More than 700 AI start-ups now active in Belgium

At least 700 artificial intelligence start-ups are operating in Belgium. More than half are based in major cities, especially Brussels and Flanders. Only a small share is highly profitable, while many others are seeing rising losses, according to an analysis published on Tuesday by the Federal Planning Bureau and Ghent University.

The study examines the period from 2010 to 2023 and identifies at least 744 AI start-ups. Most focus on AI applications. Only a limited number works on hardware or cloud computing.

Urban centres host the majority of these companies, often close to universities and research institutes. Brussels leads with 124 AI firms, followed by Ghent (108), Antwerp (86) and Leuven (53). Hasselt, Liège, Kontich, Louvain-la-Neuve and Charleroi each have at least ten.

Their products are mainly aimed at automating business processes, supporting decision-making, and using machine learning for data analysis and language processing, such as chatbots and translation tools.

Compared with other start-ups, AI companies tend to prioritise rapid revenue growth and expand their teams more quickly. They also perform better in terms of added value and productivity. However, profitability remains limited. Losses are rising in venture-capital-backed AI firms. Those without such funding, by contrast, are strongly represented among the most successful start-ups.

^{© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}