How do you ensure that AI isn’t just introduced into the company, but is actually put to practical use? In this episode, Nils Wagner, CEO of REHAU New Ventures, discusses how REHAU has built a secure AI platform, driven organisation-wide adoption through the AI Academy and AI Factory, and achieved 10% adoption within just a few months. He also shares specific insights into successful use cases, implementation within large industrial organisations, and the shift from venture building to venture clienting.

Many collaborations between startups and corporates fail after the pilot phase — often due to a lack of structure and mindset. In her guest article, Ronja Stoffregen, Director of Corporate Venturing at REHAU New Ventures, explains how startups can find the “right door” into corporates, what really matters in preparation, and why clear rules and professionalism determine long-term success.

In an interview with wir magazine, Nils Wagner, CEO of REHAU New Ventures, talks about the shift from traditional venture building to venture clienting. Instead of founding its own start-ups, REHAU is now focusing on external solutions from the start-up world - faster, more focused and closer to the core business. “We have learned that real innovation does not necessarily have to come from within the company,” says Wagner. With global market knowledge, leaner Group structures and strategic proximity to the divisions, REHAU New Ventures is becoming a bridge between start-ups and the Group - and is thus driving the company's innovative strength in a targeted manner.

In the recent interview with Ulrich Schüppler, Nils Wagner, CEO of Rehau New Ventures, sheds light on the challenges faced by corporations in the field of innovation, in particular the persistence of unprofitable projects and the lack of a culture of error in Germany, and how Rehau New Ventures is driving innovation in the construction tech and proptech sector through targeted early-stage investments and a structured spin-off strategy.