Modern product engineering requires the production of highly accurate digital simulations, allowing engineers to create prototypes and understand the real-world performance of materials. Currently, legacy software platforms from companies like IBM and Dassault are generally employed, but now powered by Generative AI startups are joining the arena.One such is Trace.Space, coming out of Riga, Latvia. This AI-driven platform has been designed for engineers to develop industrial products. Its now raised a $4 million seed round led by Cherry Ventures, with Riga-based Outlast Fund, as well as existing investors Nebular, Fiedler, and Change Ventures also participating.With Western manufacturing currently under enormous pressure to compete against its fast-paced Asian counterparts, the race is on to develop these platforms to speed up product development.Indeed, we recently saw the appearance of Luminary, as well as Dessia Technologies, which also has a platform to automate engineering processes through AI.Trace.Space is, in particular, designed for the process around the development of electric and autonomous vehicles, satellites, robots, semiconductors, and medical devices. Traditional solutions tend to be based on premise, whereas Trace.Space takes a modern, cloud computing approach. It can also allow manufacturers and suppliers to collaborate on shared product requirements, thus reducing response times.Janis Vavere, Co-Founder and CEO of Trace.Space, told TechCrunch: Every company in the world that builds complex regulated products in automotive, medical, aerospace, and so on, faces the issue that these products are becoming more and more complex, especially to design. The legacy tools and processes are struggling. IBMs tools for this were designed in the late 80s. Its a desktop client and needs to be installed on every computer.After working on Jama software, a more modern design platform for this, he realised the need for a Cloud-based, AI-driven approach: Its now the right moment to combine modern software architectures and UIs with AI, and apply them to these industries. Companies are looking for something better right now.And Trace.Space is not a mere AI wrapper he said: We use AI models like Llama and then some deterministic AI libraries, as well as aspects of OpenAIs LLM.Vavere was previously a sales leader at Jama Software and Lokalise; cofounder Karlis Broders has implemented Jama and Polarion in large-scale projects; and Mikus Krams previously worked in operations at Lokalise and Chili Piper.Commenting in a statement, Dinika Mahtani, Partner at Cherry Ventures, said: This is Cherry Ventures first investment in the Baltics Trace.Spaces, and they have an innovative approach to modernizing requirements management.