Firms

Gemma Frisius Fund

Gemma Frisius Fund

Leuven, Belgium

lrd.kuleuven.bekbopub.economie.fgov.bevlaio.be

Gemma Frisius Fund (GFF), known in Dutch as Gemma Frisius-Fonds KU Leuven, is an evergreen seed-capital investment company supporting research-based university spin-offs and selected KU Leuven student ventures. The initiative was founded in1997 as a joint venture of KU Leuven, KBC and the predecessor of BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity Belgium; its operation is closely linked to KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD). The current Belgian legal entity is GEMMA FRISIUS-FONDS KU LEUVEN NV, enterprise0477.960.372, registered from July10,2002 with current legal name from January22,2021. It absorbed the original1997 NV, enterprise0461.734.351, on December16,2009. These related legal vehicles are distinguished from KU Leuven’s separate statutory university and other bank-managed funds. GFF invests in exchange for equity and supports portfolio companies through business planning, networks and board participation, without a fixed technology restriction. Its public portfolio includes AI and analytics, semiconductors, diagnostics, neurological drug discovery and research-based materials and clean technologies. Examples of relevant research-based companies named in the university’s own GFF portfolio are reMYND, Augustine Therapeutics, CoMoveIT, RunEASI, Aspect Analytics, ArtiQ, Magics Technologies and Pulsify Medical. Portfolio affiliation does not by itself disclose round date, investment ticket or current unexited ownership. The VLAIO January2026 entry reports an evergreen fund size ofEUR55million and typical minority-equity tickets125000–1250000EUR; these are programme size and investment ranges, not a newly verified LP fund closing or actual allocation to an individual company. The official registry separately reportsEUR20.5million registered capital for the current NV andEUR16.395million for its merged predecessor; registered capital is not a new fund cash close. GFF also supports eligible KICK student ventures with convertible loans up toEUR20000, a maximum mechanism rather than proof of a specific award. Current legal directors/representatives and historically published board/advisory affiliations are separately qualified; a corporate shareholder/director is not silently substituted by an individual or merged with the university parent.

Founded
1997
Type
Venture capital

Funds2

  • Gemma Frisius-Fonds K.U. Leuven NV (1997 predecessor; merged2009)—

    Exact0461734351 original1997vehicle, ceasedthroughabsorptionDecember16,2009 into0477960372. Historical16.395MregisteredcapitalnotpaidLPfundclose; amount/closingdateNULL. Not a secondcurrentmanagerorindependentnewfundraise.

  • Gemma Frisius-Fonds KU Leuven NV (current evergreen vehicle)—

    Exact0477960372currentevergreencompanyfundvehicle. BegindatumJuly10,2002, currentnameJanuary22,2021, predecessorabsorbedDecember16,2009. Amount/closingdateNULL:20.5Mregisteredcapital and55MreportedprogrammefundsizearenotverifiedLPcashclose.

Team

Operations and support

Anne RoucourtDirector, Almanij-KBC representative (historical:published2000)
Brigitte BoonePermanent Representative of1997 predecessor (historical:2003 registry appointment)
Francois de Vicq de CumptichDirector of1997 predecessor (historical:October2009 registry appointment)
Hans ClaesDirector (historical:published2000) · Advisory Committee Member (historical:published2000)
Isabelle CardinaelIsabelle CardinaelDirector
Jozef BriersLegal Representative of1997 predecessor (historical:2003 registry appointment)
Julien SmetsDirector, VIV-Fortis representative (historical:published2000)
Koenraad DebackereKoenraad DebackereDirector of1997 predecessor (historical:2003 registry appointment) · Chairman, original fund board (historical:published2000) · Advisory Committee Member (historical:published2000)
Luc PhilipsDirector, Almanij-KBC representative (historical:published2000)
Luc WeverberghLegal Representative of1997 predecessor (historical:2003 registry appointment)
Martin HinoulMartin HinoulManaging Director (historical:published2000) · Advisory Committee Member (historical:published2000)
Olivier LescroartAdvisory Committee Member (historical:published2000)
Paul Van DunPaul Van DunDirector of1997 predecessor (historical:2003 registry appointment) · Director · Chairman (publishedJanuary2026) · Advisory Committee Member, Almanij-KBC representative (historical:published2000)
Peter BogaertPermanent Representative of1997 predecessor (historical:2003 registry appointment)
Raf MoonsRaf MoonsPermanent Representative of BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity Management director · Advisory Committee Member, VIV-Fortis representative (historical:published2000)
Raf SpinoyDirector
Rudi CuyversRudi CuyversManaging Director · Director · Advisory Committee Member (historical:published2000)
Tim DeryckeTim DeryckeDirector
Tony PilozziDirector, VIV-Fortis representative (historical:published2000)

Co-investing

Investments

$—2025-03-24Augustine TherapeuticsNovo Holdings, Jeito Capital, AdBio Partners, PMV (Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen), Gemma Frisius Fund, Asabys Partners, Newton Biocapital, V-Bio Ventures, Eli Lilly and Company, CMT Research Foundation, VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)
€17M2024-06-26Augustine TherapeuticsAsabys Partners, AdBio Partners, PMV (Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen), Gemma Frisius Fund, V-Bio Ventures, Eli Lilly and Company, CMT Research Foundation, VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)
€4M2019-12-16Augustine TherapeuticsAdBio Partners, PMV (Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen), Gemma Frisius Fund, V-Bio Ventures, VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)
€12M2018-12-18reMYNDKorys, PMV (Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen), Bernard Majoie, KU Leuven, Gemma Frisius Fund, BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity