The requirements and makings of the 2026 winner of the Best Venture Capital Deal – Technology Award.
As excitement builds for the ninth annual M&A Awards Belgium on 26 November 2026 at Brussels’ Palais 10, all eyes are turning toward one of the night’s honours: Best Venture Capital Deal – Technology.
With the country’s tech sector raising €497.1 million in venture capital in the first half of the year alone (according to research by Syndicate One), the number of long list candidates for this category is ramping up; including deals such as Keyrock’s €100 million Series C funding round, Aikido Security’s €58.71 million Series B funding round, Vertical Compute’s €37 million seed funding round, D-CRBN’s €17.5 million Series A funding round, Tekst.com’s €11.5 million Series A funding round, Timefold’s €13 million Series A funding round, and many more.
To win, however, a deal must demonstrate extraordinary vision and transformative market impact, as previous winners have. In 2025, Aerospacelab took home the top prize for its landmark €94 million financing round, combining a Series B extension with an EIB loan – solidifying European space sovereignty and backing a satellite mega-factory in Charleroi.
The 2024 winner, Ghent-based cybersecurity firm Aikido Security, earned praise for its $17 million Series A funding round secured just two years post-inception, placing Belgium on equal footing with established tech hubs in the US and Israel. “The deal was substantial, but I also believe we won due to the succession of the rounds and the speed at which everything happened,” commented co-founder Roeland Delrue.
They followed in the footsteps of 2023 winner Keyrock, celebrated for its transformative Series B capital raise. Players such as Ripple, SIX FinTech Ventures, Middlegame Ventures and Belgium's Volta Ventures invested $72 million in Keyrock. “This award means a lot”, said CEO Kevin de Patoul in an earlier interview about the deal. “It is a recognition of five years of hard work and of the validity of our hypotheses and decisions.”
Eligibility requirements for nominations
Developed in partnership with Knowledge Partner Vlerick Business School, the award specifically recognises equity investments and successful exits involving Belgian-based startups or scale-ups and venture capital firms.
Whether providing capital for launch, core technological development, R&D scaling, or market expansion, the category remains deliberately flexible, imposing no minimum floor or maximum cap regarding deal size or the acquired share percentage.
To be considered for nominations, deals must be submitted by M&A-, private equity- or venture capital professionals. To qualify, it must have a Belgian origin (whether target, buyer or seller) and be completed within the review window from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026.
The four essential elements for judges
To determine the ultimate winner, Vlerick Business School researchers evaluate longlisted candidates across four essential dimensions:
- Strategic deal rationale – vision, market thesis, and alignment with overarching growth or buy-and-build trajectories.
- Long-term value creation and returns – demonstrated revenue/EBITDA trajectory, return on investment/exit pricing, or successful commercialisation of breakthrough technology.
- Execution complexity – skilled execution, overcoming regulatory or technical hurdles and innovative deal structuring.
- Broader leadership or ESG impact – strong corporate culture creation and tangible environmental, social or societal contributions.
An independent jury of industry leaders then renders the final verdict.
For more information about the framework and procedure for judging, visit www.manda.be/awards/ma-awards-2026-regulations.
Nominate your VC tech deals!
If your firm structured, backed, or advised a tech deal that pushed the boundaries of Belgian innovation over the past year, ensure your hard work receives the spotlight it deserves.
Nominate your deals before 1 October 2026 to guarantee consideration by the Vlerick research team and jury, and join over 1,000 senior dealmakers at Palais 10 to celebrate the very best of Belgian M&A.
Or, if you simply want to join the celebration, book a table for your team!
