Investment · Advisory · Exchange

From first principles
to finished product.

I explore hard problems in materials, hardware, and production technology — and bring those ideas into the world through investment, advisory, and collaboration.

Get in touch

How I work

I think carefully about technology. Then I act. Schmelzeisen GmbH is my vehicle for doing exactly that — taking positions in companies, joining advisory boards, and finding whatever form of engagement best moves an idea forward. Sometimes that means capital. Sometimes it means being the person in the room who has built this before.

What I enjoy most is the exchange: conversations with founders, researchers, and makers who are building things that matter. I like being a thinking partner who also gets things done.

My application fields are FMCG, robotics and drones, and architecture and built technology — domains where material innovation, intelligent hardware, and smart production converge.

What I think about

Material Technology

Nature-inspired structures, lightweight constructions, wearable electronics, and luxury materials. How matter is engineered — and what it can become.

Hardware & Robotics

Machines, robotic systems, and purpose-built hardware. Physical products that push the boundary of what can be automated, sensed, and controlled.

Production Technology

How things are made — efficiently, at scale, and without compromise on quality. Process innovation, automation, and the infrastructure of making.

Startup & Financing

How ideas become companies. I enjoy connecting people with ideas to people with capital — and thinking through what it takes to build something real.

Architecture & Built Tech

Spatial technology, construction innovation, and the intersection of design and material science. Where buildings become systems.

Selected work

Food Technology 2022

PROJECT EADEN

Co-founded a food technology company developing the next generation of plant-based products — where deep material science meets culinary craft.

Material Technology 2020

Upper Hand

A self-disinfecting material developed under Impact Products GmbH — one of the first proven to neutralise SARS-CoV-2, validated in collaboration with TU Berlin.

Fiber Technology 2019

4D Textiles

PhD research at RWTH Aachen on 4D and smart textiles — materials that respond, adapt, and perform. Winner of the RWTH Aachen Innovation Award.

Experience

View full profile on LinkedIn
2022 — present
Co-Founder
PROJECT EADEN
2020 — 2026
Co-Founder
Impact Products GmbH
2015 — 2019
PhD Researcher
RWTH Aachen University · 4D Textiles, Smart Textiles & Smart Fashion Manufacturing

Let's talk.

If you are working on something in my areas, looking for an advisory board member, want to think through a problem together, or are simply interested in an exchange — reach out.

david@schmelzeisen.com

Schmelzeisen GmbH
Germany