Büren, March 23, 2026 – NEXT Data Service AG is further developing its strategic direction. After eight years of successful pioneering work and outstanding AI projects in industry and services, the company is transferring its innovation division to its sister company, UNITY AG. All of its capabilities, projects, and experience, combined with UNITY AG’s consulting expertise, will serve as an AI booster for the sustainable success of our clients in the future. Going forward, NEXT Data Service AG will primarily focus, as a holding company, on the growing and promising ventures Mineral Waste Manager GmbH and nextOR GmbH, which are increasingly establishing themselves independently in the market.
Since its founding in 2018, NEXT has been part of the UNITY Innovation Alliance and has positioned itself as an AI company builder for data- and AI-driven business models. From the very beginning, the goal has been to develop innovative solutions in the fields of big data analytics and artificial intelligence, to help companies leverage their data, and to build new ventures based on that data.
In recent years, the company’s experts have helped numerous industrial firms build modern data platforms, develop AI architectures, and successfully implement data-driven applications. At the same time, two ventures—Mineral Waste Manager and nextOR—were launched; today, they have their own teams, clear market positions, and significant growth potential.
“Mineral Waste Manager has successfully established itself in the market in recent years and continues to attract new customers. With our solution, we bring transparency and speed to a sector of waste management that has historically been heavily regulated and largely undigitized. Building on this foundation, we can now continue to expand our growth independently,” explains Managing Director Dr. Sebastian Busse.
nextOR is also continuing its growth trajectory. The health tech startup uses artificial intelligence to provide data-driven support to hospitals in planning operating rooms, staffing, and patient flow.
“Hospitals are under enormous financial pressure. With nextOR, we help them manage existing resources much more efficiently and better coordinate operational processes. The fact that we can now scale this solution independently is an important next step for our company,” says Marcus Goerke, CEO of nextOR.
This development also changes the role of NEXT: The two ventures have evolved into independent companies and are now continuing their growth trajectory on their own, while NEXT focuses on the strategic development of its portfolio companies.
Some of NEXT’s AI and software experts are moving to the management consulting firm UNITY. There, they will strengthen the newly emerging in-house AI and software engineering teams and support both client projects and the further expansion of AI-based solutions within the organization.
“Artificial intelligence only realizes its full value when it is actually applied to business processes. That is exactly what we will be working on at UNITY—helping companies implement AI solutions in a pragmatic way and achieve measurable efficiency gains,” explains Stephan Sommer-Schulz, who is moving from NEXT to UNITY, where he will serve as an AI evangelist.
NEXT will remain part of the UNITY Innovation Alliance and will primarily function as a holding company for its portfolio companies. The ventures Mineral Waste Manager and nextOR will also remain part of the network and continue to develop their solutions within the alliance.
This ensures that the principle of the UNITY Innovation Alliance remains intact: The success of individual companies strengthens the entire network—and creates new momentum for innovation, digitalization, and AI-based business models.
