€117m raised to invest in innovative early stage ideas

Independent early-stage and growth fund, imec.xpand, initiated by imec, has announced the closing of its first fund at €117m in committed capital. The amount raised exceeds the initial target of €100m and positions imec.xpand as a major player in the deep tech venture capital ecosystem.

Imec.xpand is an early stage and growth fund with a game-changing approach to turn hardware driven nanotechnology innovation into successful global companies. The fund targets ambitious tech start-ups for whom imec knowledge, expertise and infrastructure can play a determining role in their success.

Imec.xpand wants to engage with companies at an early stage, at the same time reserving sufficient financial resources to support the selected ventures from the early stages of development all the way through the commercialization of their product. This will enable start-ups to focus on developing a technology and on building a business, rather than spending all their time and energy on securing the next round of financing.

This philosophy will increase the speed at which ventures can enter the market and help create the technology leaders of tomorrow that will generate above average financial returns for the investors in imec.xpand.

The fund is managed by Peter Vanbekbergen, Frank Bulens, Cyril Vančura and Tom Vanhoutte who each bring a wealth of entrepreneurial, venture capital and/or business expertise to the table. The combination of this independent management, corporate as well as financially driven investors, universities and imec, who are all committed to contribute to the success of the fund, sets imec.xpand apart from other venture capital initiatives.

The fund was launched in 2017 with the strong support of imec and the Flemish government. Since then, imec.xpand attracted renowned international strategic and institutional investors like Samsung Electronics, BNP Paribas Fortis, Applied Materials, SK Hynix, Philips, the Brabant development company BOM, KBC Insurance, the Belgian federal investment company SFPI-FPIM and several high net worth individuals and universities. Belfius Insurance, the Flemish investment company PMV and KPN Ventures joined most recently.