Builders
Rotterdam-based AI venture studio co-founding enterprise AI companies from day zero, offering a 30-week validation-to-build program, up to €500K staged capital, and its proprietary VSI operating system for AI-first founders across Europe.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersRotterdam, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Builders does
Builders is a Rotterdam-based AI venture studio that co-founds enterprise AI companies from day zero. The studio runs a 30-week program comprising 10 weeks of remote validation followed by up to 20 weeks on-site in Rotterdam, structured around a co-founding team, a dedicated Venture Builder, access to the CTO Network (2,400+ technical leaders) and Navigators (13+ exited operators), and up to €500K of staged capital in exchange for 15% preferred equity at incorporation (€150K SAFE at €6M cap plus optional up to €350K from the Builders fund at seed).
The studio's central technology is VSI (Venture Studio Intelligence), an AI-native operating system that ingests calls, documents, CRM, and market data; extracts and scores signals on an E1–E5 evidence scale; tracks strategic positions with drift detection; runs a six-step nightly autonomous cycle (Learn, Know, Reflect, Decide, Build, Reach); and produces morning briefings, weekly strategic triage, and live LP-facing datarooms. VSI is exposed via native, web, API, and MCP primitives, and is offered as a standalone SaaS from €179/month to any AI founder (free for Batch 0 participants). Every Builders portfolio company runs on VSI permanently, so the dataset compounds across batches; the studio reports 10,000+ founder conversations analyzed across 8 ventures built since 2021.
Builders operates four revenue streams: (1) VSI Platform subscriptions (self-serve SaaS from €179/month), (2) studio equity via 15% preferred at incorporation, (3) staged capital deployment via SAFE (€150K at €6M cap) plus optional follow-on from the Builders fund (up to €350K), and (4) fund management through Fund I (day-zero backing) and Fund II (€25M+ target, seed-stage co-investor). The active portfolio comprises Trigger (AI Content, 2026), Cortena (AI FinTech, 2025), Avery (AI Hiring, 2024), and Everday (AI Workforce, 2024); alumni include Influentials (acquired 2024) and IPS (acquired 2020), plus two invalidated ventures (Noon, Obeyo). The studio is venture-backed with €4.5M raised to date across a 2022 pre-seed and an October 2025 seed extension.
Builders firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Builders
- Legal name
- Builders Studio B.V.
- Website
- https://builders.studio
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Rotterdam-based AI venture studio co-founding enterprise AI companies from day zero, offering a 30-week validation-to-build program, up to €500K staged capital, and its proprietary VSI operating system for AI-first founders across Europe.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Builders industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Venture Studio
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Low-Code/No-Code Integration Builders (BPAMAOAL), Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures) (FSANAHAC)
Keywords
Where Builders is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rotterdam
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Builders business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- VSI Platform Subscription: Self-serve SaaS subscription for VSI starting from €179/month, with a free tier for every founder in Builders' batches. Recurring software revenue, distributed as self-serve to any AI founder.
- Studio Equity (Day-one Preferred): Builders takes 15% preferred shares in each co-founded venture at incorporation in exchange for studio team, VSI access, full-stack AI playbook, network, and Rotterdam HQ; founders/team retain ~85%.
- Staged Capital via SAFE: €150K SAFE from the studio at incorporation (€6M cap, no discount), with the optionality of up to €350K more from the Builders fund at seed — deployed against milestones, not against pitch decks.
- Fund I and Fund II Management: Builders operates Fund I (backs day-zero ventures) and is raising a €25M+ target Fund II to invest at seed on studio terms alongside institutional VCs, with direct co-investment optionality for studio-level investors. Fund II co-invests, does not lead.
- Seed Pro-rata / Follow-on Capital: Builders holds pro-rata at seed as an option (not a guarantee), exercised when there is conviction, diluting alongside founders as the company scales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | VSI Platform — self-serve AI founder operating system |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | Build with Builders — Batch 0 founder studio program |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Fund II LP commitment |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Builders product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Builders is an AI venture studio that co-founds enterprise AI companies from day zero. It sells the VSI (Venture Studio Intelligence) operating-system subscription (from €179/month, free for batch founders), runs a 30-week studio co-founding program with up to €500K staged capital per venture, operates a 2,400+ CTO Network and 13+ Navigator operator network, and backs portfolio companies through Fund I (day zero) and a target €25M+ Fund II (seed).
