Imec is the world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Here, you’ll find the expertise of more than 5,500 scientists and researchers in these domains.

Imec collaborates with numerous acclaimed universities and companies from around the world. But it also strives to give startups and entrepreneurs a head start on their road to market. Find out more about imec.

Imec.istart is a fund and business acceleration program that guides your tech startup through its first steps on the market.

If you’re selected for imec.istart, you get 12-18 months of coaching, €100K pre-seed funding and an extensive coaching program – including office space. This helps you to pass important milestones on your road to success:

• Product-readiness - reach a fully functioning solution
• Market-readiness – you prove that there is a sufficient market for your solutions. Ideally by presenting your (first) paying customers.
• Growth-readiness – as a founder and entrepreneur, you acquire the necessary skills and know-how to build your startup into a success. And to install the processes that ensure your long-term growth.
• Investor-readiness – you have access to a number of relevant funding sources to fuel your further growth.

The imec.istart program fully supports you for 12 months. Are you a deep tech startup? Then the period is extended to 18 months. That gives you the opportunity to acquire the needed specific certifications.

However, your graduation from the program does not necessarily mean the end of all support from imec.istart. As long as we’re a shareholder, we’ll continue to help you with access to funding, talent, networking and other services.

Not at all. We only ask for genuine commitment to our accelerator program. That’s all we require from you—no invoice will be coming your way. In fact, you’ll receive additional financial support from us, including 12 months of housing, video production, PR, and personalized mentorship sessions with our workshop experts.

We can’t help you if your company is:

• a consultancy firm, agency, engineering bureau or third-party software development house, such as a general project-based business or pure service company
• a startup with a product that targets industries such as gambling or pornography
• a startup that develops me-too products without a novel technology component, disruptive business model or other innovative feature

There are many successful graduates from the imec.istart program, and their numbers grow every year. A few notable examples are Deliverect, Ontoforce, Twikit, Waylay, UgenTec and Lightspeed (formerly POSiOS).

Browse through the complete portfolio

Young and ambitious tech-based startups like yours can choose from a wide range of accelerator programs. But imec.istart is different. Because imec.istart:

• is backed by imec, one of the world’s leading research institutes on new digital and nanotechnologies. That gives you unique access to the knowhow of no less than 5500 researchers.
• has a unique network of investors and over forty industry partners such as ING, BNP Paribas Fortis, Cronos, UCB and Pfizer.
• is consistently ranked among the best programs in Europe and even the world. In 2023, UBI Global ranked us as the number one university-business accelerator worldwide.
• provides a longer period of support: 12 to 18 months instead of the 3 to 6 months that most programs offer. In other words: you’re supported for at least one full sales cycle – ample time to build solid fundamentals for your startup.
• accurately measures your progress. Our Innovatrix tool monitors your achievements and benchmarks them against those of your peers. This provides us and you with additional insights.
• has supported over 350+ startups, a large portion of which consists of high-growth scale-ups with an above-average survival rate. That vast experience ensures support practices with proven efficiency and a wide network of entrepreneurs to learn from.

We have corporate partners with expertise - like health, cleantech, logistics, fintech, hardware,... That are definitely eager to get to know you. Discover all of our partners on our partner page.

Selected startups receive €100,000 in pre-seed funding through a founder-friendly convertible loan (CLA), including a valuation cap and discount that is tailored to the startup.

No. We no longer take a fixed 6% equity stake.
Instead, our €100k investment converts into shares only during your next funding round, based on the valuation cap and discount in the CLA.
This gives you:
- More flexibility early on
- A model that combines even more easily with other investors
- A founder-first setup where you keep control until a proper priced round

Yes. For deep tech startups in capital‑intensive fields, such as nanotechnology, electronics, quantum computing, photonics, medtech, and robotics, imec.istart applies a separate investment policy.

If an applicant falls within this scope and the imec.istart investment committee decides the startup would be eligible for the deep tech deal, the deep tech investment can be summarized as follows:

• The cash investment typically is also initially 100K (but the investment committee can deviate from these numbers, with a maximum of 300K) and is also offered as a Convertible Loan, which converts into equity in the next financing rounds.
• Most conditions as for the standard Belgian 100K initial investment apply (discount of 20%, maturity 18 months etc).
• However, there is one important difference: For deep tech investments, the cap on conversion is set at 5 million EUR.
• Other eligibility criteria would also remain identical (at least 2 co-founders, at least proof of concept needed, ...). These deep tech ventures also go through our normal selection process.

No. The investment is an essential part of the imec.istart program.
It ensures long-term alignment and makes it possible for us to offer extensive coaching, network access, and fundraising support.

