Innovation Fund
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Innovation Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Innovation Fund
- Legal name
- Innovation Fund sa/nv
- Website
- https://innovationfund.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Innovation Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brussels
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Innovation Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Capital Gains from Investment Exits: The fund generates returns through successful exits of portfolio companies via acquisitions, IPOs, or secondary sales. Notable exits include PharmaFluidics (sold to Thermo Fisher Scientific), TrendMiner (sold to Software AG), Aerosint (sold to Desktop Metal), and others. The evergreen structure allows the fund to continuously realize gains and reinvest.
- Management Fees and Co-investment Returns: The fund charges management fees and participates in co-investments alongside syndicate partners including Gemma Frisius, PMV, SOFI, Qbic, Noshaq, and various business angels. Returns flow back to investors including major industrial companies (Total, Solvay, BASF, Carmeuse, Recticel, Sioen, Soudal, etc.).
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Innovation Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Innovation Fund is a Belgian venture capital fund that provides seed and early-stage equity financing to startups and SMEs active in chemistry and life sciences. Founded in 2015 with initial capital of 13 million EUR (increased to 35 million EUR in October 2019), the fund invests EUR 30,000 to EUR 4 million per company across five segments including circular economy, biosciences, nanomaterials, 3D printing/additive manufacturing, and medical devices. It operates an evergreen structure with 20-30 active participations, offering portfolio companies not only capital but also industry mentorship through the Innovation Circle and access to the networks of its major chemical industry investors.
Product overview
Innovation Fund is a Belgian venture capital fund that invests in innovative startups and companies active in the field of chemistry and life sciences. Founded in February 2015 with initial capital of 13 million EUR, it has grown to 35 million EUR after a capital increase in October 2019. The fund operates with an evergreen structure, targeting 20-30 participations at any time, focusing on seed and early-stage financing primarily in Belgium. The fund's portfolio spans multiple sectors including circular economy, materials technology, biosciences, industrial processes, medical devices, and digital health solutions. The fund does not offer a product or service itself; rather it provides capital and strategic support to portfolio companies developing technologies in areas such as wastewater treatment (InOpSys), EHS software (Lisam/ExeSS), liquid chromatography (PharmaFluidics), industrial analytics (TrendMiner), 3D printing (Aerosint, Spentys), smartglasses (Iristick), water treatment membranes (Blue Foot Membranes), and various biotech innovations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Seed and Early-Stage Equity Financing
- Innovation Circle Mentorship Program
- essenscia Innovation Award Contest
Companies that use Innovation Fund
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Innovation Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Innovation Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- essensciacoreBelgium's federation for chemistry and life sciences, which created the Innovation Fund alongside François Cornelis and hosts the fund at its offices in Schaerbeek. Yves Verschueren serves as General Secretary of the fund and represents essenscia on the Board.
- Innovation CirclecorePermanent structure created in 2013 by François Cornelis offering startups and SMEs free assistance and mentoring. Gathers 13 ex-CEOs and academics of the chemical sector including Christian Jourquin and Carl Van Camp who serve on the Investment Committee.
- KU LeuvenmajorMajor Belgian university and founding academic partner. Ilse Sienaert represents KU Leuven on the Board, Kurt De Smet serves on the Investment Committee. Source of multiple spin-offs including PharmaFluidics, InOpSys, and Zeopore Technologies.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Innovation Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Capricorn Partners: Belgian VC fund manager focused on early-stage technology investments in chemistry, materials, and life sciences. Capricorn's Chemistry and Sustainable Chemistry funds are directly comparable to the Innovation Fund's mandate of backing Belgian and European chemistry startups with industrial LP backing.
- PMV (Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen): Flemish regional investment company co-investing alongside the Innovation Fund in multiple deals (InOpSys, etc.). PMV is one of the fund's closest syndicate partners and serves a comparable role providing risk capital to Flemish technology and life sciences companies.
- Gemma Frisius Fund: KU Leuven's seed and early-stage investment fund that has co-invested with the Innovation Fund in InOpSys, Zeopore Technologies, and REIN4CED. Both funds serve a similar role bridging Belgian university spin-outs to commercial capital.
- Noshaq: Belgian VC firm and recurring syndicate partner of the Innovation Fund (Aerosint, Graftys, LiveDrop). Noshaq invests in early-stage tech and life sciences companies in Belgium's Wallonia region, overlapping significantly in deal universe.
- Qbic (Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum fund): Belgian inter-university seed and early-stage fund focused on tech and life sciences spin-outs. Qbic has co-invested with the Innovation Fund (Blue Foot Membranes, Aloxy) and serves the same niche market of Belgian academic startups.
- S.R.I.W. (Société Régionale d'Investissement de Wallonie): Walloon regional investment company that became an LP in the Innovation Fund (October 2019) and has co-invested directly (PurVer). SRIW plays a comparable role in the Walloon venture ecosystem, backing chemistry and environmental startups.
- Investventures (Inventures): Belgian VC fund that has co-invested with the Innovation Fund in AllerInvest, Univercells, and Fluigent. Inventures operates in the same Belgian early-stage tech and life sciences niche.
- Theodorus Fund: Belgian early-stage VC co-investing with the Innovation Fund in AllerInvest, TheraVet, and Apaxen. Theodorus targets Belgian academic spin-outs in life sciences and digital health with a similar cheque-size profile.
Broad incumbents
- Sofina: Belgian investment holding company with significant exposure to European growth-stage technology and life sciences. Sofina operates as a broader incumbent in the Belgian VC ecosystem, with much larger AUM than the Innovation Fund and comparable thematic focus on chemistry-adjacent sectors.
Regional players
- imec.xpand: Belgian deep-tech VC fund affiliated with imec, focused on semiconductor and nanotechnology spin-outs. While not chemistry-focused, imec.xpand operates in the same Belgian deep-tech innovation ecosystem and shares Belgian university sourcing channels with the Innovation Fund.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Innovation Fund social profiles
Digital presenceInnovation Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Innovation Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Innovation Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Innovation Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments30 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Innovation Fund
What does Innovation Fund do?
The Innovation Fund is a Belgian venture capital fund that provides seed and early-stage equity financing to startups and SMEs active in chemistry and life sciences. Founded in 2015 with initial capital of 13 million EUR (increased to 35 million EUR in October 2019), the fund invests EUR 30,000 to EUR 4 million per company across five segments including circular economy, biosciences, nanomaterials, 3D printing/additive manufacturing, and medical devices. It operates an evergreen structure with 20-30 active participations, offering portfolio companies not only capital but also industry mentorship through the Innovation Circle and access to the networks of its major chemical industry investors.
Is Innovation Fund a public or private company?
Innovation Fund is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Innovation Fund founded?
Innovation Fund was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Innovation Fund based?
Innovation Fund is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Innovation Fund make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Capital Gains from Investment Exits are the primary driver. The others are management Fees and Co-investment Returns.
Who are Innovation Fund's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Capricorn Partners, PMV (Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen), Gemma Frisius Fund, Noshaq, Qbic (Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum fund), S.R.I.W. (Société Régionale d'Investissement de Wallonie), Investventures (Inventures) and Theodorus Fund. Sofina is listed as a broad incumbent. imec.xpand is listed as a regional player.
Does Innovation Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Innovation Fund.