Antwerp Startups to Watch in 2027: Verified Companies in Cybersecurity, AI, Climate Tech, Fintech and Industrial IoT
Antwerp is home to what its chemistry incubator BlueChem calls Europe's largest integrated chemical cluster, one of the continent's biggest ports and a university that spins out engineering companies, so it is no surprise that many of its startups sell to industry, logistics and large enterprises. It also has a few consumer brands that went global from a small office in the city. The 2026 version of this article listed ten Antwerp startups, but when we checked them, only three were really based in Antwerp: several were in Leuven, Ghent, Brussels or Mol, one was described as a carbon capture company when it produces medical isotopes, and one could not be found at all. For this 2027 edition we started again. In November 2026 we checked every company on its own website and in the Belgian Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO), the official company register: that it still operates, that it has an Antwerp address, what it sells and what it publishes about its funding. Facts we found only in an investor's post or the press are named with their source. The old names and why they are gone are listed near the end.
Quick answer: the Antwerp startups to watch in 2027 are Intigriti (bug bounty and ethical hacking), Loop (earplugs sold worldwide), Conveo (AI-moderated customer interviews), D-CRBN (turning CO2 into industrial feedstock), Pom (invoicing and payment collection), Sentiance (on-device driving and mobility AI), Aloxy (wireless sensors for chemical plants) and Maurice & Nora (students who help seniors and families at home). D-CRBN closed a EUR 17.5 million Series A in May 2026, and Conveo's investor Pitchdrive reported a $50 million Series A in September 2026. Loop, Intigriti and Pom are the only companies from the old list that we could confirm in Antwerp.
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Why Antwerp Matters for Founders in 2027
Antwerp's startup scene has three strengths. The first is industry: the chemical companies in the port area are potential first customers, and startups such as D-CRBN and Aloxy test their technology with chemical and energy companies next door. The second is the port itself: Port of Antwerp-Bruges is turning an 88-hectare site into the NextGen District for circular industry, with a demo zone where start-ups and spin-offs can scale up their pilots. The third is software for large companies, from Intigriti's ethical hacking platform to Conveo's AI research interviews. Antwerp is also close to Ghent, Leuven and Brussels, which is why so many "Antwerp" lists mix in companies from those cities.
For the wider picture, compare our guides to deep tech cities in Europe, the best countries for startups in Europe and the best cities for AI startups in Europe.
Antwerp Startups to Watch in 2027 Compared
Sources: each company's official website, its own news or legal pages and the Belgian KBO company register, checked 4 November 2026; investor and press facts as named. Amounts are in the currency of the announcement.
The Antwerp Startups to Watch in 2027
1. Intigriti: ethical hackers on demand
Intigriti runs bug bounty programmes: companies invite a community of ethical hackers to find security holes in their websites, apps and infrastructure, and pay only for confirmed vulnerabilities. It also sells pentesting as a service, vulnerability disclosure programmes and live hacking events, and is testing a reconnaissance product called CrowdRecon. Its homepage lists more than 400 active programmes, more than 150,000 verified security researchers and more than EUR 60 million in bounties paid, and names customers such as Monzo, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Nestlé, Red Bull and Intel. Its contact page gives its address as Klokstraat 16 in Antwerp, with a second office in London; the KBO register shows the company registered there in August 2016.
Lesson for founders: Intigriti turned a scattered community of freelance hackers into a product that companies can buy with a contract and a budget. Marketplaces that make an informal crowd safe to hire can win in very serious industries.
Best for: founders in cybersecurity and B2B marketplaces, and any startup that wants to see how a Belgian company sells to global brands.
2. Loop: earplugs that people want to be seen wearing
Loop makes reusable earplugs for concerts, sleep, focus and noise sensitivity, designed to look like jewellery rather than medical devices. According to its press page, Maarten Bodewes and Dimitri O founded it at the end of 2016; in June 2023 the company said it had sold more than 8 million sets, employed more than 250 people full time and ran its headquarters in Antwerp with hubs in Amsterdam, New York and Shanghai. Its homepage now says it is "loved by 14M customers". Its legal notice names Loop BV, at Lamorinièrestraat 33 in Antwerp, as the company behind the brand.
