Kasqade.ai secures first-ever investment from Start it Fund
The newly launched Start it Fund, the €100 million corporate venture initiative backed by KBC Group to support the Belgian startup ecosystem, has officially announced its first-ever investment. Kasqade.ai is a Belgian deeptech startup that transforms existing factory cameras into intelligent monitoring systems. With this first official deal, the Start it Fund is now formally live in the market, proving its commitment to actively backing the absolute top-tier startups within its ecosystem.
For Start it Fund, this inaugural investment is the ultimate validation of its unique approach. Unlike traditional venture capital firms that pitch to startups based purely on rapid financial returns, the fund operates on deep trust and long-term tracking. Marking the fund’s first official investment, this deal unites Kasqade.ai with a trusted partner that has supported its growth from the very start.
As Lode Uytterschaut, CEO and Founder of Start it @KBC, notes regarding the fund's core investment philosophy: "We invest at the end of the program, not at the beginning. This allows our accelerator to remain 100% open and accessible. Future success correlates far more with learning speed, execution speed, and resilience than with any label."
By selecting Kasqade.ai as its maiden investment, the fund moves away from the traditional model of judging startups on curated "good news show" pitches. Instead, the decision was made after observing the team's real-world operational ups, downs, and execution power over months of close collaboration.
Validating the "most selfless" accelerator model
The milestone highlights the sheer acceleration power of the Start it @KBC ecosystem. Co-founders Kasper De Smaele and Bart Van Miegem entered the program with a clear vision, but a blank slate: no team, no product, and no customers. De Smaele: “Start it @KBC has an honest image of us. They built with us, helped us through difficult times, and our business coach has been our rock”.
In barely six months, the startup condensed a traditional 18-month go-to-market cycle into just half a year. The deal perfectly illustrates how the accelerator operates as a mutual, high-velocity launchpad:
- The network loop:The network loop: Kasqade.ai found its first two paying customers directly through the accelerator's community.
- Founder serendipity: The program thrives on mutual support. While Kasqade.ai utilized the community to instantly match with startup-focused legal and financial experts, the team simultaneously gave back by coaching fellow cohort founders in complex B2B presales and product demos.
- Unconditional support: True to its "no equity, no strings attached" model, Start it @KBC remains a uniquely unselfish incubator, protecting founders from premature dilution during the cohort and stepping in financially only when execution power has been proven.
Backing a solution built for a massive market
The fund's investment decision was strongly driven by the immediate market relevance of Kasqade.ai's technology. The startup targets the nearly half a million small and midsize manufacturing companies across Europe and North America that lack real-time production visibility.
While large industrial facilities deploy millions into custom IT architecture, smaller factories often fall into the "hidden factory" trap, operating at just 60% capacity compared to the 85% best-in-class benchmark. Kasqade.ai unlocks this hidden 25% capacity by overlaying an intelligent AI software layer onto existing security cameras, going live within a single week without requiring costly hardware overhauls.
Ultimately, Kasqade.ai is committed to making its solution highly accessible for SMEs, solving critical operational challenges quickly and at a fraction of the traditional cost.
"Kasqade.ai is exactly the type of startup for which the Start it Fund was founded: an exceptional team solving a real problem for a massive market," says Andy Gijbels, Director of the Start it Fund". "The fact that their solution is up and running, with satisfied, paying customers in a complex sector within just six months says everything about their potential. We are proud to have them as our first investment and ambassador."
Moving forward
With this first deal finalized, the Start it Fund officially establishes its presence in the market, proving its commitment to backing its most resilient graduates. The newly raised capital will allow Kasqade.ai to scale its technical team, professionalize its marketing, and expand its built-in privacy hardware, which processes data locally to ensure maximum data security.
The deal sets a high benchmark for the fund's ongoing deployment of capital into the crème de la crème of Belgian innovation.