Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀

✨ 2024 is almost a wrap, so it’s time to reflect on the thrilling year we’ve had with flourishing portfolio startups, our third fund in only 4 years, exciting new investments, and crazy exits 👇 🥂 €50M Fund III launched  💙 16 new portfolio startups added, bringing the total to 60  🚀 +150 founders empowered 24/7  🌍 Invested in 15 countries all around the globe  🤝 3 exits in the portfolio We asked some of our new portfolio founders about their entrepreneurial drive. See it yourself in the video below 👇 Featuring: Cem Ruso ⚡️ from Datapad, James Mcelroy from Axe, Jonas Deprez from Donna, Stefano Saitta from MAAT, Alex F. from Privasee, Bart-Jan Leyts from Otamiser, Ben Towers from Happl, Frank Zwerts, and Michiel Bearelle from Vendorvue. Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀, Boris Bogaert, Koen Christiaens, Wim Derkinderen, Emily Kegels, Alexine Capiau, Deniz Özkan, Bram Troch, Lotte Geldermans

Pitchdrive Portfolio exit news 📢 We're proud to announce the acquisition of Smooved by Mediahuis Marketplaces ! As an early investor in Smooved, Pitchdrive has had the immense privilege of supporting Nathan Coox and Ignace Buelens from the very beginning. We've witnessed firsthand their incredible dedication, alongside their talented team, in building Smooved and HouseMatch into a truly valuable player in real estate services, managing +20% of all relocations in Belgium ! 🚀 This move creates a powerful synergy that will undoubtedly enhance services for real estate agents and homebuyers/sellers alike... A special shout-out to Nathan Coox and Ignace Buelens. Congrats guys - so proud of everything you've accomplished and are grateful for the journey we've shared... Up to more of this 💙 🔥 A big thank you to the entire team who made this deal possible specially Patrick De Wachter from Mediahuis and Elise Descamps from Imec Istart. You both were instrumental to make the deal landing... https://lnkd.in/e55-suPJ. (Dutch) https://lnkd.in/e4aGb8td (English)

🌍 Big News – BRAUZZ. merges with Planet B to become the largest sustainable FMCG player in the Benelux 🌍 As their earliest investor and early believer, we’re incredibly proud to support our portfolio company BRAUZZ., as they now take a bold step forward—joining forces with Planet B (the group behind WONDR, KLAAAR, Bambooze, and KIKO). Together, they’re forming the largest sustainable FMCG player in the Benelux, united by a mission to make high-quality, plastic-free products the new standard in every household. This isn’t a story of startups competing for scraps. It’s one of collaboration over competition—two award-winning teams combining strengths to challenge the industry giants and redefine the future of consumer goods. With BRAUZZ.’s leadership in eco-friendly homecare and Planet B’s dominance in sustainable personal care, this merger sets the stage for faster growth, smarter innovation, and deeper impact—powered by tech, transparency, and community. Congrats to Lowie, Ruben, Manush, Tibbe, and the entire team on this values-driven, industry-shaping move. You’re proving what the future of FMCG can and should be. 💪🌱 #BRAUZZ #PlanetB #ImpactMakers #SustainableFMCG #BeTheChange #Pitchdrive

🌟 Investment News – Ravical raises €7.3M to bring AI agents to expert firms 🌟 We at Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀 are proud to co-invest in Ravical’s €7.3M pre-seed round, alongside Lakestar, several business angels, and Syndicate One. Ravical, co-founded by Joris Van Der Gucht (ex-Silverfin), Ken Bastiaensen (managing partner at Boltzmann, sold to Silverfin in 2021), and Benjamin Vandermarliere (ex co-founder of Boltzmann), is building domain-trained AI agents that automate up to 80% of the workflows in tax, legal, HR, insurance, and accounting firms—freeing experts to focus on the high-value 20% that drives real impact. With AI agents that deeply understand firm knowledge and client context, Ravical is tackling two of the sector’s biggest challenges: the war for talent and the long-awaited move toward productisation. We’re excited to back Joris, Ken, Benjamin, and the rest of the Ravical team as they bring agentic AI from buzzword to boardroom. 🚀 #Pitchdrive #Ravical #AIagents #ProfessionalServices #LegalTech #TaxTech #FutureOfWork Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/eZy-8bq3.