Product overview
Builders operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture anchored by VSI (Venture Studio Intelligence), its core operating-system product. VSI is the intelligence layer that captures every signal from calls, documents, CRM, and market data, scores evidence, tracks positions, runs drift detection, and produces morning briefings and weekly strategic triage; it is offered both standalone (from €179/month, free for Batch 0 founders) and as the spine of every Builders venture. Wrapped around VSI, Builders Studio is the co-founding venture-studio service that runs founders through 10 weeks of remote validation followed by up to 20 weeks on-site in Rotterdam, with up to €500K staged capital. The CTO Network (2,400+ technical leaders) and Navigators (13+ seasoned operators) are community modules that plug into studio ventures through VSI, while Fund I backs day-zero co-founded companies and Fund II invests at seed on studio terms. Co-founded portfolio ventures such as Trigger, Cortena, Avery, Everday, and Alaura run permanently on VSI, with alumni including Influentials and IPS (acquired) and Obeyo (invalidated). The Builder Investor House event series ties the system to operators, angels, and institutional VCs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- VSI (Venture Studio Intelligence): Builders' proprietary AI-powered operating platform that processes every founder conversation, extracts signals, scores evidence, and builds Company Memory. Available as a platform subscription from €179/month.
- Builders CTO Network
- Navigators
- Investor House
Products and services
- VSI (Venture Studio Intelligence) Platform AI-native operating system for AI-first founders that ingests calls, documents, CRM, and market data; extracts and scores signals on an E1–E5 evidence scale; tracks positions and runs drift detection; and produces morning briefings, weekly strategic triage, and overnight auto research. Exposed via Native, Web App, API, and MCP.
- Builders Studio — Build with us (co-founding program) Evidence-driven 30-week co-founding program for AI founders: 10 weeks of remote validation on VSI targeting ~100 market touchpoints and 5–10 signed design partners, then up to 20 weeks on-site in Rotterdam. Includes dedicated Venture Builder, CTO/Navigator network access, and up to €500K staged capital in exchange for 15% preferred at incorporation.
- CTO Network
- Navigators (operator network) On-call network of 13+ seasoned operators and exited founders covering software, data, sales, marketing, legal, and funding. Matched to ventures through VSI; no equity ask; included with the studio program.
- Fund I (day-zero venture capital fund) Builders' first fund backing the enterprise AI companies it co-founds from day zero. Holds 15–30% at incorporation and dilutes alongside founders; all portfolio companies run on VSI, giving LPs real-time evidence visibility.
- Fund II (seed-stage venture capital fund) Seed-stage fund (€25M+ target) investing at seed on studio terms in companies that have already navigated the studio model. Co-invests alongside institutional VCs rather than leading; offers studio-level investors direct co-investment optionality.
- Investor House (quarterly event series) Quarterly, invite-style events hosted at the HQ of leading European scaleups, built around one founder, one story, one evening of fireside, Q&A, and co-investment opportunities in studio ventures.
Companies that use Builders
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Builders technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability11 records
Feature6 records
Builders partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- PicnicflagshipPicnic (Amsterdam HQ) hosted the 11th edition of Builders Investor House in September 2025; CTO & Co-founder Daniel Gebler was the fireside speaker.
- LeadinfoflagshipLeadinfo's Rotterdam HQ hosted the 12th edition of Builders Investor House in late 2025; Leadinfo's Q (post-exit CEO, €5M→€20M ARR story) was the fireside speaker.
- umobflagshipumob (Rotterdam) co-hosted the 13th edition of Builders Investor House in March 2026; founder Bibi Jorissen delivered the fireside on acquiring a bankrupt mobility company and scaling to 21 countries.
- HelloPrintcoreHelloPrint's Rotterdam office hosted the May 2026 CTO Network Breakfast as a side event of the Upstream Rotterdam Festival 2026; CIO Michael presented on making AI the worker rather than the assistant.
- SnowflakeflagshipSnowflake's Amsterdam HQ hosted the May 2026 CTO Network Breakfast on spec-driven development; partnership included Inkef and Altura.
- AlturacoreAltura's Senior AI Engineer Martijn delivered the featured talk on fully spec-driven development at the May 2026 CTO Network Breakfast; team has run spec-driven since January 2026.
- DatabricksflagshipDatabricks' Amsterdam HQ hosted the first Builders CTO Breakfast in December 2025 on building agentic AI systems in production.
- Up!Rotterdam (Upstream Rotterdam Festival)minorUp!Rotterdam partnered with Builders to bring the May 2026 CTO Network Breakfast into the city during the Upstream Rotterdam Festival 2026.
- OSS VenturescoreOSS Ventures (Paris-based manufacturing-focused studio) joined Builders for an in-person Studio Roadshow in Rotterdam on January 21, 2026 — full-day comparison of venture studio operating models, validation, tech standardization, and capital structures.
- MstudiocoreMstudio (Brussels HQ, Côte d'Ivoire) joined Builders for the 4th Studio Roadshow in March 2026 to compare AI-augmented venture-building playbooks across West Africa and Europe; Mstudio runs 100+ AI agents across its playbook.
- Polymath VenturescorePolymath Ventures (Mexico/Colombia) partnered with Builders for the 2nd Studio Roadshow in December 2025 on building B2B SaaS go-to-market from day zero.
- High AlphacoreHigh Alpha (US) was Builders' first Studio Roadshow partner for an online session on GTM.
