The Faktory

The Faktory is a venture capital firm and accelerator based in Angleur, Belgium, specializing in the incubation and early-stage funding of startups, particularly in the broadcasting and business-to-business sectors. Founded in 2013 by Pierre L’Hoest, the firm focuses on innovative technologies, emphasizing the Internet of Things and connected devices. The Faktory invests between €0.2 million and €1 million per transaction, typically acquiring a minority stake of around 30%. With over €4.5 million in capital under management, it has supported 11 companies in markets such as consumer electronics, high-technology, gaming, and SaaS. The firm employs a structured approach to nurturing startups, utilizing methodologies like Lean Startup and Business Model Canvas to ensure thorough market analysis and customer validation. Additionally, The Faktory collaborates with Boldstart Ventures to leverage their extensive experience in venture capital and successful exits.

Simon Alexandre

EVP General Manager and Partner

18 past transactions

Zozio

Seed Round in 2022
Developer of a digital companion designed for industrial operators based on AI algorithms. The company's platform intends to change the way people work in the factory by creating Factory 4.0 and collecting, visualizing, and analyzing field data in real-time within the industrial site and outside making the factory more efficient, improving the working conditions of the operators and minimizing the waste of resources, enabling supply chain of manufacturers to improve their competitiveness on an international scale.

Nestwave

Venture Round in 2021
Nestwave SAS, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Paris, France, specializes in geolocation systems designed for low power consumption and effective indoor coverage. The company provides advanced geolocation solutions tailored for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, specifically targeting IoT modem and digital signal processing (DSP) vendors. Nestwave's patented hybrid-signal technology enhances localization accuracy, particularly in challenging environments such as indoor spaces and dense urban areas, while also minimizing power usage and the overall size of the solution compared to traditional methods.

IVEX

Seed Round in 2020
IVEX NV is a Belgian company established in 2017, specializing in the development of artificial intelligence products for autonomous vehicles. The company's offerings include cloud-based tools designed to assess safety and co-pilot software that facilitates control, planning, decision-making, and communication for autonomous driving systems. Drawing on extensive research conducted at KU Leuven University, IVEX aims to enhance the safety of autonomous driving platforms, leveraging its unique intellectual property and the team's expertise in behavior planning and functional safety. With clients such as Renault, VDL, and Kobi, IVEX is committed to advancing reliable autonomous systems, with the ambitious goal of reducing traffic fatalities to zero by 2030. The company operates from its headquarters in Heverlee, Belgium, and maintains an additional office in California, United States.

MyCellHub

Seed Round in 2019
MyCellHub.com is a pre-startup from the KULeuven in the biotherapeutics industry that aspires to reform the way cell production processes are organised. With a regulatory compliant Saas-platform for data management and analytics, we increase the efficiency of your manufacturing processes, provide actionable insights via cell culture specific process analytics and facilitate regulatory compliance by means of a real-time audit trail and automated batch records.

Nestwave

Venture Round in 2019
Nestwave SAS, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Paris, France, specializes in geolocation systems designed for low power consumption and effective indoor coverage. The company provides advanced geolocation solutions tailored for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, specifically targeting IoT modem and digital signal processing (DSP) vendors. Nestwave's patented hybrid-signal technology enhances localization accuracy, particularly in challenging environments such as indoor spaces and dense urban areas, while also minimizing power usage and the overall size of the solution compared to traditional methods.

Kensu

Seed Round in 2018
Kensu SA, founded in 2015 and based in Seraing, Belgium, specializes in data intelligence solutions aimed at enhancing the agility, maintainability, and productivity of data science teams. The company has developed Adalog, a tool that enables data scientists to streamline their workflows, allowing for quicker deployment and adaptation to changing business needs. Kensu’s offerings provide organizations with a real-time, contextual understanding of their data processes, covering aspects such as data origin, movement, transformation, and quality. This focus on data intelligence helps businesses progress towards digital maturity by maximizing the value and usability of their data.

BDM Reco

Seed Round in 2017
BDM Reco is a data science company developing a real time content and user recommendation engine.

e-peas

Convertible Note in 2016
e-peas SA specializes in the design and manufacture of energy autonomous systems for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Founded in 2014 and based in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, the company focuses on creating solutions that enable IoT nodes to harness energy from their environment, including sources such as solar, thermal, vibration, and radiofrequency. e-peas develops energy harvesting power management integrated circuits (PMICs) and microcontrollers that enhance the performance and efficiency of IoT devices by extending battery life or eliminating the need for battery replacements altogether. Their products serve various sectors, including home automation, industry, retail, smart metering, healthcare, mobility, security, and agriculture, contributing to smarter, more sustainable technology solutions.