🚀 We're hiring: Venture Growth Lead at Pitchdrive! 📍 Antwerp (with flexibility across our EU offices) 💼 Full-time | Founder-facing | High-impact At Pitchdrive, we invest in the earliest chapters of Europe's most exciting startups. Now, we're looking for a Venture Growth Lead to help us find, reach, and support the next wave of top founders. You’ll lead our founder-facing outreach, build real connections across the international startup ecosystem, and design events and campaigns that get us in front of the right founders—before anyone else sees them. Think sourcing, storytelling, roadshows, and relationships. Check out the full job description: https://lnkd.in/exUbnVCN Sounds like your kind of ride? 🏎️  Send us your CV & short motivation: hr@pitchdrive.com #venturecapital #startupjobs #foundersfirst #hiring #growthjobs #ecosystembuilder #pitchdrive

🌟 Investment News – Axe raises €1.5M to transform logistics ops with autonomous AI agents 🌟 We at Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀 are proud to lead Axe’s €1.5M pre-seed round, alongside Accel Scouts, Enterprise Ireland, and top industry angels. The logistics industry runs on thin margins and outdated tools. Axe is changing that with AI agents that act like real teammates—automating quoting, order entry, scheduling, and even phone calls. Already saving freight teams 4+ hours a day, Axe is helping brokers and carriers operate faster, leaner, and more profitably. Led by second-time founders James Mcelroy and Dan Quill, the Axe team knows how to ship fast and build real AI that gets adopted on the ground. We’re thrilled to support their mission to modernize a $10T industry, one workflow at a time. Congrats to the whole Axe team—we’re just getting started! 🚛⚡ #Pitchdrive #Axe #LogisticsTech #AIagents #StartupFunding #FreightTech #B2BSaaS Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/eVU2-saX.

🌟 Investment News – Foliume raises $1M to cut insurance quoting time by 90% with specialized AI 🌟 We at Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀 are proud to co-lead Foliume’s $1M seed round alongside Wayra (Telefónica’s innovation arm) and a group of top insurance and tech experts. Built for insurance brokers, agents, and bancassurance teams, Foliume slashes quoting and renewal times by up to 90% through AI-powered automation. From auto-filling forms and comparing quotes to streamlining policy renewals, Foliume gives teams back hours of their day—so they can focus on what matters: advising clients and growing their business. Led by Martin Fagioli and Guillermo Vergara Ferrari, the Foliume team is pioneering a new category of industry-specific AI that understands the complexity of insurance out-of-the-box. We’re excited to back them as they expand across Europe and help modernize how insurance is sold. Congrats to the entire Foliume team! 🚀 #Pitchdrive #Foliume #Insurtech #AI #StartupFunding #B2BSaaS #InsuranceInnovation Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/gPZPdrBf..

🤯 Recapping 3 days of tech craziness as co-organizers of SuperNova on our home turf Antwerp. From hosting +150 investors and founders at our side event to networking at Europe's longest bar 👇 🚀 We hosted VC & Founder Supernova pre-drinks, together with our partners Mollie and Peak, welcoming +150 top investors and founders 💙 Pitchdrive portfolio founders from all over the continent came to Antwerp to connect with international VCs and fellow founders 🥂 2 days filled with talking to impressive changemakers at our booth and side events We're proud to see how Belgium has been put on the map (again), and thrilled to play a significant part in bringing Belgian roots to the international ecosystem. And event season is only beginning 👀 We were highly impressed by the organization by the Supernova team, led by Jürgen Ingels and Leen Anthuenis, and were proud to co-organize again this year. #supernova

We’re still buzzing from the incredible conversation between Oprah Winfrey and Jürgen Ingels last Sunday, kicking off SuperNova 2025 with a bang. As co-organizers, we can’t wait to welcome top international VCs and entrepreneurs to our home turf Antwerp this week 🚀. We're hosting a VC & Founder drink with Peak and Mollie on Wednesday (drop us a DM for the ticket link). On Thursday & Friday, you can meet us and our portfolio at our booth at Supernova! Some of our attending portfolio companies 👇 Bizzy Greenspark introw.io Workfully DeepFlow Oper Credits OTIV UZE.energy WARREN Picky BRAUZZ. Donna Foliume Otamiser FixForm Axe   Our team at the venue 👇 Boris Bogaert Koen Christiaens Wim Derkinderen Emily Kegels Alexine Capiau Deniz Özkan Bram Troch Xhun Cedillo Steverlynck Lotte Geldermans

🌟 Investment News – Cassandra raises €2M to reshape marketing investment decisions with AI 🌟 We at Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀 are excited to back Cassandra in their €2M seed round, alongside Italian Founders Fund, Webranking, Mana Ventures, Lorenzo Lato & Marco Di Pietro. Founded by Gabriele Franco and Cristian N., Cassandra is the most advanced AI-powered investment decision tool for marketing teams—making Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) faster, smarter, and accessible to everyone. Already trusted by 60+ global brands, Cassandra analyzes €500M+ in ad spend annually and is scaling rapidly across Europe and the US. With this new funding, they’re doubling the team, and expanding into new markets. Big congrats to the entire Cassandra team—we’re proud to support your mission to make marketing more intelligent and efficient. 🚀📊 #MarketingAI #MMM #StartupFunding #Martech #AI #Pitchdrive #Cassandra Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/eZnihtrs..