TechWolf co-founder credits Ghent's startup 'flywheel' after SAP deal
Jeroen Van Hautte says Ghent's dense startup scene was key to TechWolf's growth, as the AI firm's acquisition by SAP is reported as Belgium's largest venture-backed software exit.
Ghent’s startup density in the spotlight
Jeroen Van Hautte, CTO and co-founder of TechWolf, has pointed to the “flywheel effect” of his home city of Ghent as a crucial factor behind the Belgian AI startup’s rise, in a podcast interview following news of its acquisition by German software giant SAP.
Speaking on the Tech.eu podcast, Van Hautte described the cycle in which employees from successful startups go on to launch their own ventures or back other founders, creating a self-reinforcing cluster of entrepreneurial activity. “I think that the flywheel effect is super important,” he said, noting that Ghent has one of the highest densities of startups in the world.
The SAP deal
The interview comes after it emerged earlier this month that SAP is acquiring TechWolf in a deal reported to be the largest acquisition of a venture-backed software company in Belgian history, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. TechWolf uses AI to help employers understand their workforce’s skills, and SAP has said the company will become a key part of its talent and workforce strategy.
During the podcast, Van Hautte also touched on his own move to San Francisco, TechWolf’s business model, and the debate between open and closed source AI models. A portion of the episode was removed at TechWolf’s request.
Why it matters for the UK
While TechWolf itself is based in Ghent rather than the UK, the deal and Van Hautte’s comments carry a direct message for Britain’s own regional startup hubs. The UK has long sought to replicate dense, self-sustaining startup ecosystems outside London, in places such as Manchester, Bristol and Cambridge, with mixed results. Ghent’s experience, as described by Van Hautte, offers a case study in how a relatively small city can produce outsized returns for venture-backed software, and how founder networks and reinvestment by early employees can compound over time.
For UK investors and policymakers watching the European tech scene, the TechWolf-SAP deal is also a reminder of the scale of exits now available to European AI startups focused on enterprise software, a category in which several UK companies, including those working on workforce and skills technology, are also competing for market share and acquirer attention.
What to watch next
Attention will now turn to how SAP integrates TechWolf’s technology into its wider talent and workforce offering, and whether the deal prompts further consolidation in the skills-intelligence software space that UK startups also operate in. Founders and investors in Britain’s regional tech clusters may also take note of Van Hautte’s comments on the flywheel effect as they weigh how to encourage similar cycles of founder-led reinvestment outside London. Daily Tech Times will continue to track SAP’s integration plans and any further detail on deal terms as they emerge.