Startup-Up
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLuxembourg, Luxembourg
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Startup-Up firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Startup-Up
- Legal name
- STARTUP-UP IP
- Website
- https://startup-up.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Startup-Up industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Startup Studio Services
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)
Keywords
Where Startup-Up is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Luxembourg
- HQ country
- Luxembourg
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Startup-Up business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- IT for Equity (BSA Air): Core revenue mechanism. After MVP delivery, platform license (STARTUP-APP), CTO/CFO in mission, hosting, IP protection, and fundraising amplification are provided in exchange for BSA Air warrants. No cash from startup. Warrants convert to equity at next qualified raise (>=300K€). Over 80% of studio remuneration is contingent on startup success.
- Phase Marvel (Professional Services): Maturity audit (6,000€ flat) plus à la carte modules (Finance, Technical, Commercial, Legal, Financing). First phase before IT for Equity kicks in. Financed by founder cash, public aid (BPI), or early business angels.
- Lab IA MVP Development: MVP development by Lab IA team at 60-75% below external market rates. Specific work beyond platform is charged. Payment can be spread and financed by seed raise and public aid. After MVP delivery, complementary development remains available at same reduced rates on demand.
- Club Deal Co-Investment Fees: Structuring and managing co-investment rounds for startups. Studio facilitates deals between Family Office partner, Business Angels, and startups. Revenue from equity appreciation when warrants convert at future raises.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Phase Marvel Audit + Modules: Audit 6,000€ + à la carte modules |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | MVP Development: 60-75% below external dev rates |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | IT for Equity: 0 cash, compensated via BSA Air |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Business Angel Investment: 15-50K€ per individual BA |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Seed Round via Club Deal: 300K€ to 2M€ per round |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Series A: 3-10M€ per round |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Startup-Up product offering
Product offeringCore offering
STARTUP-UP operates an AI startup studio that helps senior domain experts (15-25 years of experience) launch AI startups. The studio delivers an industrial-grade SaaS platform (STARTUP-APP) combining Oracle 23ai and Azure AI Foundry, an in-house Lab IA development team that builds MVPs at 60-75% below market rates, and externalized CTO/CFO/commercial missions, with the platform and team provided in exchange for BSA Air equity warrants. The studio also runs Phase Marvel diagnostic modules and a co-investment club deal channel with Business Angels, a Family Office partner, and Series A VCs.
Product overview
STARTUP-UP is a startup studio that supports domain experts (15-25 years experience) in building AI startups. The core offering is the STARTUP-APP Platform (Oracle 23ai + Azure AI Foundry) combined with an internal AI Development Lab (Lab IA), which together deliver production-grade AI products at 60-75% below market cost. Surrounding this are structured phases: Phase Marvel (5 onboarding modules for finance/tech/commercial/legal/funding), MVP development via Lab IA, and IT for Equity (full service package via BSA Air). Complementary services include externalized CTO/CFO missions, commercial direction with dedicated eSales team, and access to a co-investment club deal with a Family Office partner and Business Angels. The portfolio contains 6 active startups across HealthTech, InsurTech, MarTech, PropTech, LabTech, and GreenTech sectors. The AI Pitch Deck Analyzer is a separate public-facing tool that evaluates candidate pitch decks automatically on 10 criteria.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- STARTUP-APP Platform Industrial multi-tenant SaaS AI platform combining Oracle 23ai (native vector search, graph, full-text, relational) with Azure AI Foundry (GPT-4, Claude, Llama, Mistral access via Semantic Kernel and AutoGen orchestration), with sovereign European hosting in France and Germany, per-tenant encryption, IAM, and AI agent orchestration. Provided to portfolio startups via IT for Equity (BSA Air warrants).
- Pitch Deck Analyzer (AI Analysis) AI-powered automated evaluation of candidate pitch decks across 10 criteria (problem, solution, market, team, traction, model, competition, financials, ask, storytelling), returning a detailed diagnostic in 3 minutes. Serves as the entry point for domain expert candidates worldwide to apply to the studio.
- Lab IA (AI Development Lab) In-house AI development service that builds production-grade MVPs at 60-75% below external market rates, using the STARTUP-APP industrial platform and specialized AI agents. Work beyond the platform scope is charged; complementary development is available on demand at the same reduced rates.
- Phase Marvel (Maturity Audit + Modules) Structured onboarding program including a €6,000 flat maturity audit followed by à la carte modules covering finance, technical architecture, commercial strategy, legal structuring, and fundraising preparation. Financed by founder cash, BPI public aid, or early business angels; runs before the IT for Equity phase.
- IT for Equity (BSA Air) Full-service studio package in which the STARTUP-APP platform license, externalized CTO and CFO, sovereign hosting, IP protection, and fundraising amplification are provided to portfolio startups in exchange for BSA Air warrants (20% discount on valuation, 5-year maturity, 2-5M€ cap, conversion at next qualified raise ≥300K€). Zero cash out for the startup on this scope.
- Externalized CTO Mission Embedded CTO service (Xavier Chaeffer) providing architecture guidance, technical choices, Lab IA supervision, and scalability planning for portfolio startups on the STARTUP-APP platform.
- Externalized CFO Mission Embedded CFO service (Loïc Morand) delivering economic modeling, unit economics, 3-year financial projections, valuation, capital structure design, and funding round preparation for portfolio startups.
- Commercial Direction & eSales Team Strategic commercial direction (Charif Moutaki) covering business model construction, customer segmentation, pricing, positioning, and sales channel identification, combined with an operational eSales team that handles prospect identification, qualification, outreach, appointment setting, and weekly pipeline reporting. Founders retain customer relationship and focus on closing.
