Aikido Security

Overview

Founded by Willem Delbare, Felix Garriau, and Roeland Delrue in Ghent, Aikido Security addresses a gap in the developer security market: most existing tools are built for security teams, not the engineers who write the code. Aikido's platform is designed to integrate cleanly into developer workflows, flagging vulnerabilities in dependencies, containers, and infrastructure as code without generating overwhelming noise.

The company raised EUR 60M in a Series B led by DST Global in 2025, reaching a $1B valuation and joining the short list of Belgian unicorns. The round accelerates product development and international go-to-market. Aikido competes in the DevSecOps category alongside Snyk, Wiz, and other security tooling providers but with a stronger SMB and mid-market focus.

A Start it @KBC alumnus, Aikido was named Scale-up of the Year 2025. The company operates from Ghent and is part of a small but growing Cybersecurity cluster in the Belgian ecosystem alongside Guardsquare and Intigriti.

Media & appearances

• De TijdYouTube2026-07-22
  22/07 | Uitstekend halfjaar voor Belgische groeibedrijven | Vlaanderen gaat met camera's jagen op...Cybersecurity player in third place with a funding round (captioned as €3 million).
• The HarbourYouTube2026-03-31
  JORN VANYSACKER en GILLES MATTELIN - From Friends to Founders to Venture CapitalistsCited as an example of investing purely on founder trust ('they've done it before') and of extreme growth from €4M to €20M.
• Ben's MentorsYouTube2026-02-04
  Louis Jonckheere: Zo Bouw Je Een Bedrijf Dat Voorbij €100 Miljoen Groeit!Ghent cybersecurity startup that reached a €1 billion valuation roughly three years after founding; Jonckheere was one of the first investors and is now moving to the US as general manager.
• Vlerick Business SchoolYouTube2026-01-27
  Think bigger: take the leapJonckheere is currently GM at Aikido Security.
• Ben's MentorsYouTube2025-10-29
  Waarom de Meeste Start-Ups Falen en hoe jij Kan Groeien!Highlighted as a Belgian scale-up excelling at bold, original marketing campaigns that drive growth.
• SuperNovaYouTube2025-05-07
  SuperHeroes at SuperNova — Ep. 2 | Louis Jonkcheere — CEO at WintercircusPresented as a product of the Ghent ecosystem, co-founded by Roeland who worked 7 years at Showpad and co-founded Teamleader; one of the fastest growing startups in Europe.

Stated facts & numbers

• Aikido Security reached a valuation of €1 billion roughly three years and four to five months after founding. (0:49:22, Ben's Mentors 2026-02-04)