imec.istart

Splendid portfolio news! Wobby has just closed its first funding round, securing €1.1 million! 💸🚀 Wobby is an AI-powered platform that streamlines research for knowledge workers by bringing essential tools together in one place. By cutting research time by up to 75%, it lets journalists, analysts, and consultants focus on what matters: turning data into reliable insights—faster and smarter. With this new funding, they’re set to expand into new markets across Europe and make their first commercial move in the U.S. Wobby has raised seed capital from the SI3 fund of the Shaping Impact Group, V-Ventures, and imec.istart. Companies like Roularta, Belga, and Zimmo are already using their technology. Congrats Nathan, Amra Dorjbayar, and the whole Wobby team! Here's to redefining the future of research! 🔥📈 ➡️ Read more in Trends: https://lnkd.in/eJ2FXNmj

From health-focused breakthroughs to AI-powered decision-making, our latest applicant pool for the imec.istart Autumn 2024 Open Call reveals a lot about the future of tech innovation. Let’s delve into the stats and trends that have emerged from this round of applications!   📊 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:   HealthTech leads the charge (20%), Business Services (17%) follows closely, proving the demand for streamlined business efficiency tools. Exciting shifts are happening in Supply Chain, Mobility, EdTech, and AgriTech.   🤖 𝗔𝗜 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲:    AI for Natural Language Processing takes the crown (27%), with AI for Decision Support and IoT not far behind. The future is here, and it’s data-driven and connected!   👥 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: 75% of submitting startups feature 2-3 co-founders, highlighting the importance of teamwork in entrepreneurial success.   🌍 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵:   Belgium stands strong with 80% of submissions, but we’re thrilled to see entries from 16 countries including Estonia, the US, and Congo!   ➡ 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁: https://lnkd.in/eSNi9EC8   #imecistart #techstartups #opencall #stats #techtrends

About yesterday! 🚀🍻 Un grand merci à La Grand Poste, dups et Pierre-Alexis Léonard!

Limburg! We have an announcement to make 📢 … We're excited to unveil a brand new partnership with 5 key players in Limburg, aimed to supercharge entrepreneurship and innovation in the region! Proud to jump in this new adventure with: POM Limburg, Health Campus Limburg DC, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg (ZOL), Jessa Ziekenhuis and Wit-Gele Kruis Limburg.   Join us for the 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 on November 21! We’ll dive into the heart of Limburg's HealthTech scene and hear from key stakeholders including Bieke Van Gorp of FibriCheck and Roeland Buckinx, Manager of Health Campus Limburg DC. Afterwards, don't miss this opportunity to network and learn how you can become part of this thriving ecosystem! 🗓️ Thursday, November 21 🕕 6:15 PM - 9:30 PM CET 📍 Universiteit Hasselt , Auditorium H1, Campus Diepenbeek ➡️ Info & free registrations: https://lnkd.in/dprVHu7b   #imecistart #limburg #innovation #healthtech #kickoff #partnerships

📢⏰ 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼-𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻 📅 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟰! A great bunch of potential co-founders has already registered, and online meeting slots are filling up fast—don't say we didn’t warn you ...    Whether you want to join a brilliant idea to back as a co-founder or you already have a startup and need a partner-in-crime, this is your chance.    ➡ 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁—𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://lnkd.in/e93vzbuZ   ❤️👏 A round of applause to ConversationStarter.net, and all our supporting partners who make this event possible: BeCentral, edtechstation, Hangar K, Voka Oost-Vlaanderen, Jong Voka Oost-Vlaanderen , Le Wagon, hub.brussels, EUROQUITY - WE , AMS, KU Leuven Research & Development, StartLAB.BRUSSELS, In4care, SportUp, Vlerick Business School, La Grand Poste, UGent TechTransfer, Stad Gent, Gentrepreneur, Kick , MEDVIA, Wallonie Entreprendre, University of Antwerp, Leuven MindGate, Stad Antwerpen, Creativeskills.be, Flemish Games Association, Miles Ahead, Hubs4Growth, LRM, Verhaert | Masters in Innovation, We Are Founders, Flanders Make, SuperNova   #TheGrowthCollective • #sterkondernemen • VLAIO - Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship • Scale-Ups.eu    #imecistart #techstartups #cofounder #matchmaking

