Stories of founders often begin with a sudden idea or a coffee-table sketch. For Andre Sokolov, co-founder and CTO of Inhubber (key2contract GmbH), the story started with curiosity — a fascination with mathematics, logic, and the dream of building meaningful technology.
Early fascination with computers and problem-solving
Born in Ukraine in 1984, Andre discovered his love for technology in first grade, when he first encountered computers at school.
“I was always fascinated by math and computers,” he recalls. “I kept inventing my own tasks in mathematics, and later in programming. I always had a strong wish to create my own successful IT products.”
This drive to understand and build complex systems shaped his path from an early age — and later became the foundation of his professional mission.
From academic research to practical innovation
Andre studied Business Informatics at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, where he combined economics, process modeling, and computer science. During his diploma studies at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK), he explored how Semantic Web technologies could be applied to model information and control logic in digital factories.
These experiences gave him a deep understanding of how structured information, semantics, and automation can bring transparency and efficiency into complex systems — a concept that would later reappear in the design of Inhubber.
Professional milestones before Inhubber
Between 2009 and 2012, Andre worked as a researcher at Fraunhofer IPK, where he contributed to projects on process automation and intelligent information systems. From 2012 to 2014, he joined Quick-Lohn Software GmbH, a payroll accounting software provider, focusing on business process digitalization and backend architecture. From 2014 to 2018, he worked at 1&1 Telecommunication SE (United Internet AG), where he built and operated scalable enterprise software systems and gained hands-on leadership experience in agile development.
He remembers one defining moment from that time: “During a newcomer event, everyone was asked to write a letter to themselves with a goal for the next five years. I wrote: ‘I want to be CTO.’ When I said it out loud, people just smiled kindly. A few years later, I left that company to run my own startup — as CTO. Believe in yourself and pursue your ideas!”
Building the missing link
In 2017, Andre started working on a research-driven innovation project called “Missing Link.”
Its mission was to create the missing connection between digital business processes — bridging isolated systems through semantic and secure automation.
This project became the technological seed that, two years later, evolved into Inhubber, co-founded by Elena Mechik, Leonid Sokolov, and Andre Sokolov, with the support of Humboldt Innovation and the EXIST program.
The architect of Inhubber’s secure technology
As CTO, Andre Sokolov is the technical architect behind Inhubber’s AI-powered contract management platform. He designed a scalable system that combines:
- Artificial Intelligence for automated contract analysis,
- Blockchain for transparent version control and immutable audit trails, and
- End-to-end encryption to ensure data security and user sovereignty.
Under his leadership, Inhubber became one of the few European SaaS platforms that allow users to sign and encrypt any file type — not only PDFs — directly in the system, while keeping full control over metadata and document integrity.
For Andre, security is not an afterthought — it’s a design principle. He often says that beautiful and efficient code means nothing if it doesn’t solve a user problem. That’s why, as a CTO, he puts user value and trust first in every technical decision.
Recognition and impact
Together with the founding team, Andre helped shape Inhubber into a recognized innovator in secure contract management and sustainability. The company has received recognition such as the Berlin Diversity Award (“Vielfalt unternimmt”) and has gained the trust of clients like EDEKA, TIER Mobility, and the OECD, as well as numerous German municipalities and NGOs.
Beyond technology
Outside of work, Andre finds balance in music and sports — playing guitar and piano, and practicing basketball and martial arts. He sees these activities as extensions of his professional mindset: discipline, rhythm, and creativity — essential ingredients for innovation.
Looking forward
As Inhubber continues to grow, Andre Sokolov envisions the next generation of AI-powered, interoperable, and quantum-safe contract management systems. His mission remains clear: to make technology not only powerful and secure — but also transparent, ethical, and truly useful for people.