Helmut Marko invests in AI start-up after Red Bull F1 exit

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Former Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has become an investor in an Austrian artificial intelligence start-up that lets people leave personal messages to be delivered to loved ones after they die.

The 83-year-old, who stepped down from his role at the Milton Keynes outfit at the end of last season after more than two decades with the company, was unveiled as a backer of Lebensstimmen GmbH at a launch event at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Vienna on 20 October.

The Graz-based company, which will operate internationally under the name Words That Remain, describes its platform as a form of digital end-of-life planning. Users record or write messages during their lifetime, which are then passed on to chosen recipients after their death.

The company also offers a tool to help grieving families put their own words together and has launched an AI eulogist called the "Fabertar", developed with Toni Faber, the cathedral pastor of St Stephen's in Vienna. Lebensstimmen says the "Fabertar" is clearly labelled as AI and is not designed to replace priests or speakers, but to help where none are available.

Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Luca Martini / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

Marko, who built Red Bull's junior programme and helped bring through four-time champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, linked the investment to his career in racing.

"Motorsport was never left to chance; it was improved through the courage to consistently use new technologies for the benefit of people. That is exactly the attitude I recognise in Lebensstimmen," Marko said in the press release.

The business was founded by Philipp Berkessy, Markus Pinter and Lukas Stern, and plans to launch its platform fully in Austria and internationally in the first quarter of 2027.

"Every person has words that should remain. With Lebensstimmen, we are making end-of-life planning personal, digital and legally secure for the first time. Today, a new culture of farewell begins, and it begins in Austria," Berkessy said.

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