imec.istart Spring 2026 Open Call Statistics

On February 1st, we wrapped up our imec.istart Spring 2026 open call — and wow, what a round it was. Every call gives us a sneak peek into the heartbeat of early-stage tech entrepreneurship: which industries are heating up, what founders are building, how teams form, and how far our community reaches across the map. This time, a record number of 107 startups took their shot. Apparently, “building a tech startup in 2026” is still a popular life choice.

And we’re excited to share the trends that shaped this edition.

1. Industries

This spring, Business Services took the crown, representing 24% of all applications. It’s a clear sign that founders are still laser-focused on rethinking the nuts and bolts of how companies operate.

And what sits under those business services? A surprisingly eclectic mix — but Construction, Security, and MediaTech stood out as the top “minor domains”.

Right behind them comes a familiar powerhouse: HealthTech (12%). Belgium’s health innovation ecosystem has been booming for years, and imec.istart plays a central role as the connective tissue between startups, hospitals, policymakers, and industry. It’s a complex field — regulations, compliance, long sales cycles — but that’s exactly why strong and specialized support matters. And it’s why Health/MedTech founders keep turning to us.

A diverse middle cluster follows at 7% each:

• · Security
• · FinTech
• · EdTech

Other industries represented include SportTech, MediaTech, ClimateTech, Supply Chain, and Consumer, capturing between 4%–6%, and a long tail of emerging sectors such as FoodTech, Telecom, Utilities, Construction, and FashionTech (~1–2% each).

One thing is clear: founders trust imec.istart with ideas across the spectrum — from well-established markets to totally new frontiers.

* These are the industries applicants have marked as their main industry, but their scope is often wider.

2. A growing international reach

Startups from 15 countries applied this round.

As expected, Belgium remains our home base with 79% of submissions, but the global footprint keeps expanding:

• · United States – 5 applicants
• · United Kingdom – 3 applicants
• · Luxembourg – 2 applicants
• · Netherlands – 2 applicants
• · And single entries from Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Moldova, Turkey, UAE

International interest isn’t accidental — our own expansion plays a big role. We’ve long been active in The Netherlands and Italy, and soon founders will also apply to imec.istart in Spain and Germany. Think of it as “same program, local flavor”: the same quality and expertise, deeply connected to the regional partners and ecosystems that matter.

3. Geographic reach - within Belgium

With Belgian startups making up most of the applicant pool, let’s dig deeper.

Among Belgian applicants:

• · 75% come from Flanders
• · 19% from Brussels
• · 6% from Wallonia

After 15 years of imec.istart in Flanders, this strong presence makes sense. Brussels continues to grow its vibrant startup scene, and Wallonia is gaining more momentum as well — our recent move into La Grand Poste (Liège) clearly didn’t go unnoticed.

Within Flanders, the frontrunners remain:

• · East Flanders – 22 applicants
• · Antwerp – 19 applicants
• · Flemish Brabant – 16 applicants

No surprises: Ghent, Antwerp, and Leuven act as innovation engines. Imec.istart’s longstanding presence in these cities — combined with strong universities investing heavily in student entrepreneurship and spin-offs — is clearly paying off.

4. Founding teams

At imec.istart, we focus on startups with multiple founders, and the data reflects it.

Except for one brave solo founder who applied anyway 😉, nearly every team had more than one founder:

• · 55% are two-founder teams
• · 31% have three co-founders

Some founders told us they met through our co-founder matchmaking activities, which confirms what we’ve always believed: people need structured, safe spaces to find the right partners.

Larger teams (5+ co-founders) do exist, but as many investors know, they can make cap tables messy fast.

👉 Still looking for a co-founder? Hop on our waiting list — a new matchmaking announcement is coming soon.

Wrapping Up

The Spring 2026 open call once again shows how vibrant, bold, and creative the early-stage tech scene is — in Belgium and beyond.

We’re incredibly excited to welcome the new cohort and support them as they grow from early-stage vision to scalable impact.

Interested in joining our community? We have open calls for imec.istart Belgium during the months of Jan, May and September. Join our waitlist to get notified when a next call opens.

Are you building a tech startup and looking for funding and support, but not sure what to expect from imec.istart? You can easily replay our info session, where we go through all the ins and outs of our program. Want to connect, or have specific questions about your startup idea? Feel free to reach out by scheduling an introductory meeting.