None of nine

Pioneers – Dr. Kourosh Malek

Dr. Kourosh Malek: A Scientist Accelerating Innovation

June 2026

Founder-Story

None of nine

When Kourosh Malek moved from Vancouver to Jülich in 2021, he brought a mindset that immediately stood out: Malek thinks in products, impact, and market adoption, rather than focusing solely on papers. “I was an entrepreneur before I became a scientist,” he says. Before coming to Germany, Malek led major research initiatives in Canada and built two companies. In 2017, he sold his software division to a public technology corporation.

The idea behind his latest venture, ViMi Labs, had been with him for nearly a decade. Back in 2015, the vision was already clear — but the technology was not yet ready. Only with the rise of generative AI around 2020 did the concept become technically possible. Today, Malek heads the division of Artificial Material Intelligence at the Institute of Energy Technologies (IET-3). His team develops specialized AI models that learn from vast scientific datasets and accelerate the discovery of next-generation energy materials.

„In Europe, we still see failure as personal defeat. But risk and failure are part of the game."

— Dr. Kourosh Malek

What drives him is frustration with the slow, analog routines that still dominate many laboratories. Researchers spend countless hours organizing data manually instead of solving scientific problems. That is exactly what ViMi Labs, founded in 2024, set out to change. Malek’s start-up combines scientific data, automation, and AI agents into what Malek calls a “digital scientist” — an intelligent system designed to support researchers in the lab. Today, an international team of 12 experts across Germany and Canada is working to turn that vision into reality.

The Spin-off

ViMi Labs – The Digital Lab Colleague

The Fundament: At the heart of ViMi Labs is a simple idea

Free researchers from repetitive routine work. Malek and his team are building AI-powered “digital scientists” capable of autonomously handling parts of everyday laboratory work. The goal is not to replace researchers, but to give them back the time they need for what humans still do best — creativity, intuition, and solving complex scientific puzzles.

The Target: Faster Innovation

The AI systems developed by ViMi Labs are trained with deep expertise in chemistry and materials science. That allows them to understand scientific relationships, generate hypotheses, and design experiments more efficiently. The result: promising materials can move from the laboratory to real-world application significantly faster.

The Mission: Technological Sovereignty for Europe

Malek is not interested in growth at any cost. His focus is sustainable innovation and technological independence for Europe. ViMi Labs wants to prove that deep scientific expertise can become one of the strongest foundations for entrepreneurial success.

Interview

Success Factor: "Deep Capital" in Jülich

Dr. Malek, Germany is often seen as risk-averse. Is that slowing down innovation and technology transfer?

Absolutely. We need to change the way we think about failure. In North America, it is completely normal that nine out of ten start-ups do not survive their first years. People respect the attempt. In Europe, failure is often treated like a personal defeat. But risk and failure are part of the process. A failed start-up is not a stain on a résumé — it is an enormous learning experience.

The U.S. is investing massive amounts of venture capital into AI. How can a spin-off from Jülich compete with that?

Through efficiency and substance. Some companies in the United States raise millions before they even have a functioning market-fit product. We built a market-ready system with far less capital — and customers are already using it productively. The American model floods the market with money. But early in my career, I learned that a strong product-market fit matters far more than hype. Having said that, a continuous post-seed flow of capital is essential to maintain competitiveness and achieve sustainable growth at a reasonable pace.

Be honest: shouldn't a deep-tech start-up move to Berlin or Munich instead of Jülich?

Quite the opposite. What we have here in Jülich and the surrounding region is what I call "deep capital." The concentration of infrastructure, expertise, and talent is exceptional. We have access to world-class supercomputers and highly specialized scientific talent that truly understands how advanced materials work. That combination is incredibly powerful.

Discover all start-ups at FZ Jülich
Visit ViMi Labs online

^{Image Credit: Forschungszentrum Jülich}

Mehrere Geräte, ein Gehirn und zerknülltes Papier auf orangefarbenem Hintergrund. (Mistral: Mistral Medium 3.5, 2026-06-30)

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