Helmut Marko has invested in an AI platform that allows people to deliver personal messages at their own funerals. Image: XPB Images
The Austrian has backed a startup called Lebensstimmen, known internationally as Words That Remain, which is developing technology that allows people to prepare personal farewell messages to be delivered after their death.
The unique project was unveiled at a press conference in Vienna last week, with Marko appearing alongside the company’s founders and Austrian cathedral pastor Toni Faber.
Described as an AI-based avatar platform, the service allows users to prepare messages during their lifetime, choosing who receives them and under what circumstances they are delivered.
It even offers the possibility of someone addressing mourners at their own funeral, despite having already died.
At the announcement, the 1971 Le Mans winner drew a parallel between his latest investment and the role of technology in motorsport.
“This project is using very new technology, mainly AI. So it offers a very unique opportunity for the last will, and also the possibility that the one who died speaks personally at his funeral,” Marko said.
“It is surrounded by experts and very well educated and trained on the technical and on the law side. And the market I see is worldwide.
“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.”
Another feature of the venture is the ‘Fabertar’, an AI eulogist developed in collaboration with Faber, who serves as Cathedral Pastor of St Stephen’s in Vienna.
The technology is intended to provide funeral speeches when families want them or when a traditional speaker is unavailable, rather than replace existing religious or funeral services.
According to the company, the AI-assisted messages will be based on information provided by real people, reviewed by humans and clearly identified as involving artificial intelligence.
It has also enlisted legal and technology partners to address privacy, security and the handling of messages intended to be delivered after someone’s death.
The investment represents an unexpected new direction for Marko, who departed Red Bull at the end of 2025 after more than two decades as one of the organisation’s most influential figures.
During his time overseeing Red Bull’s junior driver program, he helped develop the careers of several future F1 stars, including Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
Since leaving the team, Marko has maintained a relatively low public profile, although he recently returned to the headlines with comments about Liam Lawson’s future at Racing Bulls and allegations made by former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner in his autobiography.
The financial details of Marko’s investment have not been disclosed.