# schnaq > Architectural Intelligence — AI advisory, sovereign AI infrastructure and AI-native software development from Düsseldorf, Germany. > Last updated: 2026-09 schnaq GmbH was founded in 2021 in Düsseldorf and is a senior software consultancy run by a four-person computer-science team — three of them with a doctorate. No outsourcing, no account managers between you and the people writing the code. We help mid-market and enterprise customers integrate AI in a way that actually works: focused on data sovereignty, GDPR compliance and architectures the customer can maintain. ## Three Pillars - [AI Readiness & Strategy](https://schnaq.com/en/leistungen): Potential analysis, data audits and a prioritized AI roadmap in 2–3 days — actionable, not a 200-page strategy paper. - [Sovereign AI Infrastructure](https://schnaq.com/en/leistungen): GDPR-compliant cloud integration, on-premise and hybrid architectures using open-source models and European hosting. Full control, no vendor lock-in. - [AI-native Software Development](https://schnaq.com/en/leistungen): Custom software designed to be intelligent from the first commit — RAG systems, custom agent flows, API integration. Not bolted on. ## Selected Projects - [SAYA Safety-Ring](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/saya): Mobile app + backend for a wearable safety ring. - [Rheinbahn Linksabbiegen](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/rheinbahn-linksabbiegen): Computer-vision / YOLO pipeline that detects left-turn conflicts at tram intersections from on-vehicle camera streams. - [EWR KI-Beratung](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/ewr-ki-beratung): Sovereign AI live-translator for a regional energy provider — production for over a year. - [Bechtle Darknet Scanner](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/bechtle-darknet-scanner): Threat-intelligence scanner for a security operations team. - [Deepskill Coach Billing](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/deepskill-coach-billing): Coaching marketplace billing pipeline. - [FAYA Nightlife App](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/faya-nightlife-app): Native iOS/Android app launched and grown to market presence. - [Unlock](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/unlock): Custom product engagement; full stack delivery. - [ImmoCloud](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/immocloud): Property-management SaaS engagement. - [Sovereign AI with Mistral](https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/souveraene-ki-mistral): Claude-level AI productivity, fully data-sovereign — European open-weights models hosted in the EU. ## Labs Internal experiments and side products at [schnaq.com/labs](https://schnaq.com/en/labs): - **schnaq** — original event-interaction platform, now free and open source (live polls, word clouds, Q&A, whiteboards, AI mind maps). - **Modoolo** — mobile puzzle game built on the modulo operator (Godot 4.5 + Rust backend). - **FoxHunt** — city-wide hide & seek with a real-time map and private lobbies. - **Haushaltsplaner** — household planning as a fair little points game. - **Conan** — macOS menu-bar time tracker for working alongside AI agents. - **watson-tui** — terminal UI for Watson time tracking, written in Go. - **ZilpZalp** — iOS learning app that teaches preschoolers native birds; no account, no ads, no data collection. - **konduit** — OpenAI-compatible AI gateway routing inference to European providers, with sovereignty metadata per model. ## Trainings Hands-on workshops at [schnaq.com/schulungen](https://schnaq.com/en/schulungen), tailored per team, on-site or remote: - **AI Workshops in the Claude Ecosystem** — one day for teams without a tech background; working artefacts by the end of the day. - **Workshop: Agentic Software Development** — two days for developers, architects and research groups: Claude Code setup, autonomous agents, issue triage, n8n automation, day two on the team's own codebase. Larger groups get additional trainers. - **n8n Workshop: Workflow Automation Without Programming** — half to full day for business units and decision-makers, no programming required; first delivered at the Bergischer KI Summit. https://schnaq.com/en/projekte/n8n-workshop Teams trained in Claude Code so far include Daniel Jung Media GmbH, VIA – Analyse, Training & Therapie GbR, ordino and FAYA UG (haftungsbeschränkt); all four now build their own apps. ## Team - **Dr. Christian Meter** — Co-Founder & CTO, PhD in computer science. Focus: AI integration, software architecture, cybersecurity. - **Dr. Alexander Schneider** — Co-Founder, operations lead, PhD in computer science. Focus: mobile, game development, 3D graphics, product engineering. - **Michael Birkhoff** — Co-Founder, head of product design. Focus: game development, 3D graphics, Unity, real-time rendering. - **Dr. Björn Ebbinghaus** — Software Engineer, PhD in computer science. Focus: web and mobile features end to end, operations and monitoring, debugging production systems. Team page: https://schnaq.com/en/team ## Blog - [Local AI Solutions: Why Companies Adopt GDPR-Compliant AI](https://schnaq.com/en/blog/lokale-ki-loesungen-dsgvo) — running AI models locally with Ollama and open-source LLMs while staying GDPR-compliant. - [Agentic Software Development: AI as a Sparring Partner](https://schnaq.com/en/blog/agentische-softwareentwicklung) — how we use AI for analysis, plans and code, and why humans make the final call. ## Location Kasernenstraße 67, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany. ## Contact - Web: https://schnaq.com - Email: hello@schnaq.com - Phone: +49 15678 354 553 - Booking: https://calendar.app.google/xJi8kFHm1RcnsJSx7 ## Key Facts - Founded 2021; schnaq Consulting is the consulting brand of schnaq GmbH. - Senior-only team (no outsourcing); four computer scientists, three of them with a PhD. - GDPR-compliant and sovereign by default (European hosting, on-premise option, open-source LLMs). - Languages: German, English. - Service area: DACH region plus international clients.