DataScouts
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersStrombeek-bever, Belgium
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What DataScouts does
DataScouts (legal entity We Connect Data BV) is a Belgian scale-up founded in 2016, headquartered in Strombeek-Bever in the Brussels metropolitan area, that builds AI-enabled SaaS platforms for strategic market intelligence and ecosystem operations. Its core product, the Minerva Market Intelligence Platform, combines LLMs, generative AI, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and NLP to continuously monitor over 70,000 sources including news outlets, patents, grants, startup databases, and academic publications, delivering weak-signal detection, competitive monitoring, innovation scouting, and scenario analysis. A complementary Ecosystem Operations Platform supports automated stakeholder profiling, member classification, collaboration facilitation, and real-time ecosystem mapping, while shared modules such as the AI-Powered Chatbot, Spotting Areas (configurable role-based knowledge subsets), and Ecosystem Publisher extend platform utility across multi-stakeholder networks.
The company serves a hybrid customer base spanning large enterprises (Colruyt Group, Silver Fern Farms, AGC Glass Europe, Pfizer, NASA, SPIE, Luminus, TNO), government and development agencies (Cleantech Flanders, VITO, Innovaud, the European Commission), education and research institutions (ULB), and non-profit/cluster organizations (Ellie.Connect, Forward Fooding, Quantum Circle), with a primary vertical focus on food systems, energy systems, and climate/sustainability transitions. Revenue is generated through SaaS subscriptions (entry tier from €250/month, enterprise pricing based on Data Packages with annual wage-index adaptation), implementation services, and advisory engagements. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales targeting C-level decision-makers with a community-led motion through ecosystem builder partners, supported by content marketing, webinars, training programs, and PR including Knack Magazine coverage in 2025.
Strategic positioning rests on a five-step Market Watch Methodology (Scope, Explore, Synthesize, Strategize, Monitor), sector-specific AI fine-tuning for food/energy/climate, and a partnership model that embeds the platform into cluster and innovation agency workflows, with Cleantech Flanders representing the most mature four-year engagement. DataScouts is GDPR-compliant (self-attested), hosts data centers in Belgium, and is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds or revenue figures; growth signals include three product launches across 2024-2025, active hiring in AI engineering and business development, and an explicitly international rollout of Minerva.
DataScouts firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DataScouts
- Legal name
- We Connect Data BV
- Website
- https://datascouts.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DataScouts industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Market Intelligence Software
- NAICS
- Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Platforms & Modern Data Stack Services (Lakehouse, DW, MDM) (BPAEAHAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data Strategy & Governance Services (BPAEAHAA), Data Platform (Unified Data & Analytics) Suites (HDAEABAD)
Keywords
Where DataScouts is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Strombeek-bever
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
DataScouts business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Platform Subscription: Subscription-based access to the DataScouts/Minerva platform with data packages including Sources and Enrichers. Pricing includes implementation fees and ongoing platform fees, with annual adaptation based on Agoria wage cost index.
- Advisory Services: Consultancy services and reports provided based on analytics, advice, and implementation plans, either standalone or in conjunction with platform implementation. Billed per engagement.
- Implementation Services: Services required to adapt the platform to specific customer requirements, including initial setup and configuration.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard monthly plan starting at €250 per month |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise/custom pricing based on data packages |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
DataScouts product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DataScouts provides AI-enabled SaaS platforms — the Market Intelligence Platform (branded Minerva) and the Ecosystem Operations Platform — for continuous market monitoring, competitive analysis, innovation scouting, ecosystem mapping, and scenario planning. The platforms use LLMs, GenAI, RAG, and NLP to monitor over 70,000 sources and detect weak signals and emerging trends. The offering is complemented by advisory/consulting services and training programs.
Product overview
DataScouts offers two interconnected AI-enabled SaaS platforms: the Market Intelligence Platform (branded Minerva) and the Ecosystem Operations Platform. Minerva delivers continuous market monitoring, competitive analysis, innovation scouting, and scenario planning through configurable AI-enabled workflows, while the Ecosystem Operations Platform supports automated stakeholder mapping, member profiling, collaboration facilitation, and real-time ecosystem monitoring. Both platforms share the AI-Powered Chatbot (conversational search layer), Spotting Areas (configurable knowledge subsets), and Ecosystem Publisher (public sharing module) as common modules. Advisory Services and training programs (Ecosystem Operations Training, Market Intelligence Training) complement the platforms as professional service offerings. The platforms are hosted on www.datascouts.eu and www.datascouts.ai, with data centers located in Belgium.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Minerva: AI-enabled Strategic Intelligence Platform for market and ecosystem intelligence
Products and services
- Market Intelligence Platform (Minerva) AI-powered SaaS platform for continuous market monitoring, competitive analysis, innovation scouting, and scenario planning. Delivers real-time insights into market dynamics, competitors, ecosystems, and transitions through configurable AI-enabled workflows.
- Ecosystem Operations Platform AI-enabled platform for mapping, monitoring, and growing ecosystems. Supports automated stakeholder profiling, member classification, collaboration facilitation, and real-time trend monitoring across multi-stakeholder networks.
- Advisory Services Consultancy services providing analytics, strategic advice, and implementation plans, delivered in conjunction with or independently from platform implementation. Includes market scans, ecosystem analyses, and scenario exercises.