- Co-Investment Club Deal Co-investment club deal structure providing Business Angels (15-50K€ tickets via BSA Air), Family Offices (seed rounds 300K€-2M€), and institutional VCs (Series A 3-10M€) with access to pre-qualified AI startups that have passed the studio's Acceptance Committee. Includes quarterly deal flow, governance participation, and structured fundraising support.
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% of AI startups fail within 5 years; 42% fail due to lack of product-market fit (CB Insights)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Startup-Up
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Startup-Up technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability8 records
Feature6 records
Startup-Up partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- OraclecoreOracle ISV Partner status gives portfolio startups access to Oracle 23ai database platform with enterprise pricing unavailable to solo startups. Oracle 23ai provides native vector search, AI-first architecture, and unified data management replacing multiple point solutions (PostgreSQL, Pinecone, Neo4j, ElasticSearch). Partnership enables 60-75% development cost reduction vs external alternatives.
- Microsoft AzurecoreAzure AI Foundry (formerly Azure AI Studio) provides unified access to all major AI models (GPT-4, Claude, Llama, Mistral) via single Microsoft partnership. Includes Semantic Kernel and AutoGen orchestration tools. Sovereign European infrastructure in France and Germany per data residency requirements. Negotiated pricing via STARTUP-UP enables portfolio startup access.
- Village by CAminorFrench startup incubator/accelerator network listed as part of the startup studio ecosystem. Provides local support, network, and legitimacy for French market operations.
- eSalescoreOperational commercial team partner providing prospecting, qualification, outreach, appointment setting, and weekly reporting for portfolio startups. Closes deals alongside founders (relationship stays with founder). Differentiates STARTUP-UP from venture builders that only advise on commercial strategy without operational delivery.
- Microsoft Ireland Operations LimitedcoreAzure cloud hosting provider. Site hosted on Microsoft Azure infrastructure in European regions (France and Germany). Contact: One Microsoft Place, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, D18 P521, Ireland. Strict European data sovereignty maintained with no transatlantic replication.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Startup-Up competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Techstars: Global accelerator running 3-month programs with mentorship and seed investment in exchange for equity. Comparable as a structured accelerator with equity-for-support mechanics, but a much larger, US-rooted incumbent with a 13-week cohort model rather than an ongoing studio.
- Y Combinator: Pioneer US-based accelerator providing seed funding and mentorship in exchange for equity, the benchmark for accelerator-style equity-for-support. Comparable in the equity-for-support mechanic but very different in scale, geography, and selection approach (generalist, batch-based).
Others
- BPI France: French public investment bank providing funding, guarantees, and innovation support to French startups and SMBs. Comparable as a public funding source for French startups and is referenced by STARTUP-UP as a financing channel for Marvel phase and MVP development.
- Village by CA: Network of French startup incubators run by Crédit Agricole, providing local support and connections to regional startups. Comparable as a French startup support ecosystem, and explicitly listed by STARTUP-UP as a partner, but is an incubator/ecosystem player rather than a venture studio.
Direct peers
- Hexa: European startup studio (formerly eFounders) that builds B2B SaaS companies from scratch, providing founders with operations, engineering, and go-to-market support in exchange for equity. Closely comparable as a Paris-based studio that co-founds companies and takes equity, with similar IT-for-equity mechanics and European enterprise focus.
- Antler: Global venture studio that recruits and supports founders from day zero, providing capital, mentorship, and a global network. Directly comparable as a startup studio model that backs founders before product, though with a broader sector mandate and global footprint versus STARTUP-UP's EU/regulated vertical focus.
- Entrepreneur First: Talent-first venture builder that assembles co-founder teams and supports them from pre-idea through seed, with a strong European presence in Paris and London. Directly comparable as a talent-first builder taking equity in return for structured support.
- Founders Factory: Venture studio and accelerator that builds and scales startups, often in partnership with corporates. Comparable as a venture studio with corporate-affiliated capital and operational support, though typically larger and corporate-backed.
Emerging players
- The Family: European support platform for early-stage founders offering education, community, and operational support. Comparable as a European founder-support organization, though its model is more community/education-led than venture studio equity-for-services.
Regional players
- Samaipata: European pre-seed venture fund that supports early-stage tech founders with capital and operational help. Comparable as a European early-stage backer with operator support, though structured as a fund rather than a pure studio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Startup-Up social profiles
Digital presenceStartup-Up compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Startup-Up financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Startup-Up leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Startup-Up funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Startup-Up 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 Startup-Up
What does Startup-Up do?
STARTUP-UP operates an AI startup studio that helps senior domain experts (15-25 years of experience) launch AI startups. The studio delivers an industrial-grade SaaS platform (STARTUP-APP) combining Oracle 23ai and Azure AI Foundry, an in-house Lab IA development team that builds MVPs at 60-75% below market rates, and externalized CTO/CFO/commercial missions, with the platform and team provided in exchange for BSA Air equity warrants. The studio also runs Phase Marvel diagnostic modules and a co-investment club deal channel with Business Angels, a Family Office partner, and Series A VCs.
Is Startup-Up a public or private company?
Startup-Up is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Startup-Up founded?
Startup-Up was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Startup-Up based?
Startup-Up is headquartered in Luxembourg, Luxembourg, in the Europe region.
How does Startup-Up make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. IT for Equity (BSA Air) is the primary driver. The others are phase Marvel (Professional Services), lab IA MVP Development and club Deal Co-Investment Fees.
Who are Startup-Up's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Techstars and Y Combinator. Others are BPI France and Village by CA. Direct peers are Hexa, Antler, Entrepreneur First and Founders Factory. The Family is listed as an emerging player. Samaipata is listed as a regional player.
Does Startup-Up have an API?
No public API is recorded for Startup-Up.
What industry is Startup-Up in?
Startup-Up's product category is Startup Studio Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAH, Venture Studios / Company Builders. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7371.