Europe-based AI startup DesignVerse has raised more than $5.5 million in seed funding after helping to modernise aviation software systems used across the continent, including technology underpinning air traffic operations.
The company, which has a team spread across Europe and the UK, says the investment reflects growing demand from large organisations seeking safer and faster ways to upgrade ageing but mission-critical software infrastructure.
Founded by former Oracle product design lead Andrei Manolache and veteran software engineer Robert Dragutoiu, DesignVerse has developed an AI-powered platform designed specifically for highly regulated industries and complex enterprise environments.
Unlike consumer-focused AI coding tools that generate prototypes or simple apps, DesignVerse focuses on helping organisations modernise large-scale operational systems while maintaining strict reliability, security and regulatory standards.
One of its most significant deployments to date has been with EUROCONTROL, the body responsible for coordinating air traffic across Europe.
Using the platform, DesignVerse rebuilt and modernised a 15-year-old EUROCONTROL application in just over a month — work the company says would traditionally have taken around six months using conventional software development methods.
Software generated through the platform now supports aviation systems used in airports and air traffic control operations across Europe, contributing to journeys made by tens of millions of airline passengers every year.
The company says its technology is designed to solve a longstanding challenge facing large enterprises: translating product and design intent into production-ready software without inconsistencies emerging across multiple engineering teams.
Its AI models are trained using each customer’s own design systems, technical documentation and component libraries, allowing software to be generated in line with existing architecture and internal standards.
DesignVerse says this approach can allow organisations to develop and deploy digital products up to five times faster than traditional methods.
Speaking about the funding announcement, Manolache said many major organisations still lose “enormous amounts of time” converting design work into production software.
“DesignVerse removes that friction entirely, allowing teams to generate functional enterprise applications directly from their design systems,” he said.
Dragutoiu added that many AI coding tools currently on the market are geared towards experimentation rather than enterprise deployment.
“Enterprises operate complex infrastructure and legacy systems, often in mission-critical environments,” he said.
“Software generated by AI must integrate with existing architectures and run safely in production. Our models are designed specifically for those constraints.”
In a statement, EUROCONTROL said the partnership had helped accelerate software modernisation without compromising the safety and reliability standards required in aviation.
“Aviation is an industry where the innovation cycle is generally slower compared to others,” the organisation said.
“DesignVerse, through its AI platform, has supported us in modernising our software systems at an accelerated pace, without compromising the reliability, safety and security that remain the highest priority for our sector.”
The new funding will be used to expand DesignVerse’s engineering team and support growth across Europe and the United States.
Investors in the round include Begin Capital, Gapminder VC and Underline Ventures, alongside angel investors connected to companies including Adobe, London Stock Exchange Group and UiPath.
Before the latest round, the company had already raised $850,000 in pre-seed funding to develop the platform and begin working with early enterprise customers.
