IVEX Raises €5M to Cut Vehicle Safety Testing Time by 95%

Belgian automotive technology company IVEX has raised €5 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-powered vehicle safety testing platform into the US and Asia.

The Leuven-based startup develops software that analyses footage and sensor data generated during vehicle safety tests, helping engineers assess whether vehicles correctly detect and respond to road events such as speed signs, pedestrians, and lane markings.

The round was backed by The Faktory, Dedicated.lu, and several private investors. The funding will support IVEX's international expansion, broader coverage of safety protocols, and further development of its data infrastructure.

Cutting hundreds of hours of safety analysis

Vehicle safety testing generates enormous volumes of data. Traditionally, engineers can spend hundreds of hours reviewing footage from a single batch of tests.

IVEX says its platform can reduce that workload from approximately 400 hours to just eight hours, representing a reduction of more than 95%.

The system uses computer vision and cloud-based data processing to analyse road events alongside dashboard and vehicle information.

It can determine whether a vehicle recognised important road elements and whether it responded according to applicable safety requirements.

However, IVEX does not remove engineers from the process entirely.

Its platform follows a human-in-the-loop model in which AI identifies and evaluates results, while an engineer reviews and approves each conclusion. This approach is designed to maintain traceability back to the original sensor data.

From KU Leuven research to Euro NCAP

IVEX was founded in 2018 by Mario Torres alongside Quentin de Clercq, Jeremy Schuermans, and Tom Holvoet following Torres' postdoctoral research into safety validation at KU Leuven.

The company has since developed technology for analysing real-world vehicle safety data and has become a supplier trusted by Euro NCAP, Europe's prominent vehicle safety assessment programme.

IVEX operates in more than 20 countries and focuses on a later stage of the vehicle testing process than many competing automotive technology companies.

While some competitors concentrate on simulation and virtual testing, IVEX converts recordings from real-world driving and safety tests into structured assessments and scores that can be used by regulators and automotive manufacturers.

A growing automotive testing challenge

Modern vehicles are increasingly equipped with cameras, radar sensors, driver-assistance systems, and other technologies that generate large quantities of safety-related data.

As testing requirements become more demanding, manually reviewing all of this information becomes increasingly difficult.

The challenge is particularly relevant as Euro NCAP introduces more stringent testing protocols for 2026 through 2028, including greater emphasis on evidence from real-world driving.

IVEX's proposition is that AI can help testing organisations handle this growing volume of information without simply increasing the number of engineers required.

Competing in a crowded market

IVEX is entering a competitive automotive technology market.

Companies such as Applied Intuition, Foretellix, and Kognic are developing technologies covering areas including autonomous vehicle simulation, scenario testing, and sensor-data processing.

IVEX differentiates itself by focusing primarily on the later stages of safety validation, using real-world recordings to generate assessments that can ultimately support regulatory evaluation.

The company's existing relationship with Euro NCAP provides an important validation point as it prepares to expand internationally.

Taking AI-based safety testing global

The new funding will allow IVEX to expand its coverage of NCAP protocols, strengthen its data infrastructure, and establish regulatory and commercial operations in North America and Asia.

IVEX has previously raised approximately €1.2 million from investors including PMV, Noshaq, and The Faktory in 2020, followed by a seed extension in 2023 that brought SPDG and Dedicated on board.

With more than €6 million in disclosed funding, the company is now moving into a new phase of international expansion.

The key test will be whether regulators and automotive manufacturers outside Europe place the same level of trust in AI-assisted safety assessments that IVEX has established with Euro NCAP.