"I can’t wait until I’m 18": 14-year-old Malte turns to family court to start his own IT company

The story of 14-year-old Malte Schröder from Rostock, Germany, is not only an example of how ambition can take shape at a very young age, but also of how rapid technological progress can sometimes require unusual steps. As Nordkurier (in German) reports, Malte wants to found an IT company and develop a compact “AI box” designed to address a basic problem: many businesses outsource data and AI services to external providers, which can raise concerns around data protection and control. Malte’s idea is a local solution that keeps the data inside the company. Naturally, he is not revealing exactly how it is supposed to work.

The teenager became interested in computers at an early age. Once video games no longer held his attention, he taught himself programming with the help of online courses and later AI tools. According to the report, Malte has already taken second place in the mathematics/computer science category of the Jugend forscht Junior competition with a news app of his own. His planned company already has a name: Radixura. The next major step is to build a prototype, although that will require sponsors or investors. For the time being, however, the biggest hurdle is likely to be German bureaucracy.

At 14, Malte is still not legally allowed to run a business on his own. To sign contracts, register a business and bring investors on board, he needs not only his parents’ consent but also approval from the family court. Waiting until he reaches adulthood does not seem to be an option for him. “Technology is developing at breakneck speed. [...] I can’t wait until I’m 18 if I want to be part of that development,” the aspiring developer told Nordkurier.

The basic idea behind Malte’s project is not entirely new. Powerful local AI platforms for businesses already exist in the form of solutions such as Nvidia’s DGX systems. What could set his concept apart, however, is a significantly cheaper, more compact and ready-to-deploy approach. In the end, speed is likely to be the deciding factor, as the market is expected to keep evolving rapidly.