OnTrack · 24 Jun 2025 · 46m · Episode 303
Timon Ruban, founder and managing director of Luminovo, explains how his company uses AI to automate PCB supply chain management, quoting, and risk analysis for contract manufacturers and OEMs. He details the platform's ability to extract specifications from Gerber files to provide instant PCB pricing and discusses the shift from manual Excel-based workflows to strategic monitoring of component costs and lifecycle risks. Ruban also outlines the roadmap for integrating large language models to handle complex data ingestion, such as messy BOMs and PDF specifications, and future features like supplier relationship management.
Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.
Sourcing & supply chainLuminovo Gerber engineinstant prices
The system automatically extracts geometric specifications from uploaded Gerber files to instantly estimate PCB costs and check supplier capabilities.
“we have a Gerber engine that will automatically extract the geometrically relevant characteristics of the board that you need to give to a PCB supply so they could tell you the price.”
Timon Ruban · Hear it at 17:30
Sourcing & supply chain
The company is developing AI to automatically extract remaining PCB specifications from PDF documents to eliminate manual data entry for quoting.
“We are currently working. We'll probably launch that very soon, also on using AI to extract all the remaining specifications that are not in the gerbas, but usually in some PDF … by automatically extracting that from the PPS.”
Timon Ruban · Hear it at 22:53
Sourcing & supply chainLarge Language Models (LLMs)
The company is using LLMs to ingest messy PDF supplier offers and Bill of Materials (BOM) spreadsheets, making the process agentic and iterative based on user feedback.
“this, get that PDF into Lumino is one that large language models are really, really good at good at. … making it truly agentic with like smart, large language models that can iterate based on feedback from the user to be much, much quicker and importing these bill of materials.”
Timon Ruban · Hear it at 35:42
Engineering & simulationCursor, Claude Codetwice as many things
The engineering team is using AI-assisted coding tools to accelerate software development, aiming to double their output capacity for building new features.
“if we can use these AI assisted coding workflows for ourselves, to write as nice code, and as good of code as 60 engineers would do, then we can do twice as many things.”
Timon Ruban · Hear it at 40:36
companies scaling up
Other shows on the same ground, closest first.
Timon Ruban, Co-Founder of Luminovo, discusses the evolution of AI in electronics manufacturing, contrasting early hype with current practical applications enabled by large language models. He explains that successful implementation requires balancing comprehensive data context with specialized tools, such as part search APIs, to verify AI proposals. Ruban highlights Luminovo's focus on extracting structured data from unstructured sources like PDFs and emails, and developing 'agentic workflows' where AI assists human decision-making in supply chain management rather than replacing it.
Sebastian Schaal, Founder and Managing Director of Luminovo, explains how his company targets the high-pressure quoting stage in electronics manufacturing to replace disconnected spreadsheets with connected, resilient operations. By standardizing part data across millions of SKUs and integrating live pricing, Luminovo helps EMS providers like BMK and Zolner cut response times and win on trust. Schaal details the evolution from a quoting tool to an always-on system that monitors price shifts, lead time volatility, and compliance risks, flagging exceptions for human action. The conversation highlights the strategic shift toward AI-driven automation, where confidence grows from alerts to one-click approvals, ultimately creating a 'glass pipeline' of shared visibility that reduces errors and captures savings.
Sebastian Schaal, founder of Luminovo, discusses the company's acquisition of Electronic Fellows to integrate PCB quoting software into its Luminovo platform, aiming to digitize the EMS supply chain. Schaal explains how this move eliminates manual bottlenecks in PCB manufacturing requests and enables instant, data-driven quotes for high-mixed, low-volume EMS providers. The episode also covers Luminovo's hybrid work model, modern tech stack (Rust, Python, TypeScript), and plans for Series A financing to scale the team and expand into the OEM market in 2022.
Sebastian Schaal, founder and CEO of Luminovo, discusses the company's evolution from a niche software provider to a comprehensive platform for the electronics supply chain, as showcased at Electronica 2024. He explains how Luminovo uses an industry-specific data model and AI agents to help EMS and OEM companies manage strategic sourcing, inventory, and procurement, aiming to eliminate bullwhip effects and improve transparency. Schaal outlines Luminovo's vision to become the global standard for supply chain visibility by 2026, emphasizing partnerships with companies like Sluicebox and CarbonFootball to create an open ecosystem.
Sebastian Schaal, co-founder of Luminovo, discusses the company's €11 million seed round and its cloud-based software suite designed to modernize the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry. He explains how Luminovo’s first product automates the RFQ and quotation process to improve hit rates and reduce material costs, while recent updates address supply chain volatility through part alerts and faster PCB quoting. Schaal highlights the platform's collaborative features, which allow EMS providers and OEMs to share digital twins of projects, and outlines future roadmap items including scope 3 emissions tracking and factory resource management.
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