“We make document processing intelligent. Companies waste hours every day reading, sorting and retyping documents by hand. Lector automates that work with AI — reliably, securely and in the European cloud.”
Our missionThe people behind Lector
We build AI that makes document processing intelligent — from Bremen, for Europe. Self-funded, profitable and independent of investors.
About us
Why Lector existsand where we come from
Our story
lector.ai GmbH was founded in 2022 as a spin-off from JUST ADD AI GmbH. What began as a successful customer project worked so well that it had to become a product in its own right.
Today Lector is an AI platform that supports companies across Europe with document processing — self-funded, profitable and independent of investors.
Founded in 2022
Spin-off from JUST ADD AI
Self-funded & profitable
Independent of investors
Founded in 2022
Research allowance: our research and development in AI document processing is recognised by the German certification body for the research allowance (BSFZ).
Our values
What we want to bemeasured by
Sovereignty & security
European solutions, control over the entire tech stack, open source and secure operations — GDPR compliant with the highest security standards.
Engineering Excellence
State-of-the-art technology, a willingness to experiment and the ambition to make complex technology simple to use.
Real-World Impact
Getting AI solutions into production, solving real problems and delivering measurable results with transparent quality metrics.
Leadership team
Two minds,one ambition
Dr. Benjamin von Ardenne
CEO & Founder
PhD physicist. Founded Lector with the vision of fundamentally simplifying document processing.
Dr. Thies Gerken
CTO & Founding Engineer
PhD in industrial mathematics. Responsible for the technical architecture, the product and operations.
Our location
EuropahafenBremen
Our team works right on the Weser in Bremen's Überseestadt. This is where the product, the models and operations come together — and where you'll find us if you'd like to drop by.
Konsul-Smidt-Strasse 8p
28217 Bremen, Germany
JAAI Group
Part of anAI ecosystem
Lector is part of the JAAI Group — an ecosystem of more than 100 employees across eight AI companies. Together we cover the full spectrum from AI consulting and platform development through to specialised AI products.
2022founded as a spin-off from JUST ADD AI GmbH
8AI companies in the JAAI Group
100+employees across the shared ecosystem
Partner companies
Technology partners
botario: former sister company, now part of NFON – still closely connected, with shared customers.
