AI start-up Langdock is moving its headquarters back to Germany

Berlin. The fast-growing Berlin AI start-up Langdock is moving its legal headquarters from the USA back to Germany. As the “Handelsblatt” reports, citing the two co-chief executives Lennard Schmidt and Judith Dada, the company is converting its US parent company into a European stock corporation (Societas Europaea, SE).

The decision is seen as an unusual step against the prevailing trend of many European founders relocating their headquarters to the United States primarily for access to venture capital. In addition, lower taxes are due on profits in the USA. In addition to strategic reasons, legal risks are also decisive for the return to Europe: US laws such as the Cloud Act and the Patriot Act, which allow authorities to access customer data under certain conditions, are increasingly creating reservations among corporate customers, according to the “Handelsblatt”.

Langdock offers corporate customers data protection-compliant access to language and image models from various AI providers. According to the start-up, more than 13,000 companies are already using the platform - including companies such as Merck and Trumpf. The company, which was founded just three years ago, says it is operating profitably and recently achieved recurring annual sales of over 50 million euros.

The management team is also combining far-reaching expansion plans with the move: Langdock wants to grow into a European cloud and AI infrastructure provider (“hyperscaler”) in the medium term and thus strengthen Europe’s required digital sovereignty. The first data center is scheduled to go into operation this year, in which the start-up plans to invest between 10 and 15 million euros.