
High-precision metal parts are crucial for the manufacturing sector; yet programming machines to produce these components remains a time-consuming and repetitive task. As the shortage of skilled workers intensifies, this process increasingly becomes a bottleneck. Manukai, a spinoff from ETH Zürich, addresses this challenge by developing a novel AI, which automates repetitive programming tasks by leveraging available production data.

High-precision metal parts are crucial for the manufacturing sector; yet programming machines to produce these components remains a time-consuming and repetitive task. As the shortage of skilled workers intensifies, this process increasingly becomes a bottleneck. Manukai, a spinoff from ETH Zürich, addresses this challenge by developing a novel AI, which automates repetitive programming tasks by leveraging available production data.
What: On‑premise AI platform that automates and standardizes CNC/CAM programming by learning from a manufacturer's CAM/NC history
Origin: Spin‑off from the Chair of Computational Science at ETH Zürich
Founders / Leadership: Dr. Pascal Weber (CEO & Co‑Founder); Dr. Daniel Wälchli (CTO & Co‑Founder)
Stage / Team: Closed beta; ~11 employees
Funding (reported): Pre‑seed round announced Mar 31, 2025; reported investors include QBIT Capital, Innosuisse, Bloomhaus Ventures
| Company |
|---|
Manufacturing software: CNC/CAM programming automation and process optimization for metal machining
Industrial / Manufacturing Software
$3,000,000
Reported pre‑seed round; investors listed include QBIT Capital, Innosuisse, Bloomhaus Ventures.
“QBIT Capital, Innosuisse, Bloomhaus Ventures participated in a reported pre‑seed round”
Manukai stands for Manu_facturing and Kai_zen_,_a Japanese methodology of continuous improvement, that translates to “change for better.” In ancient Greek, Kai_ros means “the opportune moment.” We are a spin-off from ETH Zürich, aiming to bridge the gap between metal part design and machining. Our technology empowers manufacturers to prioritize their clients’ needs and deliver high-quality products to the market. Our primary focus is making an immediate impact, with client satisfaction our utmost priority.
You will be responsible for driving architectural direction, implementation of the backend system, and integration of the adjacent services. You will create highly operable, scalable, and maintainable products. You will troubleshoot and optimize data flows between services and are responsible for the timely release of the products. To achieve the above, you will improve the degree of automation of the CI/CD pipeline.
About You
In this central role, you must be an excellent communicator and coordinator. You are hands-on and appreciate short decision-making processes and are capable of autonomously bringing your ideas to fruition. You are enthusiastic about your work, and you remove hurdles. You can work effectively in a dynamic environment with changing needs and requirements. As an early hire of Manukai, you will become a key member of our startup. We anticipate your proactive contribution of innovative ideas to shape our product and company. You are eligible to work in Switzerland.
Responsibilities
Required Skills
Advantageous:
Tech Stack:
You receive:
We are happy to receive your application, also consider other opportunities at Manukai.