You can still apply if you have already acquired other funding.
You wouldn’t be the first: every imec.istart cohort contains startups who are mainly attracted to our coaching program. You can always combine imec.istart with other sources of funding.

Mostly yes - with two sensible limitations meant to help you grow sustainably:
1. Product development is capped at 30%. We want you to focus on both product AND market validation.
2. Founder salaries cannot be paid with our initial €100K. Employee salaries are fine. Founders can pay themselves once other funding or revenue is available.

Otherwise, you’re free to use the money needed to build your business.

Absolutely. Fundraising support is a core part of our program.

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On fundraising, we help you with:

• Funding strategy
• Storytelling & pitch refinement
• Investor readiness & data room
• Warm introductions
• Pitch opportunities at our biannual Investors Day (100+ active investors)

On average, every €1 we invest leads to €35 in follow-on funding for our startups.

The imec.istart fund was created with the support of the Flemish Government and strong private partners: ING, BNP Paribas Fortis, Telenet, Cronos Group, Vlaamse Energie Holding, EFIN, Verhaert and Nuhma.
Together, they provide the financial resources and non‑cash support needed to help early-stage tech startups grow.

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Today, the fund operates as an evergreen fund - meaning it is self-sustaining. When startups in our portfolio succeed and returns flow back, that capital is reinvested directly into new startups. This creates a long-term, healthy cycle of support for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

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The evergreen model fits perfectly with what imec.istart stands for:

• Founder-first - no pressure for quick exits
• Pay-it-forward - today’s successes help tomorrow’s startups
• Long-term ecosystem stability
• More flexibility in how we support founders over time

Thanks to the Flemish Government and our private partners, imec.istart can continue backing ambitious tech startups for many years to come.

No. But, don’t give up! Apply for a program that helps you to flesh out your ideas, such as Bryo (Dutch-language guidance only), SportUp Boost or Starterslabo (also open to non-Dutch speakers). Once your working proof of concept is ready, come back to us.

You’ll go through two selection phases:

Your entry is evaluated on paper by the investment committee of the imec.istart fund. Do they like your project? And does it fulfill all the requirements? Then you’re part of the pre-selection of startups that enter the second phase.

You’re invited to pitch your project in person. The investment committee asks you to give a detailed presentation of your business proposal, team composition and motivation.

In both phases of the selection process, you’re competing with other startups. Our resources are limited: we sometimes have to turn down a promising project because other ones are simply even better. So, make sure to pull out all the stops for your application.

Yes, we always give constructive criticism to help you strengthen your project. Even if you’re not selected for the program.

Enhance your selection chances by coming up with:

A product that:

• is highly technically or technologically innovative
• responds to a clear customer need
• is backed by the outline of a business model
• has at least one clear and strong differentiator
• is ready to compete in a defined and sufficiently large market

A core team that:

• is committed and willing to bear the entrepreneurial risk
• is capable of pushing technological boundaries
• embraces external coaching
• is ready to go global
• can show a finished proof of concept of the technology, including a sketch of the required actions regarding freedom to operate (FPO) and intellectual property rights (IPR)
• envisions the possibility of a break-even within two to three years
• aims at a sales figure of at least 1 million euro within three years and 10 million euro in the long term

Those last two points address the financial viability of your startup. So, you might think that they’re more important than the others. Actually, the opposite is true. If two proposals are equally strong, imec.istart will choose the one that excels in technological innovation and business orientation and has a clear ambition for societal impact.

Attach the following documents to your online application:

• executive summary of your project
• business pitch (slide deck)
• short demo movie of your working prototype

Applications are open during the following periods:

• 1 Jan – 31 Jan 2027 (closes 31 Jan 2027, 23:59 CET)
• 1 May – 31 May 2027 (closes 31 May 2027, 23:59 CET)
• 1 Sept – 30 Sept 2027 (closes 30 Sept 2027, 23:59 CET)

Your application will be evaluated by:

• the imec.istart BE team
• the imec.istart fund partners (ING, BNP Paribas Fortis, Telenet, Cronos, Nuhma, Verhaert, Vlaamse Energie Holding and EFIN)
• one independent member (currently Tom Vroemans, founder and CEO of November Five)

Yes, you can apply twice with the same project or product.

Yes, all of the program communications and workshops will be in English.

The startup journey can be tough, and our experience tells us that solo-founders have significantly lower chances of success. That's why imec.istart only accepts startups with at least 2 co-founders, of which at least 1 is willing to commit full-time upon acceptance into the program. Still looking for your partner in crime? Participate in one of our upcoming startup matchmaking events!

If you’re incorporated in another country, you can still apply.

For startups from the EU (+ UK, Noorwegen en Zwitserland), Zwitserland, USA & Canada, you will have to demonstrate a link with Belgium, such as having a subsidiary in Belgium or a collaboration with a local research institute.

