KBC Focus Fund (KBC Securities) Research
Investment Thesis
KBC Focus Fund is the captive venture fund of KBC Group, managed by the Investment Services team at KBC Securities, Belgium's leading investment bank. It backs deep-tech companies in nanotechnology, microelectronics and the Internet of Things, mostly in a B2B setting, and it does not exclude companies with an important hardware component. It also invests in companies selected by Start it @KBC, the KBC-backed accelerator, which gives the fund a steady pipeline of Belgian software and tech startups. Strong IP is named as an important criterion in the VLAIO listing.
The fund is set up as an evergreen vehicle with no fixed end date. Exits are sought within a reasonable time, but can happen whenever market conditions are good and the company is far enough along. KBC Group is the sole shareholder.
Stage Focus
The fund describes itself as early stage, Seed to Series A (a May 2026 press release), and the VLAIO listing adds growth financing and says it mostly invests in A and B rounds. Tracxn counts 7 first-round Seed entries, 4 Series A and 2 Series B among 13 portfolio companies. Instruments include equity, convertible loans, convertible loans with warrants, and co-investment. Stakes are always minorities.
Check Size
KBC says it invests up to 5 million euros over the life of a company, with a first-round sweet spot of 0.5 to 2.5 million euros. VLAIO lists a minimum participation of 250,000 euros and a maximum of 5 million euros. Reported fund size varies by source: 50 million euros (original EuroQuity and KBC newsroom description), 105 million euros (May 2026 press release) and 155 million euros (VLAIO, March 2026). No single figure is confirmed, so AUM is left unset.
Lead Tendency
The fund says it can be a lead or a co-investor. It led the May 2026 Ventory round, with Finindus, Matterwave and Delaware participating. In other deals it appears alongside co-investors such as Innovation Industries, the European Innovation Council, High-Tech Gruenderfonds, imec.xpand, Rabobank, Caphorn, Brightlands Venture Partners and Ibex Investors.
Recent Activity
Activity is steady but low volume, about one to two new deals a year. Tracxn lists Ubitium (Seed, October 2026), CoolSem Technologies (Seed, January 2026), Hummink (Series A, November 2025), Novenda (Series A, July 2025) and an earlier Ubitium Seed (November 2024). KBC Group also announced a separate 100 million euro Start it Fund for early-stage Start it @KBC startups, with follow-on financing of up to 5 million euros through KBC Securities for the best of them.
Portfolio Highlights
- e-peas (energy-harvesting power management ICs, Belgium)
- Hummink (nanoscale additive manufacturing, France)
- Pozyx (UWB indoor positioning, Belgium)
- Aito (software-enhanced piezo touch chips, Netherlands)
- Ubitium (universal RISC-V processor, Germany)
- CoolSem Technologies (semiconductors, Netherlands)
- Novenda (Netherlands)
- Ventory (field inventory software, Belgium)
- Exits: ArtiQ (acquired by Clario, April 2024) and Axign (acquired, January 2024); Into.care (buyout, 2020); Pharrowtech was liquidated in 2025
Team
- Koen Schrever: Chief Investment Officer
- Nuno Carvalho: Investment Director, formerly at Bekaert
- Rudi Severijns: Senior Investment Manager
- Olivier Rits: Senior Investment Manager, led the Ventory round
- Tim Derycke: CEO of KBC Securities and Head of Investment Services & KBC Focus Fund
Decision Process
A small investment team of about four to five people inside KBC Securities. Decision rules are not published. The fund points to the wider KBC Group network, plus KBC Securities M&A, corporate finance, research and sales teams, as value-add from idea to IPO.
Founder Preferences
Teams with defensible IP and scalable B2B technology, including hardware-heavy businesses, and Start it @KBC alumni. Start it @KBC says it selects on how fast founders learn and persist, and that atypical founder profiles often perform well.
Geographic Focus
Mainly Belgium and neighbouring countries: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany (PitchBook also lists the UK). By first-round count, Tracxn shows Belgium 7, Netherlands 4, France 1 and Germany 1. The fund is based in Brussels. Warm intro is not stated as required; the fund takes direct contact through KBC Securities Investment Services.