Syndicate One Research
Investment Thesis
Syndicate One is an international network-driven investment firm on a mission to elevate the Belgian tech ecosystem through early-stage capital investments and ecosystem-building initiatives. Founded in early 2022, the firm believes fundamentally in Belgium's potential to become a key tech hub in Europe.
Their model is uniquely structured as a syndicate of startup founders, operators, and venture capitalists who pool expertise, international networks, and seed capital to help early Belgian startups reach the next level. The firm explicitly targets Belgium-based or Belgian-founded tech startups, regardless of the sector, and looks to partner with the most ambitious founders from day one.
Syndicate One's dual-mandate nature is core to its identity: it operates both as a capital deployer and as an ecosystem builder. This includes releasing standardized investment documents (the 'Syndicate One Convertible,' a Belgian market-adapted CLA), publishing the State of Belgian Tech Report (co-authored with Sofina, SFPIM, and Bain & Co), organizing events and meetups, and running a video podcast to spotlight Belgian founders.
Stage Focus
Syndicate One invests exclusively at the early stage — Pre-Seed and Seed — and aims to be the first institutional check into a company. They focus on the period when founders need both capital and network access most.
Check Size
Based on fund size and portfolio breadth:
- Fund I: €6.5M (closed late 2024), invested in ~10–15 companies
- Fund II: €22M (first close, February 23, 2026), targeting ~20–30 investments
Typical check size is estimated at €250K–€1.5M per company, with the fund preferring to lead or co-lead early rounds. The large LP base of 120+ operators/founders also provides co-investment firepower.
Lead Tendency
Syndicate One actively leads rounds in their portfolio companies. Media coverage confirms that founding members were actively involved in navigating VC conversations and negotiations for seed rounds (e.g., Thor Gutierrez of Sirona Technologies noted Robin's guidance on press releases and navigating VC conversations).
Recent Activity
Fund II first close: €22M (February 23, 2026) — oversubscribed within 8 weeks after first pitch, despite challenging global fundraising conditions. This follows the €6.5M Fund I closed in late 2024.
Notable recent portfolio investments include: Aikido Security (security — now a unicorn), Fundamental (now a unicorn), Techwolf, Conveo, Sirona Technologies, Donna, Warren, SAPI, Ravical, Cosmic Aerospace, Powernaut, Tekst, Mindoo, and many others.
Two portfolio companies — Fundamental and Aikido Security — have achieved unicorn status ($1B+ valuations), demonstrating the quality of early deal sourcing.
Portfolio Highlights
Syndicate One has invested in 23+ companies across a diverse set of sectors:
Unicorns:
- Aikido Security — Software security (democratizing application security)
- Fundamental — (unicorn)
Notable portfolio companies:
- Conveo — AI-powered customer research platform
- Techwolf — Skills intelligence platform
- Sirona Technologies — CO₂ removal via direct air capture (climate)
- Cosmic Aerospace — Ultra-efficient all-electric aircraft
- SAPI — Credit products for payment companies
- Kennek — Loan management software for lenders
- Warren — Multi-employer pension fund
- Tekst — AI for enterprise workflow automation
- Mindoo — AI workforce platform for healthcare
- Botanix — EVM-equivalent Layer 2 on Bitcoin
- Powernaut — Renewable energy demand flexibility marketplace
- Jurimesh — AI-powered legal due diligence
Team
Syndicate One is managed by a core team of three founding partners:
- Laurens De Poorter — Founder. The original founder and driving force behind the fund and ecosystem mission. Contact: [email protected]
- Robin Wauters — Founding Member. Founder of Profoundo, Board Member at European Startup Network; well-known Belgian tech journalist and ecosystem builder. Contact: [email protected]
- Arnaud Bakker — Founding Member. Also a VC at Triton Capital; brings institutional VC expertise.
The broader Syndicate One network includes 40+ founders, operators, and investors across the Belgian tech ecosystem (Deliverect, DataCamp, Showpad, Accountable, N26, Collibra, etc.) who serve as value-add advisors.
Investor Base (LPs)
Government backers: PMV (Flanders), SFPIM (federal), Finance&Invest Brussels, Wallonie Entreprendre — making Syndicate One the first Belgian investment firm backed by all four government funds. Anchor institutional investor: Sofina. Additional institutions: Finhouse, COI. Over 120 entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders are LPs.
Geographic Focus
Belgium-first. The fund backs Belgium-based and Belgian-founded tech startups wherever in the world they operate. This is an explicit and defining constraint — they are not a generalist global fund.
Sector Focus
Broad tech focus across all sectors. The portfolio reflects diverse bets:
- Enterprise SaaS / AI (Conveo, Tekst, Decision Computing, Ravical, dalton, pleasefix.ai, Eagl)
- Security (Aikido — unicorn)
- Fintech (SAPI, Kennek, Warren, CrypDefi)
- Healthcare (Donna, Mindoo, Model Health)
- Climate / Clean Energy (Sirona Technologies, Powernaut, Cosmic Aerospace)
- HR Tech (Techwolf, Holly)
- Legal Tech (Jurimesh)
- Blockchain (Botanix)
Decision Process
Partnership model — managed collectively by Laurens De Poorter, Robin Wauters, and Arnaud Bakker. The network of 40+ operators and founders provides input on sector-specific decisions.
Ecosystem Initiatives
- Syndicate One Convertible: Standardized CLA for early-stage Belgian startups (publicly released)
- State of Belgian Tech Report: Published with Sofina, SFPIM, and Bain & Co
- First Movers: A community program (first-movers.be)
- Events & workshops: Regular ecosystem meetups
- Video podcast: Highlighting Belgian founder talent
Founder Preferences
Syndicate One backs Belgian founders across all tech sectors and all stages of early-stage. Portfolio testimonials emphasize the value of the network depth rather than specific founder archetypes. They appear to value founders building global-scale companies from Belgium.