Left to right: Thibaut Vincent, Anthony Meirlaen, Jeroen Borloo, Jared Dierickx
I'm excited to share that we've raised €900,000 to take Rookoo to the next level. This funding round brings together incredible entrepreneurs from the Flemish tech ecosystem—people behind Wintercircus, Showpad, Henchman, and MTM Group. PMV and KBC Innovation Banking are also joining our journey.
When we started Rookoo, we saw something that frustrated us every day: talented event and hospitality teams drowning in administration. These are people who got into this industry because they love creating experiences, bringing people together, and making moments memorable. Instead, they're spending hours on repetitive admin work, chasing incomplete information, and manually processing requests that all look slightly different.
Event and hospitality teams spend far too much time on admin. We want them to be able to focus again on experience, creativity and hospitality—the things they're actually passionate about.
That's why we built ExperienceAI. Our digital colleagues handle incoming inquiries automatically, no matter the channel—email, WhatsApp, web chat, you name it. They organize everything, categorize requests, follow up, and turn messy conversations into clear action points for the team. It means customers get helped faster, quotes get prepared more efficiently, and teams can finally breathe. We're already working with amazing partners like Wintercircus Ghent, Tour & Taxis, Brussels Special Venues, SPIN, and The Arena Group.
With this new capital, we're expanding beyond intake and communication. We're building modules for price optimization and capacity management, and we're developing data-driven insights around conversion, workload, and offering. The goal is simple: help organizations work smarter, not harder.
By linking conversations with planning and data, we're not just relieving teams—we're helping them make better decisions. Our digital colleague learns alongside your business and evolves with your team's needs.
Going global
Belgium is home, but we're thinking bigger. We already have customers in the Netherlands, the UK, and the US. Next up: an official launch in the Dutch market at EventSummit, the biggest trade show for the event industry in the Netherlands. We're just getting started.
This funding round wouldn't have happened without the support of an incredible group of investors: Louis Jonckheere (Wintercircus), Jorn Vanysacker and Gilles Mattelin (100In, ex-Henchman), Jean-Michel Teerlinck (MTM Group, Artion), Stefaan and Bernard Rossel (Bavet, Burney's, Frans & Bertha), Matthias Stevens (Dynamate), Pieter Vanermen, Gilles Teerlinck, Tanguy Serraes, Anthony De Clerck, Hendrik Isebaert, Louis Mahy, Piet Van Waes, and Olivier Saverys. KBC Innovation Banking and PMV also came on board, with support from The Harbour here in Ghent. What makes me proudest is that this group believes in both the market and our team. My co-founders—Anthony Meirlaen, Thibaut Vincent, and Jared Dierickx—and I met years ago at Clarabridge and Qualtrics, where we learned everything about customer interaction and AI. Now we're building something we wish had existed back then.
Building from Ghent
We're based in Wintercircus, right in the heart of Ghent's startup scene. From here, we want to build something sustainable and scalable—a solution that pushes the global event sector forward. This industry is full of creativity, but it also comes with so much complexity. We want to give teams the tools to focus on what really matters: creating unforgettable experiences.
What our customers say
Lisa, the new AI event agent at SPIN, supports the sales team in increasing conversion and booking events. In addition to answering customer questions 24/7, the agent handles the booking process seamlessly in our booking platform.
Our mission is to create impact and bring entrepreneurs together. Every hour we spend on administration is an hour we lose for our real purpose.
About Rookoo
Rookoo is a Ghent-based technology start-up that develops digital colleagues for the event and hospitality sector. Using artificial intelligence, the platform automates administrative tasks, streamlines communication and supports teams with planning and price optimisation. In doing so, Rookoo helps organisations save time, work more efficiently and refocus on what truly counts: creating unforgettable experiences and warm hospitality.