The Brain Transplant Business Model

01 /The Concept

This Dutch startup was founded only in March – and it has already raised its first €1.6 million. For what turns out to be a very simple idea.

Perry has built an AI platform for creating and delivering work instructions to field technicians.

The target market is broad: underground cable infrastructure, telecom networks, renewable energy installations (wind turbines, solar panels), HVAC systems, EV charging networks, and industrial equipment.

With Perry, companies can create instructions for performing maintenance tasks, verifying completed work, training on new procedures, and enforcing safety protocols.

The current product is deliberately simple. Upload your equipment documentation and existing training materials, click a button, and Perry's AI generates step-by-step instructions in any language – which can then be manually edited and refined. Those instructions become available to all of the company's field technicians through Perry's mobile app.

The functionality will expand – toward a centralized knowledge base and richer delivery formats – but even the current version was enough to land Perry its first major customer in the energy sector and close its first funding round.

02 /Why It Matters

Perry's early success isn't primarily about the founders' ability to sell software or raise money. It's about timing: the market for these platforms is genuinely ripe.

In February, XOi ([covered here](/review/tema-v-kotoroj-mozhno-i-horosho-zarabatyvat-i-horosho-prodatsja)) raised $230 million for a more fully featured version of the same concept. XOi's platform includes a centralized instruction library for field technicians, plus a camera feature: point your phone at a machine's nameplate, and the app identifies the equipment and surfaces the full relevant instruction set.

XOi's previous funding was from 2019 – just $11 million. And notably, half of the new round went toward acquiring a comparable startup, Specifx (founded 2022, $3.5 million raised), signaling consolidation is beginning.

Interest in this space predates the current wave:

DeepHow ([covered here](/review/63-milliarda-dollarov-na-700-millionov-uchenikov)) raised $37.1 million for a video instruction platform for machine operators.

Squint ([covered here](/review/700-millionov-chelovek-kotorym-obychnye-platformy-ne-podojdut)) raised $19 million for a similar AR-style app – point your camera at a machine or a specific component, and the app surfaces the relevant instructions.

Zaptic ([covered here](/review/programmirovat-nuzhno-ne-kompjutery-a-ljudej)) raised $19 million for a comparable platform without a standout differentiator, just solid execution.

03 /Opportunities

The technology matters less here than the market dynamics – and the market for equipment maintenance and repair has a specific profile worth understanding.

First, it's enormous. Global field service is a $1.7 trillion market today, projected to grow to $2.3 trillion by 2029.

Second, it's extremely fragmented. Take just the HVAC segment: there are 145,000 HVAC contractors in the US alone.

Third, there's a severe and structural skills shortage. Experienced technicians are retiring faster than replacements are entering the trades. Employee turnover is high, making it difficult for companies to maintain consistent skill levels across their workforce.

In many industries, the response to these pressures is automation. But for equipment maintenance and repair, full automation is still prohibitively expensive – and likely will be for a long time.

So the field is moving toward a hybrid model: a human technician still does the physical work, but AI replaces the expertise. The AI looks at the equipment through the phone camera, and guides the technician step by step through diagnosis and repair – in plain language, with visuals and video.

If Perry seems like a small idea, consider: not many founders raise €1.6 million just three months after incorporation.

Building AI-powered "brains" for people who work with their hands is a real opportunity, and the door is still open for early entrants – with a path to growing at least to XOi's scale at $230 million in funding.