Perry raises €1.6 million to tackle shortage of technical workers with AI

Amsterdam, June 26, 2025 – Dutch AI startup Perry, cofounded by Laurens Feenstra and Arie Kuiper, makes its official debut today, announcing a €1.6 million investment round to help ease the pressure on Europe’s technical workforce. The round was led by Berlin-based specialist fund Revent, joined by angel investors from companies like Google and OpenAI.

“Getting the newest AI technology in the hands of technical workers will make a big difference. Using Perry, workers can get trained more effectively, work more safely and deliver higher quality work.” says Arie Kuiper.

Founded in March of this year, the young company develops AI-powered work instructions to empower technicians on the job. The initiative comes at a critical time: across Europe, there’s a chronic shortage of technical personnel. Over the past two decades, the number of people working in technical roles has dropped by around 15 million. This trend will continue in the next two decades due to an aging workforce and limited new entrants. Sectors like renewable energy, telecom, and construction are under threat of stagnation.

Technology Built for the Work Floor

Instead of complex manuals and outdated documents, Perry offers clear, visual instructions that automatically adapt to the work situation using artificial intelligence. The software also continually learns from real-world feedback. 

Perry develops its technology in close collaboration with technicians, using extensive field research and on-site testing. This ensures the product doesn’t just work in theory, but actually gets used in practice, unlike many tools designed primarily for and by management.
The first customer, energy infrastructure company Van Vulpen, is already using the technology to train and support workers.

Thanks to AI, work instructions are automatically translated and adjusted to the user's language level, enabling workers from across Europe, from Poland to Portugal, to collaborate directly and effectively.

“Today, many technicians don’t get much support. They often have to rely on lengthy manuals. This leads to safety risks and error costs. Due to a lack of better options, some experts get called up to a hundred times a day to help out,” says Laurens Feenstra. “Our solution makes the knowledge of experienced professionals available to everyone, exactly when it’s needed. Ultimately, we want both new and experienced workers to be supported through their tasks with live AI video calls.”

Smarter Training, Better Support

According to Arie Kuiper, the shortage of technical staff isn’t just a numbers issue, it’s also a qualitative challenge.

“We’re seeing worker shortages and unemployment at the same time. That shows we need to train people smarter and support them more effectively. With Perry, we’re using technology to help new hires become effective very quickly.”

Impactful Investment

This funding round is seen as a strategic step toward rapid scaling. The company has already recruited an AI engineer and a user research specialist. With the investment, Perry will expand the team, continue developing its software and AI models, and expand into Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

“Perry’s mission addresses an urgent societal challenge,” says Lauren Lentz, founding partner at Revent. “Without enough skilled professionals, progress in key sectors like the energy transition risks grinding to a halt.”

About Perry

Perry was founded in 2025 by Laurens Feenstra (formerly Google, Waymo, TomTom) and Arie Kuiper (formerly McKinsey, BuyBay). Based in Amsterdam, the team is building technology that puts people at the center, aimed at future-proofing work in the technical sector.

About Revent

Revent is a specialist early-stage venture capital firm investing across Europe in mission-driven founders leveraging technology to drive systemic change. Launched in 2021 in Berlin by Otto Birnbaum and Dr. Lauren Lentz, the firm focuses on companies across planetary and societal health, backing founders with the dual ambition to build a company that will become both big, and important.