The Beacon is a leading innovation community of forward-thinking tech companies, most of which focus on the challenges faced by our cities, ports, and industries. Located between the city and the port in Antwerp, The Beacon offers not only flexible office spaces, event- and meeting rooms, but also plenty of networking opportunities for ambitious innovators. The core mission of The Beacon is to encourage collaboration. It serves as a hub where cutting-edge technology companies come together to connect, collaborate, and find inspiration. All of this is supported by the five main partners: the City of Antwerp, imec, Lantis, Port of Antwerp-Bruges and University of Antwerp.
To achieve our mission, we launch collaborative projects, organize events at the forefront of technology, and promote knowledge sharing and visibility within Antwerp’s digital landscape. At the heart of our approach are three core activities: bringing companies together to create valuable connections, hosting content-driven events that encourage knowledge sharing, and providing the spaces and resources companies need to focus on their core activities without unnecessary burdens.
In addition to these efforts, we are dedicated to tackling the challenges our community members face. By creating moments where we challenge them to think critically and collaboratively, we facilitate the development of innovative solutions for the pressing problems of today. Through these opportunities, we aim to empower our members to not only connect and grow but also to lead the way in addressing key issues within the industry.
Tech Scout
The Beacon offers a membership program designed for non-tech companies looking for technology solutions. Through the Tech Scout program, The Beacon connects these companies with the right tech partner to jointly develop and implement concrete solutions for their challenges.
With these initiatives and their ongoing commitment to supporting the dynamic tech community in Flanders, The Beacon is a crucial player in driving technological progress and economic growth in our region. Want to know more about The Beacon or join our community?
Reach out via: [email protected] or thebeacon.eu
Hubs4Growth
Hubs4Growth unites Hangar K, The Beacon, Leuven MindGate, Wintercircus Gent, Limburg Startup, and Brussels Airport Company to support startups and scale-ups. Backed by VLAIO, Hubs4Growth offers a strong network and expertise, providing joint events, workshops, and accelerator programs to help startups overcome growing pains and transition from local to international players more smoothly.
The network includes startups, knowledge institutions, SMEs, and corporates, offering national and international connections. Hubs4Growth facilitates scaling by connecting Flemish provinces and global regions such as the USA and China. Through the “Take a Seat” program, startups gain access to international incubators, a dedicated point of contact (SPOC), and 30 days of co-working space.
Hubs4Growth’s personalized support accelerates growth, with programs like “Pitch Your Seat” and “Take a Seat” guiding startups to the next phase. Flexible work spaces, from individual desks to dynamic offices, place entrepreneurs within a vibrant startup community.
Each location plays a pivotal role in fostering innovation. From The Beacon’s IoT focus in Antwerp to Wintercircus Gent’s tech-driven ecosystem, Hubs4Growth offers startups the ideal environment to thrive and expand both locally and internationally.
hubs4growth.eu
MAHI – Maritime Autonomy Solutions
MAHI offers comprehensive situational awareness, remote operation, and advanced autonomous navigation capabilities for surface vessels. MAHI’s solutions enable safe and economic navigation for both crewed and uncrewed vessels.
The company is founded by the team behind the groundbreaking Project Mahi, which saw the launch of the world’s first autonomous, solar-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean. This ambitious endeavor not only demonstrated the team’s technical expertise but also their commitment to sustainable innovation.
At the heart of MAHI’s offerings are the MAHI Sense, a robust marine-grade edge computer installed onboard, and the intuitive MAHI Bridge and MAHI Aware software suites. The MAHI system delivers comprehensive situational awareness, remote operation, and advanced autonomous navigation capabilities.
MAHI has proven their product capabilities through successful integration in both existing and new-build vessels, ranging from 6 to 60 meters in length.
MAHI’s journey is characterized by their relentless pursuit to push the bar for maritime navigation solutions. MAHI not only excels in their technical features but also in their customer support and care. To quote the CEO of Seasats, one of MAHI early customers, “The team’s expertise translated directly into a product that outperformed other solutions by a wide margin.”
MAHI has established itself as a frontrunner in the industry through significant partnerships and successful implementations. Collaborations with industry leaders like DEME, the UK Ministry of Defence and UltraTug are a testimony to MAHI’s innovative and qualitative offering. “DEME is excited to collaborate further with MAHI on its journey towards maritime operations with advanced decision support.” mentioned DEME’s head of electrical and automation after using the MAHI solutions.
With its foundations in place, MAHI has set sail to transform vessel navigation.
https://mahi.be
The Argonauts
“We work together with you to design public and societal services with a view to people and the environment.”
We are a team of passionate service designers specialising in service, spatial and UX design.We put the end user at the centre of our projects through research, co-creation and participation. We inspire our clients to do the same by introducing different tools and methods, but most importantly the mindset needed to approach complex problems in a human-centred way to arrive at creative solutions.
We do this by conducting user and customer journey research, designing public and social services, and facilitating training and sprints in which we lead multidisciplinary teams through the entire design process in a short period of time.
We are active in the public, social and private sector and have carried out projects for the Etex group, Bank van Breda, Euroclear, Luminus, the social economy (A-kwadraat, Lidwina), Gumption, KULeuven, the Flemish government (WSE, Omgeving, CJM, OVAM, MVO Vlaanderen), the federal government(Flanders), the federal government (FPSEconomy, FPS Social Security), VDAB, the Province of Antwerp and several local authorities (Deerlijk, Roeselare, Ravels, Berlaar, Wetteren, City of Antwerp, Beringen).
https://www.theargonauts.eu
Hyperfox
Empowering Manufacturing and Logistics with Cutting-Edge Order Automation
Founded in 2023 by serial entrepreneurs Tom Devos and Bert Baeck, Hyperfox specialises in order hyper automation, focusing on manufacturing and logistics companies in the Benelux and Germany. Hyperfox introduces an innovative order automation approach, leveraging cutting-edge technology to process and validate incoming orders.
Orders from every channel—via API, EDI, email, phone calls, text messages, or scans—are automatically processed. To achieve this, Hyperfox has developed an innovative AI technology for data extraction and validation. Utilising generative AI, Hyperfox accurately extracts information from structured and unstructured orders. At the same time, an intelligent agent ensures the viability of each order by verifying it against agreed terms between the customer and supplier before released to the warehouse.
Headquartered at the Corda Campus in Hasselt (Flanders), Hyperfox also operates branches at The Beacon in Antwerp (Flanders) and Startport in Duisburg (Germany). Founder Tom Devos is a seasoned expert in supply chain management, digital transformation, and customer experience.
Hyperfox has already gained significant recognition, including a nomination for Limburg Startup of the Year 2023 and winning the award for Biggest Growth in the Spring Cohort of Start it @KBC. Hyperfox was also selected for the Birdhouse Cohort 15 accelerator programme, and nominated for the Supply Chain Awards – Startup of the year 2024. With 3,2 million EUR raised at VC’s like LRM, Birdhouse, Volta Ventures and JK Invest, Hyperfox is taking the lead in order hyper automation.
At Hyperfox, the human element is just as important as technology. Companies like Yusen Logistics, BergHOFF, Selecta, and Joma Sport choose Hyperfox for its rapid onboarding and innovative hyperautomation technology and the personalised care provided by our team of expert automation architects.
Hyperfox brings humans in flow through order automation.
https://www.hyperfox.com
