Belgian AI software startup Timefold has raised €6 million from Lakestar and prior seed investor Smartfin, to accelerate the development and commercialisation of its AI-powered planning optimisation platform. 

Businesses and government entities, such as airports, rail companies, and emergency services, depend on effective scheduling to ensure smooth operations and keep societies functioning. 

Companies are wasting time, money, and efficiency because no planning optimisation platform is easy to use and easily integrates within existing infrastructure. 

Timefold’s ‘PlanningAI’ platform intends to rid the world of wasteful scheduling by offering an easy, low-friction approach to tackle complex, large-scale planning problems within enterprise environments, eliminating lengthy development cycles and costly dependency on consultancy retainers through AI. 

Timefold builds on the legacy of OptaPlanner, an open-source project created by Timefold’s CTO and co-founder, Geoffrey De Smet, previously under IBM Red Hat. Having developed one of the most widely used optimisation solvers in the world, De Smet identified a significant unmet need in the space. 

Geoffrey De Smet, CTO and co-founder of Timefold, said: 

“Planning is everywhere and often hidden in plain sight, yet efficient schedules are rare.

 From the field service technician coming to fix your boiler, to the plane assigned to your next flight: schedules run the world. We are tackling complex planning problems by providing out-of-the-box planning models for IT teams to run, test, and configure easily.

It is easy to use, no math, and no need for consultants. Our API plugs seamlessly into your software, and with Lakestar’s backing, we can help businesses deploy planning that increases productivity, improves employee happiness, and reduces carbon emissions.” 

According to Maarten Vandenbroucke, co-founder and CEO of Timefold, companies are typically left with two extreme choices: build their own models which take long development cycles and costly consultancy retainers, or use underpowered automation tools. 

“With Timefold, neither is necessary. We have enterprise-ready models for field service routing, employee scheduling, production planning, and more in development.

Our clients are already achieving better outcomes, and faster time-to-market, which significantly reduces risk from their end.” 

Timefold clients include Palantir, NEC, ADP, and Deutsche Bahn. 

Enrico Mellis, Principal at Lakestar, said: 

“Geoffrey’s life’s work has been to revolutionise how complex NP-hard problems are addressed, saving enterprises, governments, and infrastructure providers hundreds of millions of euros annually.

 For 18 years, his leading open-source technology has optimised critical operations, scheduling shifts for thousands of police officers, routing millions of parcels, assigning gates at major airports, and planning national train timetables. 

When we met Geoffrey, Maarten, and the rest of the Timefold team, we recognised how uniquely talented this team is and the outsized potential of a category winner in the making.

Maarten brings vital entrepreneurial expertise to propel Geoffrey’s vision to market. The solution’s unmatched maturity and clear product-market fit, bolstered by partnerships with giants like Palantir, promise to transform operations across multiple industries.” 

Timefold has recently onboarded senior product, financial, commercial and marketing executives from top Belgian software companies like Showpad, Tinder, Qualtrics, Match Group, Techwolf, Paperbox and RightCrowd. 

Lead image: Timefold. Photo: uncredited.