Avendar, a Dutch startup building AI software for public-sector investigations, has secured €2.2 million in seed funding to expand its platform and push into new European markets.
The round was led by LUMO Labs and Brabant Development Agency adding to earlier backing from Rabobank Innovation Loan, Brabant Startup Fund, and BIM Startersfonds.
The Eindhoven-based company was founded in 2025 by Hugo Sleegers, Tijs Bronnenberg, and Marijn van Aerle as a new generation intelligence platform designed specifically for government agencies and public institutions.
Public institutions across Europe are under growing pressure to handle more complex fraud and crime cases, while most still rely on largely manual investigative processes. At the same time, governments are increasingly seeking AI tools that are “sovereign” as concerns grow about data security and regulatory compliance.
“Europe needs its own sovereign infrastructure for critical investigationand intelligence. Currently, organisations are far too often solving their most critical problems with outdated software. This need to change,” says van Aerle.
The company focuses on helping. organisations transform fragmented datasets into actionable intelligence, allowing investigators to detect patterns, uncover signals, and speed up decision-making. Its technology automates investigative work by analysing disconnected information sources, identifying hidden relationships, and helping institutions scale investigations more efficiently. By reducing manual processes, public agencies can improve investigation speed and quality while handling larger case volumes.
Its platform is used by the Dutch National Police and the Municipality of Amsterdam following pilot programmes linked to the Ministry of Justice and Safety for criminal investigations and Bibob screening.
“With strong execution in complex public sector environments and a team that combines technical depth with domain expertise, we believe Avendar is well positioned to reshape and improve investigations across Europe, as well as increase its digital sovereignty and resilience,” comments Andy Lurling, founding partner at LUMO Labs.
Competition in the investigative intelligence and cybercrime market is intensifying. Companies such as Recorded Future use machine learning and threat intelligence systems to detect cybercrime, fraud, and suspicious activity. Palantir Technologies also works with governments and law enforcement agencies on large-scale intelligence analysis. Avendar aims to differentiate itself through sovereign European technology built for public-sector investigations.
“”This team has the right experience and drive to solve a real problem: turning large volumes of public data into actionable intelligence for governments. We’re proud to support them in this mission, because helping public organisations respond to threats faster means directly contributing to a safer society,” says Robin Hendrickx, team lead & senior investment manager key technologies at Brabant Development Agency.
Looking ahead, Avendar plans to use the funding to expand its engineering and product teams while improving platform scalability and analytical capabilities. The company is also preparing for broader European expansion, aiming to help governments and public institutions respond faster and more effectively to increasingly complex security and fraud threats.