Lesson for founders: Loop took a boring, cheap product and made it a design object with its own brand. A product people are happy to show in public markets itself.
Best for: founders of consumer brands and direct-to-consumer shops who want to sell worldwide from a small European city.
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3. Conveo: an AI that interviews your customers
Conveo builds an AI moderator that runs video and voice interviews with real people and turns them into a searchable knowledge base for a company's research, marketing and product teams. It says it is trusted by more than 400 enterprise teams and is backed by Y Combinator. In its own funding post, Conveo says it was founded in April 2024, raised a $5.3 million seed round from Y Combinator, 6 Degrees Capital, Entourage Capital, Pitchdrive and Syndicate One, and works with brands such as Unilever, Orange, Sanofi and Google. The KBO register lists Conveo.AI at Frankrijklei 5 in Antwerp. According to its investor Pitchdrive, Conveo announced a $50 million Series A on 2 September 2026, with DST Global, Balderton Capital and Visionaries joining as investors.
Lesson for founders: Conveo went from founding to a $50 million round in about two and a half years by automating a slow, expensive service that big brands already paid for. AI products sell fastest where a budget already exists.
Best for: founders building AI for marketing and research, and any team that wants to talk to more customers. Interviews are also the core of validating a startup idea.
4. D-CRBN: turning CO2 into raw material for industry
D-CRBN uses its patented Plasma ARC technology, powered by electricity, to convert CO2 into carbon monoxide and syngas, the building blocks that chemical and steel companies use to make other products. It sells modular units that run on the customer's site, and its news page mentions a CO2 recycling pilot line, a EUR 2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council and a project with ArcelorMittal. On 26 May 2026 it announced that it had closed a EUR 17.5 million Series A led by Astaia, with SFPIM and the EIC Fund, to build its first industrial demonstration units and grow its team. Its address, Olieweg 95 in Antwerp, is the same building as the BlueChem incubator, and the KBO register shows it there since March 2021.
Lesson for founders: D-CRBN sells its customers a cheaper or cleaner input they already buy, not a climate promise. Climate tech that fits into an existing production process is easier to sell.
Best for: founders in climate tech, chemistry and hardware who need lab space and industrial partners close by.
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5. Pom: getting invoices paid faster
Pom automates what it calls the invoice-to-cash process: sending invoices through several channels, payment links and QR codes on invoices, and automatic follow-up of unpaid bills, with three products called POM Invoice, POM Payment and POM Collect. It says it is the back-end technology partner for payment requests sent directly into the Bancontact Pay app, and it claims that 40% of customers pay within 24 hours with its payment links. Its contact page gives its Belgian office at Lange Gasthuisstraat 29A in Antwerp and a Dutch office in Alblasserdam; the KBO register shows the company in Antwerp since August 2014. Pom calls its approach "social" debt management: helping people pay instead of only chasing them.
Lesson for founders: Pom grew by plugging into a payment app millions of Belgians already use. Partnering with the platform your customers trust is faster than asking them to adopt yours.
Best for: fintech founders and any company that sends many invoices to consumers.
6. Sentiance: driving and mobility insights inside your phone
Sentiance turns the sensor data in a smartphone into insights about how people drive, travel and live, and processes it on the phone so raw data does not leave the device. Its products cover driving insights, crash detection, mobility and lifestyle insights, and it builds them for motor insurers, gig and delivery platforms, transport authorities and car makers. Its site now presents Sentiance 3.0 as "AI-native behavioral intelligence for every mobile app". The KBO register lists Sentiance in Antwerp.
Lesson for founders: Sentiance made privacy part of the product, not a legal footnote. When your product depends on sensitive data, processing it where the user keeps control can open doors with cautious buyers such as insurers.
Best for: founders in insurtech, mobility, road safety and mobile AI.
