In this podcast episode, Benedikt Nolte, CEO and co-founder of the Berlin AI startup Plato, explains how the company uses buried ERP data to develop an AI operating system for the 50 trillion euro wholesale industry. Plato, founded in mid-2023, relies on vertical AI software to technologically modernize wholesale trade. Benedikt shares his personal background and experiences that led him to Plato from his research at Stanford and his work at companies such as DataGuard, Cherry Ventures and McKinsey. He highlights the challenges and opportunities in wholesaling and details the $14.5 million in seed funding the company received. The episode provides insights into the story of how Plato grew out of a family business, the importance of Vertical AI technology in wholesale, and the startup’s impressive milestones, including one of the highest pre-seed rounds in Germany and an award from WIRED Europe as one of Europe’s 100 hottest startups.
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How do you turn buried ERP data into sales growth and use it to build an AI operating system for a 50 trillion euro industry? Benedikt Nolte is CEO and co-founder of Plato, the Berlin AI startup that is rethinking wholesale with vertical AI software. In this Young Startups with Jan Thomas, Benedikt explains how Plato grew out of a family business, why wholesale is one of the biggest vertical AI opportunities and what’s behind the $14.5 million seed funding.About the guestBenedikt Nolte studied Management & Technology at the Technical University of Munich and Management Science & Engineering at Stanford, where he researched data brokerage under GDPR. After working at DataGuard, Cherry Ventures and McKinsey, his family background in wholesale – his grandfather founded a press wholesaler – enabled him to recognize the technological deficits in the industry. In August 2023, he founded the AI startup Plato together with Matthias Heinrich and Oliver Birch. In November 2024, the company secured $6.5 million in pre-seed from Cherry Ventures and 42 angel investors – one of the highest German pre-seed rounds. In January 2026, Plato was named one of Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups by WIRED Europe. About the webinars: All our upcoming webinars: Insider – the daily podcast on the startup & tech scene**Startup Insider provides you with compact news, classifications and interviews on startups, venture capital, financing rounds, exits and new technologies every working day.**Follow now & never miss an episode** **You can find all other podcasts, newsletters, events & partners here**: 🔗 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
