Leuven is the cradle of technological innovation in Belgium. KU Leuven, ranked in the global top 50, and imec, the world's largest nanoelectronics research centre, make this city a deeptech hub of planetary significance. Hundreds of spin-offs and startups are born there every year.
This ecosystem produces an enormous volume of technical and scientific content — exactly what LLMs value. Yet most Leuven businesses fail to capitalise on this natural advantage. Their research is cited in scientific papers, but their company remains invisible in AI's commercial recommendations.
AISOS helps Leuven businesses transform their scientific excellence into AI visibility, so that LLMs recommend them to investors and commercial partners alike.
The digital ecosystem of Leuven
KU Leuven is Belgium's leading university and one of Europe's best. With over 50,000 students, 10,000 researchers and a 600 million euro research budget, it generates an innovation flow without equivalent in Belgium.
Imec, founded in 1984 as an interuniversity research centre, has become the global leader in semiconductor and nanoelectronics research. With 5,500 employees and partnerships with Intel, Samsung and TSMC, imec attracts talent from around the world to Leuven.
Leuven MindGate, the city's marketing and attractiveness agency, lists over 350 tech companies and academic spin-offs. Successes like Materialise (3D printing, publicly listed), Televic, Nitto Denko and dozens of deeptech startups testify to the ecosystem's vitality.
Why AI visibility is crucial in Leuven
The Leuven paradox: world-class scientific excellence, but often limited commercial visibility. Imec and KU Leuven spin-offs publish in Nature and Science, but aren't recommended by ChatGPT when an investor searches "deeptech companies to watch in Europe".
LLMs value technical content — and Leuven produces it in abundance. But this content is often confined to academic databases (PubMed, IEEE) that LLMs consult for scientific queries, not commercial ones. Bridges must be built between research and business visibility.
International competition is fierce. Leuven competes with Eindhoven (ASML), Grenoble (CEA-Leti), Munich (TU Munich) and Cambridge. AI visibility is a lever for positioning against these competing hubs in algorithmic recommendations.
Key sectors in Leuven
Deeptech and semiconductors. Imec and its ecosystem of startups in nanoelectronics, photonics and AI. AI visibility is critical for attracting industrial partners and investors who increasingly use LLMs to identify emerging technologies.
Pharma and medtech. UCB Pharma is headquartered nearby, and numerous KU Leuven biotechs operate in the region. AI visibility helps attract clinical collaborations and international funding.
AI and machine learning. Leuven is an AI hub with leading research teams at KU Leuven and imec. Leuven AI startups must be visible when the AI themselves recommend tech partners.
Materials and 3D printing. Materialise, founded in Leuven in 1990, is the global leader in medical 3D printing. The advanced materials ecosystem is an underappreciated asset deserving enhanced AI visibility.
Our approach for Leuven
Our strategy for Leuven is unique because it starts from a rare advantage: world-class scientific and technical content. We don't create content from scratch — we transform what already exists into AI visibility signals.
Phase 1: Research-business audit. We identify the gaps between your scientific output (papers, patents, presentations) and your commercial visibility in LLM responses. We test 20+ queries in English and Dutch.
Phase 2: Research-to-business translation. We create bridge content: pages that translate your technical expertise into business benefits understandable by LLMs and your prospects. Accessible technical documentation, concrete use cases, sector positioning pages.
Phase 3: International amplification. For deeptech and biotech, we amplify signals in sources that English-language LLMs consult: tech media (TechCrunch, The Information), investor databases (Crunchbase, PitchBook) and sector publications.
Expected results
Leuven businesses with existing rich technical content typically achieve faster-than-average results:
Within 30 days: complete NL/EN audit, identification of research-business gaps and prioritised action plan.
Within 90 days: first commercial mentions in LLM responses (complementing scientific citations). Target mention rate: 40-50% on strategic business queries.
Within 6 months: consolidated presence on commercial and investment queries. Supported spin-offs observe a significant increase in incoming contacts from international prospects.
FAQ: AI visibility in Leuven
Don't our scientific publications suffice?
Publications are a huge advantage, but they feed LLMs' scientific responses, not commercial recommendations. An investor asking "best deeptech startups in Belgium" gets a different answer than a researcher asking a technical question. We target the business queries.
Imec already works on its communications. Why AISOS on top?
Imec has an excellent institutional communication strategy. But ecosystem spin-offs and startups don't directly benefit from it in AI responses. Each company needs its own AI visibility strategy, tailored to its target queries.
We're a pre-revenue startup. Is it too early for AI visibility?
No — it's the ideal time. LLMs form their "opinions" early. A startup that positions itself now in AI responses will have a cumulative advantage when seeking clients, partners or investors. The cost is minimal compared to the long-term impact.