Kanopy Technologies

Seed Round in 2016
Kanopy Technologies reinvents the way we care for plants with the smart and reliable Kanopy25. Connected to our smartphones, Kanopy25 monitors your plant's watering needs by measuring its weight permanently. Equipped with an automatic watering pump, all you need to do left is to enjoy your plant and to fill up the water tank every now and then. Thanks to this innovative system, we are now able to give our plants exactly what it needs to survive and also to grow in the long-term.

Altostratus

Seed Round in 2016
Altostratus is the maker of Pioupiou, a connected wind gauge that reads the speed and the direction of the wind and is ready for deployment practically anywhere. Pioupiou can sustain itself in remote areas therefore it needs no electrical nor WiFi connections. With Pioupiou, you can read wind measurements in real-time via your smartphone, tablet or computer and share reliable data within Pioupiou’s community.

WhiteCrow Tech

Seed Round in 2015
WhiteCrow Tech offers WhiteCrow Hub, a mountain bike wheel that enables its users to change the tire pressure while riding. It is used in fat and plus bikes. WhiteCrow Tech develops a closed air system that is able to hold a pressure level higher than that of the tire. WhiteCrow Tech was founded by Xavier Serret in 2014. It is based in Seraing, Belgium.

Riiot Labs

Seed Round in 2015
RIIOT LABS and its smart pool analyser, blue by Riiot, tell the user in real time if his/her pool is fine for a dip. The sensor continuously measures the key parameters of swimming pools, such as temperature, pH, active chlorine or salinity levels. Data are instantly analyzed and communicated to the user via a mobile application or through notifications to people who take care of the pool.

e-peas

Seed Round in 2015
e-peas SA specializes in the design and manufacture of energy autonomous systems for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Founded in 2014 and based in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, the company focuses on creating solutions that enable IoT nodes to harness energy from their environment, including sources such as solar, thermal, vibration, and radiofrequency. e-peas develops energy harvesting power management integrated circuits (PMICs) and microcontrollers that enhance the performance and efficiency of IoT devices by extending battery life or eliminating the need for battery replacements altogether. Their products serve various sectors, including home automation, industry, retail, smart metering, healthcare, mobility, security, and agriculture, contributing to smarter, more sustainable technology solutions.

Herrmutt Lobby

Venture Round in 2014
Herrmutt Lobby is a collective that unites musicians, handymen, and programmers with the primary goal of creating innovative hardware and software solutions. The organization specializes in developing a platform that facilitates collaboration among musicians from diverse backgrounds. Herrmutt Lobby offers a range of services, including the creation of software, controllers, and applications designed to enhance live performances. These tools allow musicians to express their creativity spontaneously, enabling them to play interactive songs through a multitouch graphic interface that responds to swipes and taps on colored objects. This focus on interactive and evolving technology supports musicians in delivering dynamic and engaging performances.

Foobot

Seed Round in 2014
Foobot, operated by Airboxlab S.A.S., specializes in the development and manufacturing of indoor air quality monitoring devices aimed at enhancing household environments. Founded in 2013 and based in Sanem, Luxembourg, the company provides a mobile application that displays real-time data collected by its monitoring devices, allowing users to actively manage their air quality. Additionally, Foobot’s platform leverages artificial intelligence to optimize HVAC system control, making predictions based on indoor conditions and weather forecasts. This approach not only helps improve the indoor climate but also enables users to achieve energy savings in their spaces.

Wishbone

Seed Round in 2014
Wishbone biomaterial is the avant-garde bone substitute for dental implants. Wishbone is an innovative medical device company founded by internationally renowned clinicians in the sector of periodontology and dental surgery. Wishbone biomaterial is a novel range of bone graft substitute for dental implants made of pure and optimized bovine hydroxyapatite, the mineral part of bovine bones (veal originating from Belgian cattle). Wishbone developed an innovative manufacturing process, which guarantees organic constituent removal while preserving the hydroxyapatite structure similar to human bone. The structure, granulometry and purity of Wishbone biomaterials are optimized to improve biocompatibility, ostegenesis and handling.

Abrakam SA

Seed Round in 2014
ABRAKAM SA develops games. It offers Faeria, a strategy card game that meets living board, which gives users the ability to shape the board as they play to create strategies. The company’s game is compatible with Mac OSX and Windows (7, 8, 9, and 10 versions). ABRAKAM SA was founded in 2013 and is based in Seraing, Belgium.

Sharebox

Seed Round in 2013
Sharebox SPRL operates a platform that helps HR to improve the links between their employees by creating a community in which they can share their passions. It offers Sharebox, which helps client’s enterprise to build the social graph inside the building. The company is based in Brussels, Belgium.