Meet the imec.istart BE Spring 2026 cohort

New ideas, new energy, new startups.

A new cohort is joining imec.istart.

This BE Spring 2026 cohort brings together nine startups working on problems in healthcare, construction, logistics, legal services, security, and cloud infrastructure.

Some are building deeptech. Others are improving workflows in industries that still rely on manual processes. Many of them apply AI and automation in practical ways - not as a buzzword, but as a tool to save time, reduce complexity, or make better decisions. 

Meet the startups! 

AORTEX (HealthTech): provides customized, lifetime-durable stent grafts for aortic aneurysm repair that can be delivered through 20% smaller catheters and produced in just 3 days, enabling minimally invasive treatment for more patients and expanding the addressable market by up to 30%.

SUMMO (Supply Chain): an agentic quoting and rate intelligence platform for complex logistics. Summo centralizes carrier rate sheets, automates rate processing, and helps teams generate accurate quotes in minutes instead of days while improving margins.

SYNK (MediaTech) : the operating system for modern content studios that unifies tools and workflows across production. By automating routine tasks and managing assets, versions, and collaboration in one platform, SYNK helps teams deliver content faster, more consistently, and at scale.

ARCHER & SUMMIT (AI Infrastructure): builds a context broker that connects company knowledge, guidelines, and workflows to AI tools. By automatically adding the right organizational context to every AI interaction, Archer & Summit enables more consistent, relevant, and usable AI output across teams and tools.  

BIMPROFIT (Construction): a SaaS-powered plug-in for BIM platforms that automates and optimizes MEP system design in non-residential buildings, reducing engineering time while improving performance and cost efficiency.

CLOUDKNIFE: (Cloud Infrastructure): a platform that helps companies and managed service providers optimize and automate cloud infrastructure using deep workload insights. CloudKnife provides explainable, safe-by-design recommendations and automation, enabling teams to reduce cloud costs with confidence.  

PRONECT (SecurityTech): a voice-first AI assistant for security guards that supports teams on the job by automating reporting and providing real-time guidance. SAM OnSite reduces onboarding and training time while giving security teams reliable, structured operational insights.

TAXEO (LegalTech): a platform that helps companies recover foreign VAT automatically by receiving invoice data directly from suppliers such as hotels, car rental companies, and event venues. By improving invoice quality, ensuring VAT compliance, and eliminating manual processing, Taxeo enables businesses to recover more VAT with less effort and full visibility into refund status.

FLOCKSCORE (Supply Chain) : the first open, contribute-to-access benchmarking platform for supplier performance intelligence - enabling companies to make better procurement decisions through shared industry data. 

 

Trends & Observations

Every cohort tells a story. This one is about AI becoming practical, infrastructure getting smarter, and founders fixing problems they’ve lived themselves.

Here’s what stood out to us.

AI inside everyday workflows  

Several startups are embedding AI directly into professional workflows.

Tools like Taxeo, Summo, SAM OnSite, and Archer & Summit help professionals do their work faster - whether that’s preparing tax files, generating logistics quotes, assisting security guards on site, or improving how teams interact with AI tools. 
The common theme: AI that helps professionals move faster without sacrificing expertise.

Infrastructure behind the scenes

Another pattern in this cohort: startups building infrastructure that most users never see.

CloudKnife, SYNK, and Archer & Summit focus on the layers underneath everyday tools. They help teams manage cloud environments, coordinate content production workflows, or structure company knowledge so AI systems work better.

These products often sit quietly in the background, but they can remove a lot of operational friction.

Deeptech meets industry expertise

Some founders are tackling highly specialized problems.

Aortex works on personalized medical implants. BIMproFIT improves engineering workflows in building design. FlockScore brings structured performance data to supplier management - an area where decisions are still often based on limited information.

In many cases, the founders experienced these problems firsthand before deciding to build a solution 

 

Looking ahead 

Over the coming months, these nine teams will work closely with the imec.istart program to accelerate their product development, sharpen their go-to-market strategies, and prepare for their next stage of growth.

We’re excited to see how these founders evolve their technologies and push their industries forward. 

 

 

Do you want to be part of the next cohort? 

Join our imec.istart accelerator program and gain access to pre-seed funding starting at €100K, tailored guidance from our experts in residence, and a vibrant community of like-minded entrepreneurs. 

We hold three open calls per year: 
> Spring Open Call – apply by January 31
> Summer Open Call – apply by May 31
> Autumn Open Call – apply by September 30

Register now for our upcoming online info session webinar about our program.