# Tim Zinkl

> Tim Zinkl is the CEO and co-founder of Pairio (YC P26), an AI mobile app that helps factory technicians fix broken machines faster. Raised across Brazil, Spain, and China and schooled in the UK and Germany, he built an events business in college, was an early employee at battery-recycling startup tozero, and teamed up with engineer Matthias Wolf - whom he met at a Technical University of Munich entrepreneurship scholarship - to attack the expensive, everyday problem of machine downtime on the factory floor.

- **Role:** CEO & Founder at Pairio (YC P26)
- **Organizations:** Pairio, tozero, Technical University of Munich (entrepreneurship scholarship)
- **Nationality:** German
- **Education:** Studied in the United Kingdom and Germany
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Pairio as CEO, Accepted into Y Combinator (P26 batch) with primary partner Tom Blomfield, Deployed Pairio across four manufacturing plants in Germany

## Career timeline

- **During undergrad** — Built a successful events business until COVID-19 disrupted it
- **Pre-2025** — Joined battery-recycling startup tozero as its second employee
- **~4 years before founding Pairio** — Met co-founder Matthias Wolf at a Technical University of Munich entrepreneurship scholarship
- **2025** — Co-founded Pairio with Matthias Wolf
- **2026** — Pairio joined Y Combinator's P26 batch; raised a $130K seed; four German plants adopted the product

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Pairio as CEO
- Accepted into Y Combinator (P26 batch) with primary partner Tom Blomfield
- Deployed Pairio across four manufacturing plants in Germany
- Early operator experience as the second employee at battery-recycling startup tozero
- Backed by Google Cloud for Startups and ElevenLabs startup grants

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Pairio raised a $130K seed round (YC), listed as last raised March 2026
- **2026** — Joined Y Combinator's P26 batch and rolled out to four German manufacturing plants

## Links

- Website: https://pairio.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timzinkl

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tim-zinkl
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-31