About Staex
From Deutsche Telekom R&D to the Trusted Data Layer
Staex is a Potsdam-based deep tech company building a secure-by-design autonomous agent system for AI and the machine economy. As an end-to-end confidential agent platform, the technology was originally developed at Deutsche Telekom Innovation Labs (T-Labs), Europe's largest telco R&D arm, and validated over four years before the founding team executed a management buyout in 2021 to bring it to market independently.
Leadership
Dr. Alexandra Mikityuk
PhD from TU Berlin. Professor for Computer Science of Communication Technology at HTW Berlin. Former Head of the distributed systems research group at Deutsche Telekom T-Labs (2017-2021). Expert in cryptography and distributed systems.
Philip Toepffer
External PhD candidate at TU Berlin. Leads finance, runway strategy, and business development. Driving grant execution (Hedera, BSFZ, Alephium, Celo) and investor relations.
Ricardo Mastrangelo
Scaling Staex's market presence across industrial AI and mobility ecosystems. Leading sales (Maruti Suzuki, MIBO), raise strategy, tokenomics, and agentic AI infrastructure. Contracts via Shinrai SA.
Kevin Ehrentraut
Leading customer success, marketing execution, and product development. Co-presenter for Maruti Suzuki engagement. Entered the verified data infrastructure space in 2024 with a strong passion for trusted device networks and the Machine Economy.
Max Sukhotin
Core platform development. Leads Staex AI Vault (MCC-MCP) — enterprise-grade encrypted AI integration running on encrypted MCC tunnels. Rust systems programming and protocol design.
Sergei Lavrentev
Core platform development. Rust contributor to the Staex networking stack and the Pancake routing engine. Distributed systems, low-level systems programming, and cryptographic protocol implementation.
The Machine Economy
By 2030, 75 billion machines will be connected. Most will generate data that is unstructured, unverified, and unusable by AI. Staex solves this.
Produce auditable, tamper-proof data signals
Every data point is cryptographically signed at the source device.
Align on shared truths for multi-machine coordination
Verified data enables multiple machines and stakeholders to agree on facts.
Make autonomous decisions in unstable connectivity
Edge-first architecture works even when networks are unreliable.
Execute value transactions without human intermediation
Machines can transact, bill, and settle autonomously.
Two-Layer Architecture
Connectivity Layer
- EU SIM/eSIM for flexible global connectivity
- Multi-network roaming and redundancy
- Unique multi-hop architecture for complex topologies
- 190+ countries covered
Security & Identity Layer
- All traffic blocked by default unless explicitly permitted
- Certificate-based device authentication
- Encrypted peer-to-peer tunnels (ChaCha20-Poly1305)
- Tamper-proof logging with on-device signing
Legacy Protocol Encryption
Secures outdated IoT protocols that can't be updated.
5x Lower Footprint
More lightweight than standard container orchestration.
No VPN Required
Works with devices that can't run VPNs (smart meters, IP cameras, EV chargers).
No Central Point of Failure
Distributed mesh architecture.
Backed by conviction investors
Total raised: ~€2.3M (pre-seed + follow-ons)
Brandenburg Kapital (lead), Blockwall Capital (co-lead), Andreas Möller (angel)
Moonrock Capital, The Drivery, MN Capital
Generative Ventures
“Staex is tackling one of the most significant challenges in the evolution of the internet” — Lex Sokolin
EV3 Labs, Sean Carey (Helium co-founder), Christoph Jentzsch (Ethereum core developer, TheDAO author)
Real deployments, not prototypes
NEXA
Led by Staex, 9 partners including Vantage Towers and paymenttools (REWE Group). Launched May 2024 in Berlin, inaugurated by German Secretary of State Dr. Severin Fischer. Won Berlin Deep Tech Award 2024.
MINT
150+ buses in MIBO's fleet (North Rhine-Westphalia). Vehicle-signed data, cryptographically anchored metadata. Partners: Solana, U2U, DIMO, iris, Open Telekom Cloud. Expanding to LATAM (Bus2, University of Brasilia).
Maruti Suzuki
Cross-Border Innovation Program Cohort 2. Secure OTA data transport from test vehicles, real-time anomaly detection, automated reporting. 8-week phased deployment.
Ecosystem
Vantage Towers
Europe's leading tower operator (84,600 sites, 10 countries). Drone corridors using tower infrastructure.
Deutsche Telekom / TechBoost
Open Telekom Cloud partnership for EU data sovereignty.
Siemens Mobility
Industrial collaboration on fleet technology.
paymenttools (REWE Group)
Machine-to-machine payment infrastructure.
Solana
High-speed infrastructure for real-time telemetry.
U2U Network
Layer-1 platform for verified data applications.
ICP (Internet Computer)
Vehicle Tracking System built on ICP canisters.
Linera
Microchain architecture for high-frequency telemetry (pilot: 10 buses, target: 1M tx/day).
Lisk
RISE project for drone infrastructure payments.
Bus2
Major mobility data integrator in Latin America.
University of Brasilia (UnB)
Academic IoT research partnership.
Karacena
NDA signed, business development in progress.