Sep 17, 2024

Ghent, Belgium-based Timefold, a software startup, announced on Tuesday that it has secured €6M from Lakestar, an early investor in Spotify, Revolut, Sennder, and others. The announcement comes over a year after raising €2M pre-seed funding round led by returning investor Smartfin in March 2023. The Belgian company will use the funds to launch its PlanningAI, an AI-powered planning optimisation platform. It is designed for large-scale and complex business applications like vehicle routing, job assignments, and employee scheduling. Businesses and government entities worldwide rely on efficient scheduling for smooth operations. Timefold has identified a common problem — companies waste time, money, and efficiency due to the lack of a user-friendly planning optimisation platform that integrates with existing infrastructure. Geoffrey De Smet, CTO and co-founder of Timefold, says, “Planning is everywhere and often hidden in plain sight, yet efficient schedules are rare. From the field service technician coming to fix your boiler to the plane assigned to your next flight: schedules run the world. We are tackling complex planning problems by providing out-of-the-box planning models for IT teams to run, test, and configure easily.” - A message from our partner - Timefold: Developing a ‘planning intelligence’ platform Founded by Maarten Vandenbroucke and Geoffrey De Smet, Timefold has developed PlanningAI, a technology specialising in complex scheduling and routing optimisation for enterprise companies. “It is easy to use, no math, and no need for consultants. Our API plugs seamlessly into your software, and with Lakestar’s backing, we can help businesses deploy planning that increases productivity, improves employee happiness, and reduces carbon emissions,” adds De Smet. The company’s platform aims to eliminate wasteful scheduling by providing an easy, low-friction approach to solving complex planning problems within enterprise environments, using AI to eliminate lengthy development cycles and costly consultancy retainers. Timefold builds on the legacy of OptaPlanner, an open-source project created by Timefold’s CTO and co-founder, Geoffrey De Smet, previously under IBM Red Hat. Additionally, the Belgian company recently onboarded senior product, financial, commercial, and marketing executives from top Belgian software companies like Showpad, Tinder, Qualtrics, Match Group, Techwolf, Paperbox and RightCrowd to help reach its ambitious goals. Maarten Vandenbroucke, co-founder and CEO of Timefold, says, “Typically, companies are left with two extreme choices: build their models which take long development cycles and costly consultancy retainers, or use underpowered automation tools. With Timefold, neither is necessary. We have enterprise-ready models for field service routing, employee scheduling, production planning, and more in development. Our clients are already achieving better outcomes, and faster time-to-market, which significantly reduces risk from their end.” Currently, Timefold works with some of the most notable companies, including Palantir, as well as global organisations such as NEC, ADP, and Deutsche Bahn. The investor Lakestar is a pan-European venture capital firm. The VC’s mission is to find, fund, and grow disruptive businesses that are enabled by technology and founded by exceptional entrepreneurs in Europe and beyond. Founded by Klaus Hommels, the team’s early investments include Skype, Spotify, Facebook and Airbnb. Since raising its first fund in 2012, Lakestar has managed an aggregated volume of over €2B across four early-stage funds and two growth funds. The team actively advises and supports portfolio companies in marketing, recruitment, technology, product development, and regulatory insight, accompanying founders from seed to early stage, growth stage, or exit. Lakestar has a presence in London, Berlin, and Zurich with a team of 40 talented individuals from 18 countries. Enrico Mellis, Principal at Lakestar, says, “Geoffrey’s life’s work has been to revolutionise how complex NP-hard problems are addressed, saving enterprises, governments, and infrastructure providers hundreds of millions of euros annually. For 18 years, his leading open-source technology has optimised critical operations, scheduling shifts for thousands of police officers, routing millions of parcels, assigning gates at major airports, and planning national train timetables.” “When we met Geoffrey, Maarten, and the rest of the Timefold team, we recognised how uniquely talented this team is and the outsized potential of a category winner in the making. Maarten brings vital entrepreneurial expertise to propel Geoffrey’s vision to market. The solution’s unmatched maturity and clear product-market fit, bolstered by partnerships with giants like Palantir, promise to transform operations across multiple industries,” adds Mellis. Topics: