Bert Gyselinckx

Who they are

Bert Gyselinckx is a Partner at imec.xpand — co-founded Holst Centre in 2006, the imec-TNO joint lab that put flexible electronics and wireless sensor tech on the map.

Person

Bert joined imec.xpand in May 2023, stepping across from the operating side of imec into its venture arm before the fund's $320M close in 2025. His background is electrical engineering, layered with an MBA completed in 2005 — a combination that reads as someone who wanted to stay close to the physics but learned to run organisations. He spent the bulk of his career inside the imec universe: Managing Director of Holst Centre, the imec-TNO collaboration he co-founded in 2006 focused on wireless sensor technologies and flexible electronics, then VP & General Manager of imec US (and specifically imec Florida), before making the move to imec.xpand. The through-line is technology transfer — taking nanoelectronics research out of the lab and into the world, first by building institutions, now by writing cheques. He speaks at deep-tech forums — ITF Photonics 2020, Inpho Venture Summit 2024, The Next Web Conference 2025 — on themes like semiconductor investment, photonics, and Europe-Japan innovation. Possibly — his public writing is occasional rather than systematic, so LinkedIn is the best surface to track his current thinking.

Company

The most recent signal from imec.xpand's portfolio: in December 2025, Marvell acquired Celestial AI, a U.S.-based photonics venture the fund had backed — a clean exit that validates the fund's thesis on optical interconnects. Earlier in 2025, imec.xpand closed a $320M fund dedicated to semiconductor and nanotechnology innovation, a meaningful step up in firepower. On the parent-organisation side, ASML and imec signed a strategic partnership in March 2025 to install ASML's High NA EUV scanner (EXE:5200) in imec's Leuven cleanroom — deepening the research infrastructure that underpins the fund's deal flow. Imec also navigated a leadership transition in September 2025, which the organisation framed as reinforcing its long-term vision.

Market

Imec.xpand operates at the intersection of deep-tech venture and sovereign semiconductor strategy — a niche carved out by its unique position as the VC arm of imec, a non-profit R&D institution headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, that works with partners across the U.S., Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Geopolitical pressure is reshaping the fund's operating environment: imec has had to realign its strategy to be fully compatible with U.S. export restrictions, concentrating its partnerships among allied nations and pulling back from others. That tension — between open collaborative research and export-control realities — is the defining industry dynamic imec.xpand's portfolio companies have to navigate.

Network

Bert's closest named colleagues at imec.xpand are Tom Vanhoutte and Peter Vanbekbergen, both partners at the fund who publicly welcomed him when he joined in May 2023. His professional network is anchored in the imec constellation — decades of relationships with researchers, semiconductor executives, and technology-transfer practitioners built through Holst Centre and imec's U.S. operations.

Tom Vanhoutte· Partner, imec.xpand
Peter Vanbekbergen· Partner, imec.xpand

How they likely show up

Long tenure inside the imec organisation across multiple roles (Holst Centre → imec US → imec.xpand) → thinks in institutional time-horizons, not quarterly cycles.
Co-founded Holst Centre in 2006 and ran it as Managing Director → comfortable building from scratch and owning the operational consequences of a decision, not just advising on it.
Moved from operator (VP & GM) to investor (Partner) within the same ecosystem → likely brings hands-on empathy for what portfolio founders are actually trying to do, rather than a purely financial frame.
Speaks at photonics, deep-tech, and venture forums (ITF Photonics 2020, TNW 2025, Inpho 2024) → comfortable on stage and in cross-disciplinary rooms; not a back-of-the-room type.
Electrical engineering background plus MBA → probably respects technical rigour and gets impatient with hand-wavy market claims that don't hold up under scrutiny.
Possibly — occasional rather than systematic public writing → conversations and relationships likely matter more to him than broadcasting; he probably values the one-on-one over the megaphone.

Conversation tips

→ Come in with a specific technical question — he has an EE background and ran deep-tech labs for years; vague 'AI in semiconductors' framing will land flat.
→ Ask about Holst Centre — he co-founded it in 2006 and ran it; it's likely a point of genuine pride and he'll have real stories about what it took to stand up a cross-border research institution.
→ Reference the Marvell-Celestial AI acquisition if relevant — it's the fund's most recent public exit and a natural entry point into how imec.xpand thinks about portfolio outcomes.
→ Don't treat him purely as a VC — his mental model is operator-first; he'll respond better to questions about building and scaling than to pure fund-mechanics conversations.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on the Marvell acquisition of Celestial AI in December 2025 — it's imec.xpand's most recent public exit and a sharp signal about where the fund is placing bets on optical interconnects.
Reference Holst Centre — he co-founded it with imec and TNO in 2006 to commercialise wireless sensor and flexible electronics research; it's a concrete example of what 'tech transfer' actually means in his hands.
Mention his appearance at The Next Web Conference 2025 on the deep-tech investment panel — it's recent, public, and signals what he's currently willing to say on the record about the semiconductor investment climate.

Discovery questions

When you co-founded Holst Centre in 2006, what did you get wrong about the timeline from research to commercial product — and how does that shape how you underwrite deals at imec.xpand today?
The $320M fund closed in 2025 with a focus on semiconductors and nanotechnology — where in that stack are you seeing the most fundable companies right now, given U.S. export-control constraints?
The Celestial AI exit to Marvell is a clean data point — how much did the imec research relationship accelerate that company's path, and is that a repeatable model across the portfolio?

Avoid

Don't pitch broad 'Europe vs. China' geopolitical narratives as if they're new to him — imec has been living inside that tension for years and he'll have a more nuanced, specific view than any general framing you bring.

Make it yours