Leuven

TLDR

Belgium's university city and deep tech hub, powered by imec and KU Leuven, with a strong pipeline of research spin-offs.

Overview

Leuven is Belgium's premier university city and the home of imec, one of the world's leading nanoelectronics research centers. The combination of KU Leuven talent and imec infrastructure creates a unique environment for deep tech spin-offs.

Odoo is Leuven's largest tech success, a global open-source ERP platform with millions of users. Guardsquare leads in mobile app security. Swave Photonics, Axithra, and Solhyd represent the deep tech pipeline emerging from imec and KU Leuven research. Greenomy applies SaaS to ESG compliance.

imec.istart is the primary accelerator for early-stage deep tech companies in the city.