For startups from other regions, you will have to move your headquarters to Belgium in order for us to invest in your company.

Know that foreign entrepreneurs, i.e. non-EU entrepreneurs, need a work permit (and therefore temporary residence permit) to set up their business in Belgium. We're proudly recognized by the Flemish government as an accredited accelerator through which foreign entrepreneurs can obtain their permit more easily.

Yes, you can. But once you’re selected, make sure you’re incorporated before the program starts. After all, we need a company to invest in.

Yes, as long as:

• the intellectual property (IP) belongs entirely to your spin-off. We understand that the IP agreement with imec or the university may not yet be fully finalized; however, we can only proceed with an investment once the company is established and IP negotiations are complete. While we do not actively participate in the IP negotiation process, we can provide guidance based on the experiences of similar spin-offs in our portfolio (approximately one in six). You may apply before the IP agreement is signed, but we will wait to execute the investment and begin the program until a signed agreement is in place.
• the spin-off team is fully committed to making your project a success.

No, the amount of applications we receive at each open call is just too massive. However, don’t hesitate to send in your specific questions at any time through our contact page.

We usually accept between seven and twelve startups per cohort. But we refuse to tie ourselves to a fixed number. It’s a lot more important to select those startups that can really benefit from our program.

Typically three weeks after the submission deadline, you know whether you’re selected for the program. And our support starts as soon as you’ve signed your contract.

Yes, but that might prove too big a challenge for you, depending on the intensity of the other accelerator program. Because we expect you to dedicate sufficient time to the imec.istart program – including attendance at all sessions and events.

Yes, but we don’t recommend it. In our experience, startups who only work part time are less likely to succeed. So it improves your chances at selection and long-term success if you fully commit.

No, but you must be able to come to our office in Ghent or Antwerp for mandatory meetings such as quarterly acceleration boards and workshops. This amounts to an average of 1 week per quarter.

Most of our workshops are tailored to the needs of your startup. Those are mandatory and require at least one of your team to be present. Other workshops are optional. But if you want to reap all the rewards of our program, why would you skip them?

Yes. For one year, your startup has access to maximum three seats on one location – paid for by imec.istart. That only includes office space, not extras such as parking space or printing costs. And at De Krook in Ghent, the maximum is two spaces.

These offices are located in Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels, Leuven, Kortrijk, Liège, Genk, Hasselt, Mol and Geel.

We realize that starting up a business is already intense and challenging. The program doesn’t require your full-time presence. And we never fill up entire work weeks with workshop and events. All activities are spread over the entire duration of the program, giving you ample time to absorb the insights and putting them to good use.

Yes, by preparing you for and introducing you to our network of Belgian and international investors: business angels, VC funds, corporates, banks, crowdfunding platforms, ...

On top of that, we put you in the spotlight during the Investors Days that we organize twice a year for an international investor audience. And obviously, we’ll try to get you on stage at other events that are swarming with investors.

Incidentally, we might invest up to an additional 200.000 euro ourselves during or after the program.

Yes, just ask us who you would like to meet, and we’ll try to set up your introduction to national or international corporate decision makers. And you always remain welcome at our regular barbecues, Founders Circles and other network events.

You don’t have to, but we do prefer you to. And why wouldn’t you? It certainly makes it easier for you to receive extra support from us. Besides, Belgium has enough assets to justify keeping at least a significant portion of your activities here.

Just like any investor, our ultimate goal is to exit your startup at some point. But, of course, we’re not quite like any investor. Our big goal is to help you build a sustainable company in the long run. So, we’re happy to be patient until that happens.

On the other hand, don’t hesitate to contact us at any moment if you want to buy back our shares in your company.

Yes. Once your project is in an advanced stage, we’re happy to support you in crossing the borders. We have access to people and facilities around the world. And our dedicated internationalization officer helps you to connect with local players, guides you to promising events and advises you on how to do business abroad. Eventually, she will help you to set up a local subsidiary.

Rest assured, we only show your application to the imec.istart selection jury, which signs a confidentiality agreement. Because we get a lot of applications, and for other practical reasons, we don’t draw up an NDA. Is this an issue for you? Please contact us and we’ll discuss it.

We do our best not to. But companies and the products they bring to market often evolve over time. So we can’t completely rule out that they move on each other’s turf.

In any case, we always ensure that:

• there is never an exchange of sensitive data
• competitive companies are coached by different venture acceleration managers

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No, but you must be able to come to our required workshops, meetings, and events offline and in the Netherlands. This amounts to an average of 1 week per quarter.

For startups from Europe, USA, and Canada, you will have to demonstrate a link with Belgium, such as having a subsidiary in The Netherlands or a collaboration with a local research institute.