7. Aloxy: sensors that tell a chemical plant which valves are open
Aloxy builds a wireless sensor that shows in real time whether a manual valve in a process plant is open, closed or in between, and an IIoT Hub to manage the devices. The sensors are certified for explosive environments (IECEx and ATEX) and use LoRaWAN, a long-range, low-power radio network. Its homepage quotes a BASF manager on fewer human errors. Aloxy is a spin-off of the University of Antwerp's engineering faculty, which lists it on its spin-off page, and its site names professors Maarten Weyn and Glenn Ergeerts as founders. Its office is at The Beacon, Sint-Pietersvliet 7 in Antwerp, where the KBO register shows it since November 2017.
Lesson for founders: Aloxy solves one narrow, expensive problem for one kind of customer. In industrial markets, a single sensor that prevents accidents can be the door into a much bigger platform sale.
Best for: founders in industrial IoT, hardware and deep tech who sell to the port and chemical companies.
8. Maurice & Nora: students who help seniors and families
Maurice & Nora connects seniors, busy families and employers with screened students who help with shopping, transport to appointments, gardening, help around the house, company and digital help. Its site says it has more than 5,500 screened students, is available across Belgium and fully insured, and gives its address at The Beacon, Sint-Pietersvliet 7 in Antwerp. The KBO register shows the company was registered in Antwerp in May 2025. According to Forbes Belgium, it won both Business Startup of the Year and the Golden BSA in the Platforms category at the Belgium Startup Awards 2026.
Lesson for founders: Maurice & Nora solves two problems at once: students want flexible paid work, and older people and families need trusted help. Two-sided platforms work best when both sides already feel the pain.
Best for: founders in care, social impact and local service marketplaces.
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Where Antwerp Startups Get Support
- The Beacon: a community and building at Sint-Pietersvliet 7 for tech companies that work on industry, the port, logistics, mobility and smart cities, with coworking, offices, meeting rooms and events. Aloxy and Maurice & Nora both give it as their address, and it hosted one of the selection pitches of the Belgium Startup Awards 2026.
- BlueChem: a ChemTech incubator at Olieweg 95 in the port area, with plug-and-play laboratories, offices and links to chemical companies, universities and funders. D-CRBN works from the same address.
- Start it @KBC: a free, one-year accelerator with no equity taken, coaching, workshops and a workspace in nine hubs in Belgium, including Antwerp. It takes 65 participants per cohort; the autumn 2026 programme started on 28 October 2026 and its site says the next application period is spring 2027.
- NextGen District: Port of Antwerp-Bruges is turning an 88-hectare site into a hub for the circular economy. Its NextGen Demo zone is where start-ups, scale-ups, spin-offs and pilot projects can test technology that has outgrown the lab before going commercial.
- University of Antwerp: its engineering faculty lists spin-offs such as Aloxy, and the university is the place to look for research-based founders and technology.
Women founders can also look at the programmes in our list of accelerators for female entrepreneurs in Europe and the grants for female entrepreneurs in Europe.
Antwerp Companies From the Old List That Changed or Could Not Be Verified
The 2026 version of this article listed ten companies, with figures such as "60% fewer vulnerabilities", "$3 billion in savings" and "75% carbon-capture efficiency" that had no source. We removed every one of them. Here is what we found about the names:
- AstriVax: a real biotech company, but its contact page gives its address in Heverlee, Leuven, not Antwerp.
- Axithra: registered in Ghent (Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde) according to the KBO register, and its site is about therapeutic drug monitoring, not the urban planning AI the old article described.
- Scrada: an e-invoicing software company whose site gives an address in Oosterzele, near Ghent.
- Intrepid AI: the KBO register lists Intrepid AI at a Brussels address, and its website did not load when we checked.
- PanTera: not a carbon capture company. According to its site, it is a joint venture of IBA and the Belgian nuclear research centre SCK CEN that aims to produce actinium-225 for cancer therapy, and the KBO register places it in Mol.
- Simera Sense: makes cameras for small Earth observation satellites; its site names Leuven as its global headquarters.
- Donna: we found no Antwerp HR software company under this name, so we removed it.
Loop, Intigriti and Pom from the old list are still operating in Antwerp and are in the list above, with facts from their own sites.
Which Antwerp Startup Should You Learn From?
