Peter and Björn are cutting weeks of 3D simulation work down to minutes with HelloTriangle

Peter and Björn have worked with 3D models and simulations for more than fifteen years, and over that time they kept running into the same pains.

Modern products, from cars to medical devices, get designed and tested using advanced 3D computer simulations. Engineers use them to predict things like stress or airflow before a physical prototype ever gets built. But the workflows around those simulations have stayed stuck in the past, and that slows down product development across the board. Setting up a simulation, analysing the results, and writing up the findings usually means days or weeks of repetitive manual work, especially when a team has to run through dozens of design variants or load cases instead of just one.

On top of that, the 3D data those simulations produce gets locked inside expensive, specialist desktop software. When an engineer wants to share results with a manager or a customer, they end up building lengthy reports and presentations full of static 2D screenshots, and that makes collaboration slow and keeps everyone outside the software from properly exploring the results themselves.

HelloTriangle turns natural language into reusable workflows for 3D modelling and simulation, so engineers can move faster and share what they've found right away, without translating it into a slide deck first.

First things first: how did Peter and Björn ended up building this together

Peter and Björn met in 2018, when Peter, co-founder and CTO at FEops, brought Björn on as web team lead. FEops built AI-driven simulation technology that helped clinicians predict how structural heart devices like heart valves would interact with a patient's own anatomy, giving them a clearer picture before going into complex heart procedures. Peter and Björn worked closely together there for years, through the company being named Scale-up of the Year in 2022 and its acquisition by Materialise in 2024, which folded FEops' simulation technology into Materialise's cardiovascular planning software.

When it came time to start something of their own, they knew they worked well as a pair, and their skills complemented each other in the right ways.

Where things stand today

HelloTriangle launched its MVP at the end of 2025, and within six months had grown to more than 600 registered users around the world. The platform now includes AI-assisted workflows, browser-based 3D visualisation, an in-house 3D modelling engine, and result-sharing that doesn't require anyone to open specialist software to see what's going on.

On the commercial side, the team has already signed two projects with a large US-based company, and has its first paying customers and initial recurring revenue coming in. They've secured €100k in non-dilutive funding through VLAIO grants, and have started building market awareness through marketing and targeted outreach. The company has been international from day one: its key customer is based in the US, and its 600-plus users are spread across the globe.

What's next

Over the next year, HelloTriangle is aiming for more than 20 paying customers, a sales process that can scale, and a platform mature enough to become a genuinely superior solution for automating 3D modelling and simulation workflows.

The current challenge is sharpening the messaging. A good number of the users who sign up today aren't yet the customers HelloTriangle is really built for, so getting that alignment right is a priority alongside making the platform sticky enough that people keep using it, building a repeatable way to generate leads, and delivering well on the signed project with their US customer.

Why they joined imec.istart

Peter and Björn had no doubts about joining imec.istart. Part of the draw was the program's improved conditions: since April 2026, every startup joining imec.istart Belgium gets €100K in funding through a single Convertible Loan Agreement, with no upfront equity, replacing the previous 6% equity model. It's a founder-first structure that gives new companies room to focus on building rather than on early fundraising or valuation discussions. 
On top of that, an online info session made the non-financial support — coaching, collaboration with imec partners, and specific workshops — feel concrete and worth having.

Ann van Mele, their venture acceleration coach, put it clearly: the fit works both ways. The team brings deep expertise in medical devices and simulation, along with previous startup and exit experience from FEops and Materialise. They came in with a real, painful problem that costs their customers time and money today, early paying customers, successful pilots, and clear commercial interest already showing up in the market. Combined with a large and relevant market opportunity, that made HelloTriangle an easy addition to the program.