- Google (Google Meet, Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Drive)coreGoogle Meet, Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Drive are listed as native VSI ingest sources, enabling continuous transcription, signal extraction, and evidence scoring across meetings, mail, and documents.
- Zoom / Microsoft TeamscoreZoom and Microsoft Teams are listed alongside Google Meet as VSI's meeting ingestion layer for conversation intelligence and signal extraction.
- NotioncoreNotion is one of VSI's six connected sources for document ingestion and Company Memory synchronization.
- DATEV / Exact Online / TwinfieldcoreThese three accounting platforms are the embedded integrations inside Cortena's pre-accounting AI agent, allowing it to handle invoice booking without manual exports.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Builders competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Antler: Global venture studio that co-founds companies from day zero across multiple geographies and sectors, takes equity, deploys staged capital, and operates cohort programs. Most direct functional comparable to Builders' co-founding + network + capital model, but at much larger scale and with broader geographic reach.
- Entrepreneur First: Talent-first venture builder that matches co-founders, runs intensive cohorts, and provides initial capital in exchange for equity. Operates across Europe, Asia, and the US. Closely comparable in cohort cadence, equity-for-capital model, and operator network structure to Builders.
- High Alpha: US-based B2B SaaS venture studio that conceives, launches, and funds enterprise software companies with a partner-led model. Direct functional peer to Builders' B2B AI venture approach; already collaborates with Builders via Studio Roadshow.
- Atomic: B2B SaaS venture studio based in the US that co-founds companies with operators, deploys staged capital, and provides a partner-led support model. Closely aligned in target vertical (B2B SaaS), equity structure, and venture-building methodology.
- Pioneer Square Labs: Seattle-based venture studio that co-creates B2B software startups from scratch using a structured studio process and staged capital deployment. Comparable in methodology, equity-for-capital model, and B2B SaaS vertical focus.
- Science Inc. US venture studio that builds, acquires, and invests in internet and software companies with a studio operating model. Comparable in co-founding + capital + studio-ops approach, though historically skewed toward consumer/internet rather than enterprise AI.
- Bolt (Bolt Ventures): US venture studio that co-creates and invests in software companies with a hands-on studio approach. Comparable in co-founding model, equity-for-support structure, and venture-builder involvement.
Emerging players
- Mstudio: Brussels/Côte d'Ivoire-based venture studio using 100+ AI agents across its venture-building playbook. Direct functional comparable in AI-augmented studio methodology; already a Builders Studio Roadshow partner. Smaller and more regionally focused.
- OSS Ventures: Paris-based venture studio focused on industrial and manufacturing ventures with a co-founding + studio model. Comparable in studio operating methodology; already a Builders Studio Roadshow partner. More verticalized and smaller scale.
- Polymath Ventures: Mexico/Colombia-based venture studio building B2B SaaS companies from day zero in Latin America. Direct functional peer in co-founding B2B SaaS playbook; already a Builders Studio Roadshow partner. Regional scope limits direct competition but methodology is highly comparable.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Builders social profiles
Digital presenceBuilders financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Builders leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Builders subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
Builders funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Builders M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments3 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Builders
What does Builders do?
Builders is an AI venture studio that co-founds enterprise AI companies from day zero. It sells the VSI (Venture Studio Intelligence) operating-system subscription (from €179/month, free for batch founders), runs a 30-week studio co-founding program with up to €500K staged capital per venture, operates a 2,400+ CTO Network and 13+ Navigator operator network, and backs portfolio companies through Fund I (day zero) and a target €25M+ Fund II (seed).
Is Builders a public or private company?
Builders is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Builders founded?
Builders was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Builders based?
Builders is headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Builders make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. VSI Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are studio Equity (Day-one Preferred), staged Capital via SAFE, fund I and Fund II Management and seed Pro-rata / Follow-on Capital.
Who are Builders's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Antler, Entrepreneur First, High Alpha, Atomic, Pioneer Square Labs, Science Inc. and Bolt (Bolt Ventures). Emerging players are Mstudio, OSS Ventures and Polymath Ventures.
Does Builders have an API?
Yes. VSI exposes a public-facing API and an MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration as part of its interface layer (alongside Native and Web App). The MCP primitives are an open protocol that lets any AI agent read the Company's Company Memory and act on it, positioning VSI as the operating layer for the rest of a founder's stack rather than a closed app. Concrete data ingestion sources exposed through the platform/API include Google Meet, Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Drive, Read.ai, Notion, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack, with capabilities spanning conversation intelligence, signal extraction, position tracking, drift detection, auto research, and orchestration. Developer documentation is at builders.studio/vsi.
What industry is Builders in?
Builders's product category is AI Venture Studio. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAH, Venture Studios / Company Builders, with a secondary code of BPAMAOAL, Low-Code/No-Code Integration Builders. Its NAICS code is 54131 and its SIC code is 7371.