PLAIO is a young company that is making its mark in the pharmaceutical industry. The software from PLAIO helps pharmaceutical companies to plan and optimize their production efficiency and ensure that medicines are delivered to customers on time. The main functions of the system for pharmaceutical companies are threefold:

●        Automates the production process with the goal of increasing efficiency and maximizing savings

●        Plans and manages raw material purchases for production

●        Organizes production with the aim of maximizing inventory utilization and ensuring that products are delivered on time

PLAIO is in discussions with dozens of foreign pharmaceutical companies. These discussions have confirmed that approximately nine out of ten pharmaceutical companies make their plans in Excel. Due to strict regulations and various other reasons, the pharmaceutical industry has long been slow to adopt new technologies. However, this is changing and many companies are embarking on a digital journey often referred to as Pharma 4.0 within the pharmaceutical sector. PLAIO's software will play a significant role in this.

Coplanner

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been widely discussed in recent years and various applications have been introduced. AI is ideal for automating and simplifying interactions and the use of information systems. PLAIO has been developing AI technology in its software aimed at helping users make better decisions and create plans automatically.  PLAIO also utilizes AI to facilitate communication between users and the software, and through chatbots, familiar to many from ChatGPT, users can interact with the system. At PLAIO, we call this functionality Coplanner, where one can ask the system questions such as:

Scandik Pharmacy was calling to ask if we can add an order for 5 million tablets of the drug Rapiprozol for July 22 next year. Is that possible with simple changes to the current production plans?

With conventional use of Excel, this would have meant time-consuming changes to many documents, but with PLAIO Coplanner, one can ask questions and not only receive text answers but also information about the changes that need to be made, reports, summaries, or whatever is being inquired about.

Establishment and Funding

The company was founded in mid-2021 by Jóhann Guðbjargarsson. The first significant event in the journey was that the company was admitted into Startup Supernova that summer, a ten-week business accelerator managed by KLAK. This accelerator was a game changer for PLAIO, and during its duration, the co-founders Dr. Hlynur Stefánsson, Dr. Eyjólfur Ingi Ásgeirsson, and Árni Hrannar Haraldsson joined. By the end of this first operating year, the company had secured funding from the venture fund Frumtak amounting to 300 million and shortly thereafter Dr. Agon joined with an additional funding of 100 million.

The company is located in the Grósku startup center, which is particularly suitable for diverse options regarding convenient office space. At the beginning of 2022, the founding team went full steam ahead to shape the employee policy and begin hiring a team ready to participate in the rapid development the company is working on. Manuela Magnúsdóttir leads product development, Ólafur Pálsson business development, and Hildur Rún Guðjónsdóttir implementation and customer service. 

The four main system units - forecasting, rough production planning, raw material purchasing, and production control

Sales and Scaling

Currently, 12 people work at the company, an exceptionally effective and enjoyable team. We are also very proud that the gender ratio is equal, which is not often found in software development.

It can be said that at the beginning of 2023, sales and marketing efforts ramped up significantly. Christian Hartvig was hired to oversee sales in Europe, and we are collaborating with partners abroad who are opening doors for us into pharmaceutical companies. Now, at the end of 2023, we have five clients in Europe who are using and paying for the system. These include Coripharma in Iceland, AGB and Camurus in Sweden, and Covis Pharma and MS Pharma in Switzerland. Monthly revenues from the software have multiplied tenfold since the beginning of the year.

PLAIO is meeting a demand present in a large market of small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies in Europe, which are aiming for significant investments in digital technology in the coming years. PLAIO is off to a good start and is well positioned to grow rapidly and sustain that success.