01 — What we do

We convert uncertainty into evidence you can act on.

Papaia collapses the gap between a product idea and a result that works. We frame the problem, engineer the answer, and put it in front of reality — so what you walk away with is proof, not a pitch deck.

Frame

We sharpen a fuzzy ambition into a buildable problem — and surface the directions actually worth chasing.

Engineer

Hardware, software, or both — we build the most promising direction into a prototype you can put your hands on.

Prove

We stress it against users, performance, and constraints — then tell you, plainly, what holds up and what doesn't.

02 — How to engage us

Six ways companies put Papaia to work.

A tight sprint, a built prototype, or a standing innovation partnership — pick the format that fits the shape of your challenge.

03 — The method

Challenge in. Evidence out. Five clear stages.

No drawn-out discovery, no theory left unproven. Every stage closes with something tangible in your hands.

01
Challenge

Frame it

We pin down the real problem with you — fast and without ceremony.

→ Sharp problem statement
02
Concept

Explore it

We generate directions and pressure-test their feasibility.

→ Ranked concepts + paths
03
Prototype

Build it

We engineer the most promising direction into something real.

→ Working prototype
04
Evidence

Test it

We run it against reality and report what is actually true.

→ Test results + verdict
05
Direction

Decide it

You leave with a confident call: build, scale, or pivot.

→ Roadmap + recommendation
04 — Proof

We would rather show you than tell you.

A prototype settles arguments that slide decks only prolong. Representative snapshots below — swap in live projects as they ship.

Hardware · POC

Sensor concept → working rig

A stalled feasibility question became a tested, hands-on proof-of-concept.

6 wksidea to validated prototype
Product · Reinvention

Aging product re-engineered

Modernized architecture plus a prototype of the new direction.

faster than the old system
Software · Sprint

Vague brief → clear path

We framed the challenge and shipped a demo that unblocked the decision.

10 daysto a go/no-go verdict
05 — Why Papaia

A small team carrying serious firepower.

We are engineers, technologists, and builders grown out of the ETH ecosystem — one of the densest pools of technical talent anywhere. Small enough to move at startup speed, rigorous enough to be handed genuinely hard engineering. No account layers, no filler: the people who scope your problem are the same people with their hands on it.

Fast

Startup pace, not consultancy pace.

Technical

Real engineering depth, not slideware.

Imaginative

We take on the problems others avoid.

Hands-on

We build, test, and prove it.

06 — The team

The people who will actually be in the room.

No account managers, no hand-offs. Papaia is a tight group of ETH-trained engineers and builders — the same people who scope your challenge are the ones who design, build, and prove the answer.

JGJeremia GeigerOperations · Innovation

Jeremia Geiger

Operations & Innovation
MSc ETH Mechanical Engineering · BEng Production Management

Raised inside two industrial family businesses, Jeremia leads ambitious multidisciplinary teams — from product design and software to data science. He turns industrial complexity into momentum.

LinkedIn
CEDr. Claas EhmkeSystems · Electronics · Robotics

Dr. Claas Ehmke

Systems, Electronics & Robotics
PhD & MSc ETH Robotics, Systems & Control · BSc Electrical Engineering

Built his first robotic system in high school and never stopped. An electronics and embedded expert with deep hands-on hard- and software skills, and an affinity for medical tech and autonomous systems.

LinkedIn
YHYaohui HuangRobotics · Intelligent Systems

Yaohui Huang

Robotics, Control & Intelligent Systems
MSc ETH Robotics, Systems & Control · Willi Studer Prize & ETH Silver Medal

Turns advanced models into robust real-world behaviour. Award-winning work in mechatronics and soft robotics, with analytical clarity and a sharp systems perspective on hard problems.

LinkedIn
DWDavid WerderEmbedded · Sensor Electronics

David Werder

Embedded Systems & Sensor Electronics
MSc ETH Electrical Engineering & Information Technology

Bridges hardware, sensing, and reliable implementation into compact, robust systems. A structured, detail-driven engineer who gets concepts to working prototype.

LinkedIn
DGDaniel GislerProduct · Rapid Prototyping

Daniel Gisler

Product Innovation & Rapid Prototyping
MSc ETH Robotics, Systems & Control · BSc Mechanical Engineering

Innovation manager at Align Technology. Turns early ideas into testable concepts fast — reducing uncertainty through experimentation and building the first functional version of complex systems.

LinkedIn
VSViacheslav SydoraRobotics · Learning Control · AI

Viacheslav Sydora

Robotics, Learning Control & AI
BSc RWTH Mechanical Engineering · Max Planck Institute · ETH Multi-Scale Robotics Lab

Connects analytical depth with hands-on implementation, from learning-based control to robotic systems that make complex algorithms tangible. Research-driven, practically minded.

LinkedIn
Advisors
PKAdvisor

Philipp Kopp

Advisor · Development Team Lead, Align Technology
MSc ETH Robotics, Systems & Control · BEng Mechatronics

A natural leader with entrepreneurial drive and deep-tech expertise in software, computer vision, and machine learning. Co-founded his first deep-tech startup before graduate studies.

LinkedIn
JZHonorary Advisor

Jasan Zughaibi

Honorary Advisor · PhD Candidate, ETH & MPI Tübingen
MSc ETH Robotics, Systems & Control · BSc Physics Engineering

An expert in control theory and its applications, with a portfolio of award-winning robotics projects. Researching at ETH's Multi-Scale Robotics Lab and the Max Planck Institute.

LinkedIn
07 — The tension

Some challenges simply don't fit the roadmap.

They stall inside normal process. They don't need another workshop full of sticky notes — they need a team that moves fast, thinks technically, and builds proof. Recognise any of these?

01

No technical path

The idea is clear, but the route from concept to something that actually works is not.

02

An aging product

It's slipping while competitors move, and it needs reinventing — not another patch.

03

A team at capacity

Your people are brilliant and fully booked. The new challenge has nowhere to land.

04

A deferred question

"Is this even feasible?" keeps sliding to next quarter, and the decision stays blocked.

08 — Let's build

Hand us the challenge your team can't stop thinking about.

Tell us where you're stuck — or where you want to go. We'll come back fast with what's possible and how we'd build it.

Zurich, Switzerland · hello@papaia.ch · +41 78 984 65 68