, but this is not common practice and often impossible for users when the respective topic lies outside their field of expertise.

This calls for (semi-)automated approaches to grounding generative AI models in relevant facts – or at least to quantify the confidence that a given generative AI output is correct. Existing approaches range from integrating domain-specific knowledge directly into the models (typically by means of retrieval-augmented generation, RAG) to applying post-generation filtering techniques (automated fact-checking) to making the generation of the AI output transparent to the user (explainable AI).

This workshop aims at bringing together professionals that can share some experience applying such approaches in real-life projects (in academia or industry). Submissions are welcome whether your project has completed or is just in the initial planning stage.

We also look forward to a close dialogue with visitors to the exhibition at our stand. We will present the latest enhancements to our AI-based HIBU-Plattform and current customer projects. 

Would you like to find out more about our services? We would be happy to advise you on the realisation of your application.

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