Kwarts

Market position

Kwarts was described as a scaleup within Flanders' life sciences and health ecosystem, with a platform already used by several major industry players and considered to hold potential for the global market. Its acquirer, DLI Market Intelligence, was described as an industry peer.

The A-Inside platform was developed on the basis of scientific research, within a VLAIO project in cooperation with the BIARU cell at Hasselt University, and the team included experts from that university. Its intelligence engine predicts a next best action per individual customer and ranks priorities for sales and marketing in a client-specific context, applied specifically to life sciences data such as medical communication, prescriptions and treatments.

Technology

A-Inside is a customer data platform built on artificial intelligence algorithms. It centralises and analyses client data streams, maps the customer journey, and its intelligence engine predicts the next best action per customer and prioritises information linked to medical communication, prescriptions and treatments. The platform was developed within a VLAIO project with the BIARU cell at Hasselt University and is based on scientific research.

Go-to-market

The platform was sold to life sciences and pharmaceutical organisations, with adoption by several major industry players; the company also worked with commercial partners. Seeking a partner with an existing commercial network in the pharmaceutical industry was cited as a key rationale for the sale to DLI Market Intelligence, which is part of the Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry and was expected to commercialise the software internationally.

Life sciences, health and pharmaceutical companies, including large industry players such as Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, along with their sales and marketing organisations engaging medical professionals.

Geography

Kwarts was based in Flanders, Belgium, in the province of Limburg. It had completed projects in Europe and Asia and aimed to grow in the United States. Following the acquisition, its Danish acquirer DLI Market Intelligence, focused on Denmark and the Nordic region, planned to roll out the platform internationally.

History

The company was founded in 2016 in Limburg, Flanders, by Bart Van Proeyen and joined the imec.istart startup program. Its A-Inside platform was built within a VLAIO project in cooperation with the BIARU cell at Hasselt University, and the team included experts from that university. Over roughly seven years it was supported by customers, commercial partners, governmental bodies such as VLAIO and EIT Health, and private investors including Volta Ventures, business angels and imec.istart. After an initial platform roll-out, including at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, the board compared growth scenarios and sought a strategic partner with an existing commercial network and market data. This led to the sale of the company to DLI Market Intelligence, announced in 2022 with the transfer to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.