Solo is good, duo is dynamite! ✌️🧨 Portfolio founder Christina Hadinoto (Contour Lab) shares how our 𝗖𝗼-𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁, co-hosted with ConversationStarter.net, changed her life for good:   🗨️ "𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰-𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰-𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘤.𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 & 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰-𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.   𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱: 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰-𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯-𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰-𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮!" In other words: if you're still looking for that one special person to embark on your entrepreneurial journey, look no further! 📅 ✨ 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗖𝗼-𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟰𝘁𝗵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. ✍️ ➡ 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://lnkd.in/e93vzbuZ 📖 Read Christina and Ilias' full co-founding story: https://lnkd.in/eG-_yDP4

𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗰.𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 🎙️✨ 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝘀 | 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸! 👀    For the past 2 days, a selection of top tech startups pitched their innovative ideas to an expert jury at November Five, Antwerp.    What's at stake? A spot in the Autumn 2024 imec.istart cohort, which includes: 100K in funding with access to follow-up investment, coaching, workshops, imec technology network, mentors, experts, office space and so much more...    Who will make the cut? Stay tuned to find out! 📢✨ 🙏 A big thank you to our esteemed jury of fund partners, program partners, and investment partners for sharing their invaluable expertise.    AG Insurance, ARGAFIN, BNP Paribas Fortis, Comate Engineering & Design, Cronos Group, Deloitte, dups, EFIN, Ethias Ventures, Flanders Make, imec.istart future fund, In4care, ING Belgium, Jessa Ziekenhuis, LEAWARE, LUMIARES, November Five, NSX - Normalized Systems, NUHMA, Pfizer, Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀, Roche, Seeder Fund, Telenet, UCB, Verhaert | Masters in Innovation, Wit-Gele Kruis Limburg, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg (ZOL).    #imecistart #techstartups #pitching #coaching #funding #innovation #accelerator 

We’re currently midway through imec.istart Pitching Days, and the heat is on! 🎙️🔥 As we speak, tech startups are pitching their business ideas to a jury of experts, all competing for a spot in our Autumn 2024 cohort.   For Program Manager Elise Descamps and the entire imec.istart team, this is a calendar highlight. It’s a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with our valued jury members—a close network of fund, program and investment partners. Most importantly, it’s the moment we decide which tech companies and founding teams we’ll support with both our investment and our in-depth coaching program.   #imecistart #accelerator #techstartups #pitchingdays

🔙 Trip down memory lane! Who remembers our international mission to the Big Apple 🍎 in 2019? This amazing journey took us to New York City 🌆 with a group of thriving portfolio startups and corporate partners, providing valuable insights into expanding into the U.S. market. Check out our linked blog in the first comment for more details! Now it's your turn! ⏰ Last chance to join our “𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹: 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨.𝗦.” 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 and learn how to take your business overseas. Gain critical insights, get inspired, and receive personalized advice from market experts—everything you need to go global successfully! ✨ Bonus: 1-on-1 sessions with U.S. market experts! ⏰ When: 15 October, 14:00-16:30 (CET) 💻 Where: Online via MS Teams ➡️ Info & registrations: https://lnkd.in/eQzmiNby   VLAIO - Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship Startup.Flanders #imecistart #sterkondernemen #internationalization #techstartups #USmarket #goingglobal

Grab your post-its & roll out your business plans! 📝📊    You have 1 week left to apply for the imec.istart 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 🌱 – a 10-week pre-accelerator bootcamp designed for early-stage tech founders who want to validate their market, refine their business model, and align their team.    This program is packed with useful useful workshops and 1-on-1 expertise to help you get your startup on track!     Applications are coming in fast, so don’t miss out! 🔥 ➡️ Apply here: https://lnkd.in/eGus53AZ  ⏰ Deadline: October 18, 2024 – midnight sharp!    #imecistart #techstartups #launchprogram #earlystage #preaccelerator #opencall