Episode 148: Karim Saleh: Co-Founder & CEO of Cerrion – Real-Time AI for Manufacturers

Most people talk about AI in the cloud. Karim Saleh is putting it on the factory floor. This week on the EU-Startups Podcast, Marcin Lewandowski sits down with Karim Saleh — Co-Founder & CEO of Cerrion, the company building agentic AI that watches factory lines 24/7 and intervenes in real time to prevent safety incidents, scrap, and costly downtime. Cerrion plugs into standard cameras, understands production flows like an expert operator, and can instantly take action — slowing conveyors, shutting down machines, or triggering alarms. Factories using Cerrion resolve issues 50% faster, cut downtime and scrap in half, and run operations with far less stress. Karim’s journey is unreal: → Grew up in a manufacturing family in Egypt → Professional athlete & captain of Egypt’s national water polo team → Electrical engineering at ETH Zurich → Founder building AI across 15 countries and 3 continents → Just raised an $18M Series A from Creandum, Hanel, YC, 10x Founders, Robin Chan, Justin Kan, Harry Stebbings and others We cover: • The moment on a factory floor that shaped the mission behind Cerrion • Why frontline teams everywhere face the same structural problems • How agentic AI can safely intervene during production • Real stories where Cerrion caught what humans couldn’t see in time • The surprising similarity between factories in 15 different countries • What elite sport teaches you about building a hypergrowth startup • What the factory of the future feels like for a shift leader in 2030 • And the “one myth about factories” Karim wants the world to forget This is one of the most grounded, mission-driven, high-clarity deep-tech conversations we’ve had. Takeaways: 1. Frontline teams are overwhelmed; AI reduces stress, not jobs. 2. Agentic AI is shifting factories from firefighting to foresight. 3. Real-time AI intervention works when humans stay in the loop, not out of it. 4. Elite sports taught Karim the founder superpower: discipline beats adrenaline. 5. The factory of the future is calm, predictable, and safe — not chaotic. Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction: Karim’s story & Cerrion’s mission 02:13 – Growing up in manufacturing & seeing frontline pain 06:59 – What’s broken in factories today 10:39 – How Cerrion’s AI agents work in real time 12:34 – Human–AI partnership on the shop floor 15:40 – Success stories from 15 countries 18:22 – Athlete mindset → founder mindset 21:29 – Hypergrowth: what broke first 24:50 – The factory of the future 26:42 – Rapid Fire with Karim Saleh If you haven't already.... Subscribe to the EU-Startups Podcast on YouTube! Or follow along on your other favorite podcast platforms... Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4QU85dN... / Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ee/podcast... Follow EU-Startups on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eu-startups-menlo-media/ Visit our Website: https://www.eu-startups.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.eu-startups.com/newsletter/