In partnership with

I Wasted 3 Days at PODIM 2025 So You Don’t Have To: The Best AI Gems (and Why tiledesk Wins)

Hi friends,

I just got back from PODIM 2025 in Maribor—hands down one of the greatest startup conferences in the CEE region—and I’m buzzing with ideas. If you’re into AI, deep tech, or just want a front-row seat on where the next billion-dollar companies are bubbling up, you’ve got to hear what went down.

I wasn’t sure what to expect: a few panels here, some demo booths there. But from the moment the AI & Disruptive Technologies track kicked off to the final bell on the Builder Stage, the energy was electric. Here’s the TL;DR of the best AI happenings in Central and East Europe:

• Generative AI’s Big Moment
  Experts broke down how tools like ChatGPT, Bard, and the newcomers are reshaping industries—from marketing to manufacturing. We dove into “what’s next” after the current hype wave.

• AI & FinTech on the Main Stage (the best off)

  • “Future of Customer Engagement Powered by AI” by HubSpot’s Nabila Moumen

  • “From Solving Equations to Shaping the Future with AI” by Damir Sabol (Photomath & Microblink)

  • A killer panel on “Fintech x AI” with Emma Burrows of Portia AI

    Check out all of the speakers…

• Infineon Edge AI Startup Challenge
  Five deep-tech teams demoed real-world edge-AI IoT solutions. The goal? Build smart sensor systems that run lightning-fast AI right at the source—no cloud lag, no privacy headaches. Apply

• Builder Stage Growth Stories

  • Synthesia revealed how they went from zero to SaaS hero in video AI.

  • Colossyan showed off their playbook for scaling B2B AI video ops from $2M to $20M ARR.

• Pitching Competition Finalists (official)

  • infrared.city – AI-driven climate insights for sustainable design in urban areas (🏆 winner)

  • Scavenger AI (Austria) – Intelligent data processing for businesses in the Cloud (2nd place)

• Spotlight on Deep-Tech Collaboration
  Special spotlight was placed on public-private partnerships, R&D funding models, and the roadmap for turning lab-bright ideas into market-ready products.

• Startup Expo Highlights
  From Portia AI’s finance-smarts to Aetlan’s industry-agnostic AI case studies, there was no shortage of “wow” moments. You can follow the official blog for more information…

But here’s where it gets personal: after reviewing over 60 AI startups, chatting with more than 20 founders, and living off espresso for three days straight, we at LMAI are ready to crown our Best AI Startup of the entire conference.

🥁 And the 1st place goes to… tildesk.com!

In tildesk you can dragand drop build autonomous AI Agents to automate customer support and internal processes, enhancing engagement, efficiency and driving growth. There is no code, and it is fully scalable. It bundles live chat, AI-powered bots, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and more into one slick interface, so your customers get help wherever they are. You don’t need to wrestle with code either: just drag and drop your conversation flows in their no-code Design Studio and launch in minutes. Behind the scenes, those bots learn from your FAQs and keep getting smarter, which means fewer “where’s my order?” tickets and more happy surprise moments. Because it’s open source, you can tweak it, self-host it for full control, or let Tiledesk handle the cloud hosting for you. Hook it up to your CRM, ERP or any custom app through simple webhooks and APIs, and watch it slot right into your stack. Need to scale from ten chats a day to ten thousand? No problem—Tiledesk flexes with your growth. In the end, it turns customer support from a draining cost center into a dynamic growth engine that feels way more human, even when it’s automated. If you run a support team that’s buried in tickets or want to scale without hiring dozens of new agents, Tildesk is your new best friend.

So that’s the scoop—PODIM 2025 was a whirlwind of insights, bold predictions, and next-level startup hustle. If you missed it, bookmark the videos when they drop. And if you’re building something in AI, deep tech, or fintech, hit me up—I’m always game to chat.

Catch you on the next one,

—DJ

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Join for free today!

Vector Dreams Realized: How MakersMarket.xyz Turns Sketches into Print-Ready Art

Imagine a world where you brainstorm a wild pattern at 2 AM, and by breakfast your laser cutter’s already humming away, translating that midnight epiphany into crisp, scalable vectors ready for print. That’s exactly the dream MakersMarket.xyz is living—thanks to their suite of AI-powered vectorization tools.

What’s the scoop? MakersMarket.xyz takes your sketches, photos, or text prompts and transforms them into clean SVGs and PDF patterns that can go straight to your favorite printer, laser engraver, or cutting plotter. No more wrestling with porcupine-fine nodes or battling jagged edges in Illustrator. Their AI does the heavy lifting: auto-tracing, smoothing, and optimizing paths so you get flawless, editable vectors in seconds.

Use Case #1: Custom Apparel
Let’s say you want a “sunset wave” motif on your next batch of tees or tote bags. Upload your doodle—or simply describe it (“vibrant sunset over stylized waves”)—and watch the AI spit out perfectly tuned vector art. Export to your heat-press cutter and boom: your merch line is live.

Use Case #2: Laser Engraving
Got a slab of walnut and fresh engagement-ring ideas? Design ornate floral borders or monograms in MakersMarket.xyz, then export laser-ready SVGs. Your engraver will thank you for the clean paths and consistent stroke widths. See here how you can use it in combo with a Trotec laser cutter.

Use Case #3: Home Décor & Stickers
Dreaming of bespoke wallpaper stencils or funky vinyl decals? Tap into their pattern-generation tool: feed in a base motif, tweak color fills or repeat styles, then download high-res PDFs for plotters or large-format printers.

At its heart, MakersMarket.xyz feels less like a tool and more like a creative sidekick—one that never sleeps, never misplaces your layers, and never complains about file formats. Whether you’re a hobbyist hacking away in a garage shop or a studio pro churning out custom runs, their AI vector magic keeps the focus where it belongs: on your next big idea.

Stay curious!

Like Magic AI NFT 🏞️

Our master plan is to publish an NFT image in each newsletter and hand it out to our subscribers. The earlier you subscribe, the smaller the series are. It's a future collectible, a piece of digital art that captures the essence of this moment in time.

Thank you for being a valued subscriber. Together, let's embrace the magic of AI and creativity!

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here 👇