- Ecosystem Operations Training Interactive training sessions teaching participants how to map and monitor ecosystems, uncover key relationships, and transform ecosystem data into strategic insight using the DataScouts platform.
- Market Intelligence Training Hands-on training sessions covering how to analyze markets, map stakeholder landscapes, detect signals and trends, and prepare future scenarios using the DataScouts Market Intelligence platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- In just two weeks, research provided a comprehensive roadmap for plant-based cheese market navigation
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use DataScouts
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
DataScouts technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability9 records
Feature10 records
DataScouts partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Cleantech FlanderscoreMulti-year partnership (4th consecutive annual report in 2023) for ecosystem analysis and economic impact studies of the Flemish Cleantech ecosystem. DataScouts platform used for data mining, landscape mapping, and continuous monitoring. Frans Snijkers, Director Cleantech Flanders, praised the collaboration and platform capabilities.
- Ellie.ConnectcoreOpen innovation platform for sustainable textiles uses DataScouts Spotting Areas to provide tailored access to collaboration opportunities for members based on their profiles. Ellie.Connect creates topic-based spotting areas for ecosystem participants.
- VITOcoreVITO powers Cleantech Flanders, and DataScouts collaborates with both organizations for the annual Cleantech Report development and ecosystem analysis.
- Spearhead Clusters (Catalisti, SIM Flanders, Flux 50, Flanders' Food, Blue Cluster)minorDataScouts mapped connections between CleanTech Flanders members and other Flemish spearhead clusters that embrace innovation and value clean technologies and circularity.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
DataScouts competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AlphaSense: AI-powered market intelligence and enterprise search platform used by corporations for competitive intelligence, market research, and trend monitoring. Closely comparable to DataScouts' Minerva in serving enterprise market intelligence use cases, though AlphaSense operates at much larger scale with broader vertical coverage.
- Crayon: Competitive intelligence and market monitoring platform that helps enterprises track competitors, market trends, and industry signals. Directly comparable to DataScouts' competitive monitoring and continuous market watch capabilities, with a similar enterprise sales motion.
- Klue: Competitive enablement platform that aggregates market intelligence and competitive insights for enterprise sales and strategy teams. Comparable in delivering AI-powered competitive and market intelligence with a focus on enterprise customers, though with a stronger sales enablement angle.
- Contify: AI-powered market and competitive intelligence platform that monitors industry trends, competitors, and regulatory developments for enterprises. Closely matches DataScouts' continuous monitoring and weak signal detection capabilities.
- Market Logic Software: Market intelligence platform focused on insights management, market research aggregation, and decision support for enterprise marketing and strategy teams. Comparable in helping organizations centralize and operationalize market intelligence.
Broad incumbents
- CB Insights: Market intelligence platform focused on technology markets, startup tracking, and emerging trend analysis. Overlaps with DataScouts' innovation scouting and ecosystem intelligence use cases, but CB Insights is a much larger incumbent with a broader market focus.
- Evalueserve: Global analytics and market intelligence services firm combining technology platforms with managed research. Comparable to DataScouts' hybrid platform-plus-advisory model, though Evalueserve operates at much larger scale with global delivery.
- Tegus: Research platform providing expert-led market and competitive intelligence, primarily for investment professionals. Adjacent in delivering AI-enhanced research and market intelligence, but focused on the investment research vertical.
Emerging players
- Owler: Competitive intelligence and company data platform offering real-time business insights, competitor tracking, and market signals. Comparable in continuous market monitoring and stakeholder intelligence, though with a stronger SMB and self-service orientation.
- Northern Light: Market intelligence and competitive insights platform with AI-powered research aggregation and analysis capabilities. Comparable in delivering enterprise market intelligence with AI-enabled search and analysis, though with a focus on technology and life sciences verticals.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
DataScouts social profiles
Digital presenceDataScouts compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
DataScouts financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DataScouts leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
DataScouts funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DataScouts M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DataScouts
What does DataScouts do?
DataScouts provides AI-enabled SaaS platforms — the Market Intelligence Platform (branded Minerva) and the Ecosystem Operations Platform — for continuous market monitoring, competitive analysis, innovation scouting, ecosystem mapping, and scenario planning. The platforms use LLMs, GenAI, RAG, and NLP to monitor over 70,000 sources and detect weak signals and emerging trends. The offering is complemented by advisory/consulting services and training programs.
Is DataScouts a public or private company?
DataScouts is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was DataScouts founded?
DataScouts was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is DataScouts based?
DataScouts is headquartered in Strombeek-bever, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does DataScouts make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SaaS Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are advisory Services and implementation Services.
Who are DataScouts's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AlphaSense, Crayon, Klue, Contify and Market Logic Software. Broad incumbents are CB Insights, Evalueserve and Tegus. Emerging players are Owler and Northern Light.
Does DataScouts have an API?
No public API is recorded for DataScouts.
What industry is DataScouts in?
DataScouts's product category is Market Intelligence Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAHAC, Data Platforms & Modern Data Stack Services (Lakehouse, DW, MDM), with a secondary code of BPAEAHAA, Data Strategy & Governance Services. Its NAICS code is 541910 and its SIC code is 7370.