The State of Belgian Tech Report 2025, published today by Syndicate One, Bain & Company, Sofina, and SFPIM, reveals a sharp slowdown in Belgian tech equity funding during the first half of 2025 – though early-stage investment continues to show remarkable resilience.
According to the report, Belgian startups raised approximately 210 million euros in H1 2025, marking a 48–50 percent drop compared to the same period last year and returning funding volumes to 2023 levels.
The decline mirrors a broader European correction after the record highs of 2024, when Belgian Tech attracted close to 940 million euros in total.
The slowdown was most pronounced in growth and late-stage rounds, with fewer large-scale investments and a noticeable pullback from foreign investors, whose participation fell below 50 percent for the first time in several years.
However, early-stage deal activity surged, with a 50 percent increase in recorded seed rounds versus H1 2024, a clear sign of continued momentum among young startups and local investors.
Notably, deep tech and AI startups such as Swave Photonics, VerticalCompute, Bnewable, Nobi, and Eyeo helped sustain funding levels, together representing over half of all capital raised. Meanwhile, regions diverged: Flanders captured nearly three-quarters of total funding, while Wallonia rebounded to 19 percent, and Brussels slipped to 8 percent.
Despite the slowdown, optimism remains. The report points to a rebound in H2 2025, with major rounds by Aerospacelab, Lizy, and Wooclap, alongside notable M&A transactions such as Showpad (Vector Capital) and Icometrix (GE Healthcare).
Published in memory of Olivier Lippens, a key contributor to the inaugural 2024 edition, the 2025 report underscores that Belgium’s tech ecosystem remains in a healthy maturation phase – smaller than its European peers, but increasingly sophisticated and well-positioned for renewed growth.
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