- You run a marketplace or community: study Intigriti, which made a crowd of freelance hackers safe for big companies to hire.
- You build a consumer brand: study Loop and how design turned a cheap product into a global brand.
- You build AI for enterprises: study Conveo, which automated a service that brands already paid for.
- You build climate or chemistry tech: study D-CRBN, and talk to BlueChem and the NextGen District about space and pilots.
- You build fintech: study Pom and its partnership with Bancontact Pay.
- You work with sensitive data: study Sentiance and its on-device approach to privacy.
- You spin out of a university: study Aloxy, the University of Antwerp spin-off that sells to chemical plants.
- You build a social impact platform: study Maurice & Nora, which serves students and seniors at the same time.
How Founders Use Antwerp's Startup Scene
Look at who backs these companies: D-CRBN raised from Astaia, SFPIM and the EIC Fund, Conveo from Y Combinator, Pitchdrive and later DST Global and Balderton. If you build technology, compare those investors with the funds in our guides to deep tech VCs in Europe and early-stage VCs in Europe, and look at The Beacon, BlueChem and Start it @KBC next to the programmes in our list of startup incubators in Europe. Non-dilutive money helps too: D-CRBN used a European Innovation Council grant before its Series A, so read our list of grants for early-stage startups in Europe, and enter one of the startup competitions in Europe.
Meet the community at the startup events in Belgium and read the European startup ecosystem country by country before you choose where to register. Comparing cities? Antwerp's nearest neighbours in our series are Rotterdam startups to watch, Eindhoven startups to watch, Aachen startups to watch and Groningen startups to watch; further away, see Berlin, Zurich and Philadelphia.
Before you copy any of these business models, test them with real customers. B2B and deep tech founders often leave marketing until a funding round depends on it, so start early: list your startup in the F/MS marketing directories, publish your startup press release, and write about your product with the F/MS AI SEO Tool or the AI SEO Blog so customers, investors and AI assistants can find you.
FAQ About Antwerp Startups to Watch in 2027
Which Antwerp startups should I watch in 2027?
Our verified list: Intigriti, Loop, Conveo, D-CRBN, Pom, Sentiance, Aloxy and Maurice & Nora. Each still operates and has an Antwerp address on its official site or in the Belgian KBO company register, checked in November 2026.
Which Antwerp startup raised the most money recently?
Conveo, whose investor Pitchdrive reported a $50 million Series A on 2 September 2026 with DST Global, Balderton Capital and Visionaries. D-CRBN announced a EUR 17.5 million Series A on 26 May 2026.
Is Loop Earplugs from Antwerp?
Yes. Its legal notice names Loop BV in Antwerp, and the company says it was founded at the end of 2016 by Maarten Bodewes and Dimitri O, with its headquarters in Antwerp.
Is Intigriti a Belgian company?
Yes. Intigriti gives its address as Klokstraat 16 in Antwerp, has an office in London, and the KBO register shows it registered in August 2016.
Which Antwerp startups work in climate tech and chemistry?
D-CRBN turns CO2 into carbon monoxide and syngas for industry, and Aloxy makes wireless valve sensors for chemical plants. BlueChem and the port's NextGen District support this kind of company.
Why did AstriVax, Axithra and PanTera disappear from the list?
They are real companies, but not in Antwerp: AstriVax is in Heverlee (Leuven), Axithra is registered in Ghent and PanTera is registered in Mol. PanTera also produces medical isotopes, not carbon capture technology.
Where can startups get support in Antwerp?
The Beacon (tech community and coworking), BlueChem (chemistry incubator with labs), Start it @KBC (free one-year accelerator with an Antwerp hub), the NextGen District in the port and the University of Antwerp.
When can I apply to Start it @KBC?
The autumn 2026 cohort started on 28 October 2026 and applications are closed. Its site says the next application period is spring 2027 and the programme is free, with no equity taken.
What can founders learn from Antwerp startups?
Sell to the industries around you, partner with platforms your customers already trust, automate services that companies already pay for, and make privacy and safety part of the product.
Where can I get a backlink by writing about my startup?
You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools. Get a quality backlink.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
