Munich Startup: What does Trail do? What problem do you solve?
Anna Spitznagel, Trail: Trail is the AI governance platform for companies that want to develop or deploy AI safely, efficiently, and in compliance with regulations. The software integrates and automates governance across the AI lifecycle – developer-friendly and innovative, complemented by expert consulting for customized implementation or certification.
Our “Copilot for AI Governance” addresses the lack of transparency, the high manual effort for documentation and compliance, as well as the risk of regulatory penalties (for example, through the EU AI Act) and uncertainty in the governance of AI systems. Our platform automates processes, reduces compliance costs, and facilitates compliance with regulatory requirements such as the EU AI Act, thus strengthening AI innovation in companies.
AI Governance: Gap in the System Meets Innovation
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Anna Spitznagel: Many companies still struggle with inefficient, manual compliance and governance processes. These existing problems become even more severe with AI, leading to significant inefficiencies.
Existing solutions are often too generic, complicated, and not sufficiently tailored to dynamic AI systems. Trail is designed as a copilot for AI governance and differentiates itself by integrating AI governance directly into existing workflows, leveraging automation, and providing an efficient solution.
This saves companies up to 80% of compliance time, improves documentation quality, and significantly reduces costs. Automated AI governance across the entire AI lifecycle – something that hasn't existed in this form yet!
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Anna Spitznagel: Trail was founded in 2023 with the vision of creating an efficient solution for AI governance. We founders – Sven Hölzel, Nikolaus Pinger, and I – met through the CDTM and the Munich startup ecosystem.
Our company was born out of the realization that organizations struggle with high manual effort, unclear regulatory requirements, and a lack of transparency in AI development.
We see the need to automate and structure this process to make it easier for companies to comply with new regulations such as the EU AI Act and ISO 42001. We enable companies to implement AI use cases innovatively and securely. After a year of EXIST start-up funding through TUM, we secured 2024 a 1.45 million euro pre-seed financing from international investors.
Trail: Strongly growing market with increasing regulatory pressure
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Anna Spitznagel: One of the biggest challenges was certainly tapping into a still young and dynamic market in which awareness of AI governance and regulatory requirements is only gradually developing.
Especially at the beginning, we had to do a lot of educational work to make the problem tangible and to convey to decision-makers the relevance of our solution.
At the same time, adapting deeply rooted compliance processes in companies that have evolved over decades to meet the requirements of AI is a major challenge. We have developed a solution that is not only innovative and automated, but can also be seamlessly integrated into these existing structures.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Anna Spitznagel: We operate in a rapidly growing market. On the one hand, the use of AI in companies is steadily increasing, while on the other hand, regulatory pressure is also increasing due to short implementation deadlines. This dynamic is driving high demand for our solution, because companies want to be prepared. And we help them set up governance workflows efficiently and in a future-proof manner. In five years, we envision Trail as the leading platform for AI governance in Europe – the standard solution for companies that want to use AI securely and in compliance with regulations.
Munich as an attractive location for B2B innovation
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Anna Spitznagel: Munich has developed extremely positively over the past ten years – we experience it as a cool and dynamic location with a fantastic startup community. We have been able to draw on a strong network and numerous support services, including UnternehmerTUM, CDTM, and AI+ Munich, which have helped us with knowledge and valuable contacts.
In addition, Munich is particularly attractive for a B2B startup like Trail because many large companies have their headquarters here.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Anna Spitznagel: Clearly: risk! Anyone who founds a startup is consciously choosing the unknown and taking on a great deal of responsibility.
The whole team truly enjoys facing new challenges every week and developing creative solutions. There's a solution to every problem, and nothing ventured, nothing gained!
