Talentguide, a Ghent-based HR-tech startup, has raised €1.3 million to expand its AI-driven skills intelligence platform across Europe, as employers grapple with labour shortages and accelerating automation.
The company develops a SaaS platform that maps workforce skills using AI, helping organisations understand existing capabilities, identify gaps and guide employees towards targeted upskilling. The approach aims to shift HR decision-making from intuition to data, particularly in large and mid-sized organisations.
According to Talentguide, many companies lack visibility into the competencies already present within their workforce, a problem that is especially acute among blue-collar employees whose skills are rarely captured in traditional CV systems. At the same time, automation is reshaping job requirements faster than formal job profiles can adapt, slowing reskilling efforts and workforce planning.
“What we offer with Talentguide is a win-win,” said Filip Tack, CEO of Talentguide. “We strengthen the long-term employability of employees and increase the resilience of organisations.”
The platform ingests unstructured internal data, including job descriptions, evaluations and work instructions, to generate a skills-based job architecture. It then analyses current employee capabilities and predicts future skill needs, producing AI-generated personal development plans to support retraining and career growth.
Talentguide operates from Ghent’s Wintercircus, a Belgian hub focused on deep tech and AI, and currently serves medium-sized and large enterprises. Customers include Travvant, MCC Verstraete, Banqup, Robovision, mtech+ and Syntra Bizz.
The funding round was backed by investment funds including NXT II, Travvant (Partena Professional), Miles Ahead Capital and imec.istart, alongside the founders. Several entrepreneurs also participated, among them Ewout Meyns (PieSync), Koen Handekyn (Allcrux, Nabu) and Jan Delaere (Delaware).
“Too many HR decisions today still start from feeling,” said Miel Kurris of NXT II. “Talentguide shows how data and AI can provide an objective picture of skills on the work floor, enabling much more targeted training and promotion.”
Talentguide plans to use the new capital to expand its product, engineering and revenue teams, while accelerating market entry in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. The company is targeting more than €1 million in annual recurring revenue by the second half of 2027, with 50 to 100 customers.
